Grandmother Spider: A Pawnee Tale

As told to me by Nadya Richmond:

In the early years, no clan of the Pawnee tribe had a fixed place to live. Each small band of warriors and their families traveled across the great plains of North America in search of food and temporary shelter.

One morning, three young braves were stalking a deer. They were very hungry, as were their families back at the camp; hunting had produced so little to eat for many, many weeks. In this part of the plains, the grasses grew very thick and tall, so the braves decided to split up and form a circle around the deer. They had to move very slowly through the dense growth to avoid making waves and noises that would scare away their hoped-for dinner!

One of the braves began to crawl through the grass. He came upon a very large and beautiful web woven around the stalks of grass, and in the middle he saw a great and very old spider.

He saw no easy way to get around this spider and her web. He became angry that she was impeding his progress toward the deer. He did not know what to do next except to lie there quietly in the grass and stare ferociously.

In a calm voice, barely above a whisper, the spider said to him, “Relax and stay awhile, my dear brother, for I have something to give you. I know who you are and I know your clan. I know how hard your nomadic lifestyle is and how hungry you all are. I know your clan has no totem, so my gift to you is me! Choose me as your totem.”

When the brave heard those words, he laughed with scorn! “You? Choose you? All the other clans have great and important totems like Buffalo, Elk, Bear, and Wolf. Why would we choose you and become the laughing stock of all our relations!” His voice had become very loud indeed, attracting the attention of his brother braves who joined him, and, of course, scaring off the deer!

“Yes, choose me,” she said with great wisdom and serenity, “and everything will change for the better. Please notice that all I need to do each and every day is sit here peacefully in my web. Everything I need comes to me, everything! Especially water in the early morning dewdrops and all the food I desire. And I enjoy this long life of mine.”

The braves listened intently and returned to their families with full hearts. They shared this encounter with everyone in the clan, and it was promptly decided to choose spider as their totem. They were the first of the Pawnee clan to settle in one place; and amongst all their relations, they became the most prosperous and peaceful, enjoying long and happy lives.