Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder (Canons)

by Kent Nerburn

It was more important for us to know what was right than to know what was wrong. “We looked at the animals and saw what was right. We saw how the deer would trick the more powerful animals and how the bear would make her children strong by running them without mercy. “We saw how the buffalo would stand and watch until it understood. We saw how every animal had wisdom and we tried to learn that wisdom. We would look to them to see how they got along and how they raised their young. Then we would copy them. We did not look for what was wrong. Instead we always reached for what was right. “It was this search that kept us on a good path, not rules and fences. We wanted honor for ourselves and our families. We wanted others to say, ‘He is a good man. He is as brave as the bear’ or ‘as clean as the fox.’ We had freedom so we did not seek it. We sought honor, and honor was duty.