Hear Tamarack Song read a native tale from his new book, 'Whispers of the Ancients'
Tamarack Song is a storyteller, counselor, wilderness skills teacher, rites-of-passage guide, and founder of the Teaching Drum Outdoor School in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. He is also, along with Ojibwe artist Moses (Amik )Beaver, the coauthor of Whispers of the Ancients: Native Tales for Teaching and Healing in Our Time.
He took time out to read one of the stories for us. Take a listen by clicking on the link below; it's a treat. Here's what he had to say about the selection:
"Two Hungry Bears is co-author Moses (Amik) Beaver's favorite story in the book, and this telling is in his honor.
"I use a drum to accompany me; it's a technique employed by traditional storytellers in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. I first learned to drum a story from Ojibwe Medicine Woman Keewaydinoquay. In her hands, the drum became another storytelling voice, creating the mood and setting the pace. In one moment the drum could be bellowing the cries of angry, thrashing Thunderbirds, and in the next moment it might be whispering the soft tones of a breeze high in the pines.
"When I tell this story, a sense of timelessness comes over me. I'm sitting in a circle with the women in the communal smokehouse of Moses' village in North Ontario, listening to stories while we prepare Whitefish for smoking. At the same time, I'm in Patty Miller's daycare center, hearing her lilting voice bring Two Hungry Bears to life. And beside me is dear Elder Keewaydinoquay, empowering my voice and guiding my hands."
