Becoming The Chief
1403 Words
My whole life, I have felt as though I was unloved, yet desired and envied. Today was the first day that I felt as loved as I deserved to be. Now, it's 3:30 in the afternoon. I have 30 minutes until my ceremony and my phone rings. I notice that it's Logan calling.
"Hey, are you two coming?"
"Um, no, man. We feel like it would be weird to join in on an ancient tribal ritual. We aren't part of your tribe."
"You've been my best friends since we were 2. How can you just ditch me on the biggest night of my life?!"
"We just don't feel comfortable with it and besides, our parents raised us as Catholics and they won't let us come because they think the religion that you follow is of the devil."
"What the hell?! We don't follow a religion. Well, we kinda do, but it doesn't really have a name. The elders speak with the spirits of our ancestors."
"Yeah...my mom calls that witchcraft."
"Well, thanks. I guess I'll see you at school."
"Actually, after you become chief, we aren't allowed to be around you at all."
"Whatever."
I hang up and I can feel something rise in my chest. Something that I haven't felt since I was a small child. It feels like disappointment and rage.
I hear a knock at the door and June comes in. As if, she can sense what I'm feeling, she gives me a big hug and rubs my back the way she used to when I was little.
"Shh shh shh. It's gonna be okay. You still have me. You will always me, sweetheart."
I take comfort in her words and the negativity subsides. She pulls away and looks me in the eye.
"Now, you need to get ready."
She walks into the hallway and grabs something out of the closet. As she's heading back to the living room, June holds out an outfit covered in a plastic dry cleaners cover.
"Is this a suit or something?"
"No, silly."
She beams at me as she unzips the cover. I see a traditional chief's covering. It is a loose fitting, animal skin shirt with all kinds of oranges and greens added to it. The pants are folded over the bottom of the hanger. They match the shirt very well. She sets those on the couch and gestures for me to change.
I put the outfit on and I realize that I must be taller than my ancestors. The pants stop about 2 inches above my ankle.
"Remove your socks. You must be barefoot."
I do as I'm told.
"We must put the proper face paint on you."
"Okay?"
She paints the shape of a wolf on my forehead. Then she paints a burnt orange line down the bridge of my nose.
She paints both of my eyes with black.
"Why the black?"
"You'll see later."
"Oh. Okay."
We spend the entire 30 minutes just getting me ready and once I'm finally ready, we head towards the clearing. I walk out in front the entire tribe and find that there is a different tribe here too.
There is food on multiple fold out tables. The tables are all placed nicely. They all make a large square shaped circle. They must have bought the tables just for this event because they look brand new.
I keep looking over to the opposite tribe as I walk towards Elder Nash.
"Hey. So, we're doing the feast first and then the ceremony?"
"Yes, we will feast in your honor and then we will do the ritual when dusk has fallen."
"Why do we feast first?"
"Trust me, you won't want to do anything after the ritual."
"Oh okay."
Elder Nash leads me towards the table in front of all the others. I sit down next to a man I don't know. He is wearing a headdress and looks chief like, so I assume from the other tribe. There's a girl sitting next to him, but I can't really see her past him.
"Hi. I'm Dakota Redmoon. I'll be the new chief."
I extend my hand to him and he shakes it.
"I know who you are. But, since you don't know me, I shall introduce myself. I am Chief Alejandro Moonchild. I am the chief of the hombre-lobo tribe."
"That sounds awesome. What does it mean?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
I get a little frustrated because I'm not fluent in Spanish.
"Are you the tribe I've heard of that stems from Mexico?"
"Yes. We are about as old as your tribe. Our tribe started only 25 years after yours did. We have a similar origin story."
"That's awesome. I'd love to hear all about it sometime."
"Sounds good."
We nod at each other and look towards the rest of our people. My cousin and aunt smile warmly at me and give me a thumbs up.
Elder Nash steps right in the center of the tables.
"Everyone calm down." The mass of people fall silent and look at the elder.
"We are gathered here to feast in honor of our soon to be chief. Dakota, please stand and address your people."
I stand and look at the faces of my people and those of the other tribe.
"People of my tribe and others, I am happy to see all of you enjoying this time together. I am aware that I am not the chief you expected or maybe even the chief you deserve, but am willing to leave my life behind and live here on the reservation as a way of getting to know all of you. I will do everything I can to live up to the magnificence that is my ancestors. You are all my family and I hope you can see me as yours."
I sit back down and I glance over at the girl sitting next to the other chief. She kind of looks like Rosetta.
"Thank you, Dakota. Let's eat!"
He sits down beside me and we begin the feast. Everyone is laughing, eating, and smiling. It's like the Thanksgiving I never got.
After a while, everyone is done eating and it's starting to get dark.
We clear the tables and food and go back to the way the first Mai-coh's worked. We start a fire and the elders start chanting/singing in Navajo and throat singing. I am led to a spot in front of the fire. (safe distance) (Also, it's like a campfire.)
At first, I'm standing there awkwardly with the tribe members staring at me. Then, I feel something surge through me. It feels like excess energy. The girl steps in front of me and I see that it's Rosetta.
What is she doing here?
She starts to follow my every movement as I feel the same energy push my arms up over my head. It kinda feels like I'm standing like a cheerleader. My head is thrown back and pain fills my body. I feel as thou I'm paralyzed and I can feel all of the pain.
"What is this?!"
"Just embrace it."
Suddenly it's as if I can see inside Rosetta's mind. She is feeling everything I'm feeling.
"Aaaaahhhh!!!!"
We scream at the same time and I know she feels the excruciating pain that I'm feeling. As we scream, light shoots from us and we drop.
I hear both of us thud as we hit the ground. For some reason, the pain is immediately gone and peace replaces it.
I stand up and extend my hand for Rosetta to grab onto. She accepts and stands up. Elder Nash and Chief Alejandro stand to the side of us and we are now standing side by side.
"Do you, Dakota Redmoon accept the responsibilities of Chief of the Mai-coh tribe?" Elder asks.
Right before I respond, I notice all of my ancestors and ancestors that look to be Rosetta's are circled around our joined tribes.
"Absolutely."
"Do you, Rosetta Moonchild, accept the responsibilities of Chief of the hombre-lobo tribe?" Alejandro asks.
"I do."
They speak together. "Can you wholeheartedly say that you accept the change?"
We look at each other in confusion.
"We do."
At that moment, I feel something suck all of the energy from my body and the last thing I hear is our two bodies hit the ground. Rosetta grabs my hand and everything goes dark.
- Writer
