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THE PUPPY WHO BELONGED TO NO ONE
By Jeannie Croud
My family is
Native American of the Minnesota Ojibwe tribe. Since I wanted my fifteen-month-old daughter to be given her
Indian name by a woman, several years ago, I took her to an Ojibwe
female elder I admired who was a namer. Her husband is also a spiritual elder from a related tribe.
The couple were so charmed by my daughter, that they asked if each of them could give her a
name. They invited my family to attend a semi-annual feast, which
their family traditionally gives each spring and fall to honor the
eagles. At that time, they also give names to several people.
We traveled to the
land the couple owned in a remote place in northern Wisconsin.
The setting was beautiful. There
were log buildings, a sweat lodge, and an enormous permanent teepee where the ceremonies are held. Down a fairly steep hill was the edge of a wonderful but very deep lake. Lots of kids and dogs
roamed and played in the area, and I noticed among them a particularly nondescript half-grown puppy who didn't seem to
belong to anyone.
On the morning of
the naming ceremony, I was in one of the buildings helping to prepare food for the feast. I had left my children
with their father looking after them. As I peeled potatoes, I suddenly
became edgy and very concerned for my daughter. The woman who
was going to give my daughter her name looked at me several
times and asked what was wrong.
I told her I thought I should check on my daughter. She said,
"Go immediately. A mother's first
responsibility is to her children."
I raced outside
where I found my husband helping someone fix a car and my daughter heading determinedly for the lake. She couldn't
get there though, because a small brown puppy, who didn't
seem to belong to anyone, headed her off and herded her away from
the lake as a sheep dog would.
My daughter must have started walking toward the deep water as soon as her dad turned his back. The other children
playing nearby said that the puppy had been blocking my
daughter's attempts to get to the lake for almost ten minutes.
Later that day, my
daughter received her Indian name. Many
of our elders teach us that the name we're given is the name of the
spirit who watches over us.
The woman I had asked to name my daughter and her husband had each planned to give my daughter a
separate name, but it turned out that they were both guided to the
same name for her.
Her Indian name
from this day on became Anjeni Equay.
In English it means Angel Woman.
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