The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons in Living

Story Summary: “The Story of Brings the Deer”

Long ago, people are living in the cold north country. There, they can no longer find caribou, and, facing starvation, they decide to move south. As all the men look for squirrel and rabbits, two hunters are sent into the forest to look for deer.

The hunters, Sees the Bear and Left Hand, look everywhere for deer and finally find only one that falls into a gully. The eat the deer’s heart after killing it and have enough strength to return to their people. Along the way, they find a coyote who speaks to them. She is starving and needs some meat to sustain her family. Sees the Bear gives it to her, though Left Hand does not want to help her, and she says that her family will sing their gratitude at night. The hunters then encounter a magpie who is hungry, and Sees the Bear gives the magpies meat. They say that they will repay them by announcing if there is plenty to eat in the future. A wolf with an injured foot appears and asks for meat for the young ones his wife has to suckle. Sees the Bear gives it to him, and the wolf says that people will have his skills as a hunter in return.