 This column is my giveaway. I have been gifted with teachings from many elders and healers in my ceaseless quest to return to the Balance of the Native Way. Gifts grow stale and turn upon the beholder when they are coveted. And, as the gifts I walk with are not mine to begin with, I share them that they again may bestow blessings upon the People, as intended. My quest has been for 'Chi Debwewin—an Algonquian term that refers to truth or awareness of a universal nature. What finds voice in this column is common to Old Way Peoples regardless as to culture or dwellingplace on the Bosom of the mother. I am honored and grateful that you hold out your cupped hands for the gifting. As Legends are doorways to the profound, Games are doorways to perceptiveness. My first opportunity to learn to play serious chess came while I was still in recovery from my time in the world of business and academia. The mental processes which I developed to function there felt uncomfortably close to those required to play chess, so I shied away from the game. The Old Way was already calling me at that time, so I decided to see if there might be some native games that would appeal more to me. The local library had nothing, but the gracious librarian said she would check to see what was available through interlibrary loan. A couple moons later she called, saying she located a thick book on Native American games in a distant library and that I could take it home for a few days. The introduction promised this to be the definitive work on the topic, the result of exhaustive research. By the time I got through the table of contents I realized that the book was just that—another glimpse at the Old Way through a civilized window. The author placed games in two categories—skill and chance, which was more reflective of his preconceived notion of games than of the importance and role they played in the lives of Native People. In their essence, legends are also games; the challenge and excitement of the game can be easily recognized in many native legends. Native games are nonverbal legends; legends for the senses. As legends are doorways to the profound, games are doorways to perceptiveness. They are educational tools and attunement exercises for the skills and powers regularly used to live in balance. In civilized cultures games play the same roles, emphasizing the rational-linear left brain function important to their success. Based on calculation and strategy, these games (board games are a prime example) are rare in the Old Way, as their regular playing would encourage the over-development of rational function, upsetting the balance of the heart-of-Hearts. In the civilized way, games are used in an applied way mainly as developmental tools for the young; in the Old Way Games are a serious involvement throughout life (although they can yet be fun and entertaining pastimes). They are invaluable in developing the high degree of concentration, immersion in the moment and perceptual skills needed to be a good and successful person, regardless of craft or calling. So from here on when we use the term "game" in Native context, let us be mindful of its broader definition. The two categories—chance and skill (which the recently mentioned author used), do not apply to Native games, as they are all games of skill. The obvious games of skill are training sessions for the senses; they sharpen the eye, quicken reflex, strengthen muscle and develop coordination. So-called games of chance may appear as such on the surface, but the players are actually testing their attunement to their sense of intuition and their skill at either reading or scrambling their opponent's. They are also practicing camouflage of intent and the ability to mislead by sending false signals--important skills for both guardian and hunter. Two such games are the Which Hand Game and the Moccasin Game, both of which are played by nearly all Native people. In the first, one player holds an item such as a bone behind his back, with the other player attempting to determine in which hand it is held. The second game is similar: one player hides an item in one of three moccasins (or under one of three bowls, shells, etc.), challenging her partner to locate the item. In both games, the challenger, and perhaps the audience as well, knows the location. The other player reads subtle cues given by posture, expression and movement, as well as bringing his intuitive sense into play while he scrutinizes each potential hiding place. Sometimes high stakes are wagered to add a further level of challenge and tension. When there is so much at risk the challenger finds it all the harder to hide reactions and deceive, and the partner finds it more difficult to maintain clarity and correctly read cues. Games differ from many other aspects of Native culture in that most are universally shared. Games know no language; next to trade, they are likely the most commonly engaged-in activity between Peoples.
Tamarack, who lives in the Wisconsin forest, is a Native-approach counselor and dream interpreter, primitive skills instructor. He guides quests and other rites of passage, and is author of the book, Journey to the Ancestral Self. Write to him at Medicine Lodge, Nishnazhida/Three Lakes, WI 54562-9333; (715)546-2944.
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