WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.090 align:middle line:90% 00:00:03.090 --> 00:00:06.000 align:middle line:84% We've been talking a lot in Tucson in the last six weeks 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:10.980 align:middle line:84% or so, since the horrible shooting of Gabrielle Giffords 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:13.410 align:middle line:90% and those other people. 00:00:13.410 --> 00:00:20.010 align:middle line:84% And I'm thinking that my book is about civil discourse, 00:00:20.010 --> 00:00:22.650 align:middle line:84% social discourse, and public discourse, 00:00:22.650 --> 00:00:26.980 align:middle line:84% and it's about respect and it's about ethics 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:30.910 align:middle line:84% and it's about people caring about other people. 00:00:30.910 --> 00:00:33.700 align:middle line:84% I guess I'm just an old hippie, but I 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:39.800 align:middle line:84% do believe that my brother's welfare is my concern. 00:00:39.800 --> 00:00:41.240 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:48.590 align:middle line:84% While we're on our way to there, why not share? 00:00:48.590 --> 00:00:49.610 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:00:49.610 --> 00:00:53.520 align:middle line:84% "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother?" 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:54.930 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:00:54.930 --> 00:00:59.250 align:middle line:84% The second novel, The Sacred White Turkey, 00:00:59.250 --> 00:01:03.990 align:middle line:84% came out from the University of Nebraska for us this summer. 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:06.150 align:middle line:84% This is told from the alternating perspectives 00:01:06.150 --> 00:01:11.280 align:middle line:84% of a 12-year-old girl and her Lakota medicine grandmother. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:12.870 align:middle line:84% I'm playing with the idea of what 00:01:12.870 --> 00:01:17.040 align:middle line:84% is sacred, what is religion, what is faith, 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.530 align:middle line:84% and who decides each of these questions. 00:01:19.530 --> 00:01:22.950 align:middle line:84% But I'm trying to do it with humor and grace. 00:01:22.950 --> 00:01:26.340 align:middle line:84% And the second plotline has to do with a legal case called 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:28.980 align:middle line:90% Cobell versus Salazar. 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:31.830 align:middle line:84% How many people know about Cobell versus Salazar? 00:01:31.830 --> 00:01:32.700 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:35.670 align:middle line:90% OK, good, good. 00:01:35.670 --> 00:01:39.360 align:middle line:84% That case came about because over many years, 00:01:39.360 --> 00:01:42.060 align:middle line:84% the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Department 00:01:42.060 --> 00:01:46.500 align:middle line:84% of the Interior collected money from American Indians-- 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:50.880 align:middle line:84% I mean, I'm sorry, from people leasing American Indian lands, 00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:53.010 align:middle line:84% and that money was then supposed to be turned over 00:01:53.010 --> 00:01:54.990 align:middle line:90% to the Indian landowners. 00:01:54.990 --> 00:01:57.480 align:middle line:84% But most of it stuck to the fingers of people 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:00.030 align:middle line:90% along the way. 00:02:00.030 --> 00:02:02.340 align:middle line:90% Cobell versus Salazar. 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:05.190 align:middle line:84% Ken Salazar, Secretary of Interior or the BIA 00:02:05.190 --> 00:02:10.139 align:middle line:84% is part of that was meant to redress those wrongs. 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:11.722 align:middle line:84% And you might think, well, it probably 00:02:11.722 --> 00:02:12.847 align:middle line:90% wasn't all that much money. 00:02:12.847 --> 00:02:13.410 align:middle line:90% No. 00:02:13.410 --> 00:02:15.120 align:middle line:90% it was billions of dollars. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:18.870 align:middle line:84% Not millions, billions of money that 00:02:18.870 --> 00:02:21.670 align:middle line:90% was stolen from Indian people. 00:02:21.670 --> 00:02:24.240 align:middle line:90% And so I wanted to address that. 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:27.240 align:middle line:84% I wanted to write about that, but I 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:31.650 align:middle line:84% didn't want to make it sound like a documentary or another 00:02:31.650 --> 00:02:33.990 align:middle line:90% ain't it awful story. 00:02:33.990 --> 00:02:38.670 align:middle line:84% I wanted it to be a story first, and then 00:02:38.670 --> 00:02:42.750 align:middle line:84% a possible way in which some of this money 00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:44.230 align:middle line:90% could have been stolen. 