The Legend of the Tomahawk

To the Elders of The Mighty Kiowa - share this story with our young warriors before our next meeting at the house of the Great Spirit.

Many moons ago, The Mighty Kiowa were led by the great Chief Strong Eagle. He was a great, wise chief, and well loved by the people of the tribe. He was named Strong Eagle not only because he was big and strong, but also because he believed in the strength of the tribe, and the families of the tribe. Each day it seemed, he would teach his tribe the value of working together to keep their tribe and families strong.

One night while he was sleeping, Chief Strong Eagle had a dream. In his dream, he was walking by a large lake near his village, when suddenly, a large white dove flew down from the clear blue sky, and landed on a large cypress log in front of him. The Chief immediately noticed that the dove was carrying a large tomahawk in it's claws, adorned with two large feathers and beads. The chief was even more surprised when the dove began to speak! "Chief Strong Eagle", said the dove, "you are great and wise! You have been kind to the people and taught them well! Because of your wisdom and teaching, your tribe has grown strong and lives in peace with the other tribes. From this time forward, your tribe shall keep this tomahawk as a symbol of the strength of the families of your tribe, and honor the third aim, "Love the sacred circle of my family". Remember always, that the two feathers represent the family and the tribe; just as the two feathers are tied together, so too are the family and the tribe. Each time you make a new camp, you will give the tomahawk to one of the families of your tribe to hang at the entrance to their teepee. As a sign that the strength of your tribe comes from the families, and not you the Chief, the tribe will select the family who will display the tomahawk at each camp. The tomahawk shall pass from one family to the next throughout the camping season as a sign that each family is an important part of the Kiowa circle. Go in peace, great chief!" And with that, the white dove flew away, leaving the tomahawk on the cypress log.

When the Chief awakened the next morning, he remembered his dream, and immediately ran out of his teepee to find the tomahawk! He ran as fast as he could until he arrived at the large lake. There before him, just as in his dream, was the large cypress log, and the tomahawk that he had dreamed of. Chief Strong Eagle, then took the tomahawk back to his village, and told the tribe about his dream. From that day forward, Chief Strong Eagle did as the white dove had told him, giving the tomahawk to the family selected by the tribe each time they made a new camp. The people treasured the tomahawk as a symbol of their belief in strong families and the Kiowa circle, and always looked forward to passing the tomahawk to a new family.

The Mighty Kiowa carried on this tradition for many years, until one day, the tomahawk was taken from them! No one knew for sure who took the tomahawk, but it was believed that an enemy tribe took it to show the Kiowa they were stronger. Since that time, each chief of the Mighty Kiowa has sent out scouts to try to find the tomahawk. After many attempts by our brave scouts to find it, we now believe that we know where our enemies have hidden the tomahawk!

Today I, Chief Bald Eagle, received a message from our brave scouts that the tomahawk may be hidden in the pine woods between the two lakes, known as Moss Park. I have sent word back to my scouts to send a coded message to us, telling us where we may find the tomahawk, so that we may retrieve it when we make our camp there. I have also told them to send the message back in separate pieces - one piece for each scout - so the whole message would not be lost if one of them was captured.

Young warriors of The Mighty Kiowa - I need your help to find the tomahawk, and bring it back to our circle where it belongs, so that it may once again be a symbol of the families in our tribe! When we next meet in the house of the Great Spirit on Feb. 9, we will make our plan to bring the tomahawk back to The Mighty Kiowa!

Yatahey!

Chief Bald Eagle

Created by Gary Kranston