Those Who Speak Our Language

Within what is left of the woods on the island of Moose Fort in the year 1697, there was a young girl, only the age of 12, picking flowers and herbs. Her name was Neehilawee and her tribe was Achomawi. It has been a year since she and her tribe have gained their rights back, since the other "white men" had freed her small village from the rule of the "Français." By now most of the forest that she once known had been cut down and the logs were used to create what they called "houses" and "ships." Those homes were meant for shelter, but she didn't understand why they used so many trees; As she looked through what little forest she was surrounded by, the sun in the sky began beating down through the gaps between the branches of trees. She felt the warmth of a breeze going through the trees and bushes. Feeling so peaceful brought on an urge to sing. So Neehilawee began singing to herself, softly and quietly, sitting in the partially prickled grass and harmonizing her voice with nature.

Suddenly she had heard a voice calling her name, "Neehilawee! Come back to the teepee." It was her mother who was calling out to her. Grasping the colorful flowers and scented herbs in her right hand, she had stood up and began walking quickly to her family's teepee. She was going to use those collected plants for a special craft she had learned from visitors of the more northern regions. Entering the teepee, she seen a fire burning in the center.

While looking at the fire, she had seen a portion of moose meat being held over the glorious flame by her father. This meal was her tribe's specialty. Her father then passed on the piece of meat to her as she sat down in her usual spot. Neehilawee began chewing and she then noticed her older siblings weren't home from their journey yet. Lately she had been feeling a little lonesome without her entire family home. She finished eating the meat and thanked her father for it. Then she decided to go for another walk, perhaps on the "white man" part of the island.

The last time she saw those people, she had seen many children having fun. Children were playing in the water of the river and in what was left of the trees. Ever since then she's felt curious and wanted to meet them. She started walking along the trail to the other side of the island. When she arrived, she saw many houses made from the tree logs they had been chopping down a few months back. As she stood in the grass nearby, she saw young children playing together. Neehilawee looked around and inspected at the houses. As she gazed at one of the houses, she then saw a girl who appeared to be her age. The girl was sitting on the stairway of the house.

Continuing to stare at the girl, Neehilawee noticed that the girl was holding something in her lap and that she may have been looking at for a long period of time. A voice was suddenly calling the young girl's name. "Clara! Dinner is ready." An older woman had called out. Neehilawee did not understand what the person had just said. It was a sort of new language around the island ever since the "Français" had been driven away from the island. Neehilawee had no idea what the people were saying to each other and to the chief of her tribe at times. She began to wonder to herself, Mother, now I understand why you've named me my name: to speak our language; but I do speak our language and now I am wondering what else there is to 'speak'. Is it these people's language? She never felt as confused as this in her life.

As she thought and wondered about languages, she began walking towards the home of the girl she just saw. She began peering through a window and then she saw a family of four sitting down eating 'dinner'. The girl she had saw was looking right at the window she was seeing through. Neehilawee ducked once she noticed the stare of the other girl. While Neehilawee was hiding, the girl inside began to speak to her parents. "Excuse me, I've just seen someone outside and I'm going to go check," Clara said as she stood up from her wooden chair. Clara began walking out of her cabin house. Walked towards the back window and then she had seen a young girl sitting on her knees.

"Uh, who are you?" She asked quietly. Neehilawee twitched a bit and she then turned to her left. Looking into each others eyes, the native girl had noticed how the other's eyes had a sparkling of pale hazel. Neehilawee knew what the word "name" meant, so she replied nervously with her name. "Neehilawee..." Clara slightly smiled and then held out her hand to this new girl she met. "Hello, I am Clara Carter.", she spoke delicately as she waited for a handshake.

Neehilawee then reached out for Clara's hand. The two girls then shook hands as she stood up from the yellowing grass. Clara then invited her to join them for dinner in her home. She led Neehilawee into her cabin and introduced her to her parents. "This is my new friend Neehilawee," Clara smiled happily. Her parents gave a weird look at this new friend of hers. Then her brother stood up from his seat, "Hey! It's one of those so-called savages.", he snickered. "Be quiet, little brother!", Clara upsettingly shouted at him. Clara gripped Neehilawee's hand and ran up stairs. She just could not tolerate her little brother at times.

Both of the girls then entered a room. It was Clara's room and there were many books on wooden shelves. Neehilawee had never seen such a place before. Clara then introduced her to everything. As she was gazing at the books on the shelves, Neehilawee picked out a book called "Learning English". She stared at the cover, wondering what it was. Her new friend had then noticed her looking at the book.
"Oh, that's one of my school books. It's from my younger years in elementary school back in England." She took the book out of Neehilawee's hands. "I'm guessing you would like to learn English, eh?" Neehilawee subconsciously nodded.

It seemed as if deep inside: she could slightly understand after all. Clara then opened the book to a page and began teaching her friend some English. After a few weeks of meeting one another and having English lessons. Neehilawee then wrote a poem for Clara. Also during that time, she had taught Clara her craft that requires flowers and herbs. They've both learned something from each other.

On their last day together, Clara had told her she would be moving on to another place. Neehilawee gave her the poem. She began reading it to herself,

"'Friend, oh friend, our differences have no end.
I teach you though and you've taught me.
Embrace my offering of such a gift.
This is how our friendship lifts up our sails.
For wisdom over differences prevails.'

This is beautiful, Neehilawee.", she said as she held the paper in her hands. Clara's eyes began to fill with tears of joy and sadness. She realized how well she taught her friend and the good times they had during the past several weeks. The next day, Clara's family had finished packing and loading their things onto a horse carriage. Neehilawee came running to the cabin area. Clara called out to her and then had given her the craft she learned to make. Through two weeks, she had perfected the craft. Neehilawee held it close to her chest as the horse carriage began riding away. The two friends waved goodbyes and each of them said "goodbye" in their own languages. Clara smiled as she rode away on the carriage and Neehilawee continued to wave gently. On the craft, there was a note. "Thank you, Neehilawee. I won't forget you… and now, thanks to me, you can understand some of what my other people speak. -Clara Carter.", Neehilawee smiled with little sorrow. She then began walking back to her teepee home. She decided to tell her story with both languages to her people...