00:02:44.230 --> 00:02:46.980 align:middle line:84% So I wove those two ideas together, 00:02:46.980 --> 00:02:50.850 align:middle line:84% the notion of stealing money from Indian landowners on lease 00:02:50.850 --> 00:02:55.920 align:middle line:84% payments and this notion of sacred practice 00:02:55.920 --> 00:02:58.330 align:middle line:90% and spiritual belief and so on. 00:02:58.330 --> 00:03:00.240 align:middle line:84% So the sacred part, Turkey sets out 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:02.250 align:middle line:84% one possible way that some of the thievery 00:03:02.250 --> 00:03:05.640 align:middle line:84% might have happened, and the first plotline 00:03:05.640 --> 00:03:08.310 align:middle line:84% about the sacred turkey herself sets up 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:11.760 align:middle line:84% a way to stop the graph through religious retribution. 00:03:11.760 --> 00:03:14.040 align:middle line:84% It's meant to be both serious and funny, 00:03:14.040 --> 00:03:18.180 align:middle line:84% both irreverent and respectful, and it will probably 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:21.630 align:middle line:84% anger both those native people with traditional beliefs 00:03:21.630 --> 00:03:24.840 align:middle line:84% and Christians who might think I'm being sacrilegious. 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:26.310 align:middle line:90% It's not my intention. 00:03:26.310 --> 00:03:28.050 align:middle line:84% What if that's the way it comes out? 00:03:28.050 --> 00:03:31.890 align:middle line:84% I have no control over the way people interpret what I write. 00:03:31.890 --> 00:03:34.520 align:middle line:84% So this is The Sacred White Turkey, 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:36.800 align:middle line:84% it's told in alternating points of view. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:42.340 align:middle line:84% The first one is Stella, the 12-year-old little girl. 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:45.190 align:middle line:84% On Easter Sunday in 1963, a white turkey 00:03:45.190 --> 00:03:48.100 align:middle line:84% appeared on Hazel LaTour's doorstep, pecking at the door 00:03:48.100 --> 00:03:50.140 align:middle line:90% as if demanding entrance. 00:03:50.140 --> 00:03:51.950 align:middle line:84% The turkey set in motion a series 00:03:51.950 --> 00:03:53.950 align:middle line:84% of events that would rock the community from end 00:03:53.950 --> 00:03:56.140 align:middle line:84% to end, upset the established order 00:03:56.140 --> 00:03:58.270 align:middle line:84% and make some of the most traditional among us 00:03:58.270 --> 00:03:59.980 align:middle line:90% question our beliefs. 00:03:59.980 --> 00:04:02.290 align:middle line:84% Had I'd not been there, I would not 00:04:02.290 --> 00:04:04.360 align:middle line:84% have believed what was to come, and even 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:07.600 align:middle line:84% after all these years, I still doubt my own senses, 00:04:07.600 --> 00:04:09.880 align:middle line:84% wonder about where that turkey came from, 00:04:09.880 --> 00:04:14.080 align:middle line:84% why it came to my grandmother of all people, and where it went. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:17.170 align:middle line:84% The white turkey was wakan, you know, and some of our people 00:04:17.170 --> 00:04:19.240 align:middle line:90% say that word means holy. 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:22.930 align:middle line:84% And some say no, it just means something unexplainable, 00:04:22.930 --> 00:04:25.660 align:middle line:84% and a lot of things can be unexplainable without being 00:04:25.660 --> 00:04:26.830 align:middle line:90% holy. 00:04:26.830 --> 00:04:29.200 align:middle line:84% Some people make jokes and say the BIA 00:04:29.200 --> 00:04:31.660 align:middle line:84% is wakan because nothing that bureaucracy 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:35.080 align:middle line:84% does is ever explainable, and that 00:04:35.080 --> 00:04:39.275 align:middle line:84% makes people who think the word means holy and sacred pretty 00:04:39.275 --> 00:04:40.030 align:middle line:90% mad. 00:04:40.030 --> 00:04:41.020 align:middle line:90% Disrespectful. 00:04:41.020 --> 00:04:44.470 align:middle line:84% Sacrilegious, even, if you can apply that word to a belief 00:04:44.470 --> 00:04:46.720 align:middle line:90% system that isn't Christian. 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.840 align:middle line:84% I believe the turkey was both holy and unexplainable. 00:04:49.840 --> 00:04:52.510 align:middle line:84% I've tried 1,000 explanations over more than 40 years 00:04:52.510 --> 00:04:54.677 align:middle line:84% for all of the things that happened and none of them 00:04:54.677 --> 00:04:55.330 align:middle line:90% make sense. 00:04:55.330 --> 00:04:57.260 align:middle line:90% I can't prove anything. 00:04:57.260 --> 00:05:01.030 align:middle line:84% I only know what I saw, me, with my own two eyes, 00:05:01.030 --> 00:05:04.780 align:middle line:84% and once you've heard the story you could believe it or not. 00:05:04.780 --> 00:05:06.820 align:middle line:84% A gentle knocking more like a tapping 00:05:06.820 --> 00:05:10.510 align:middle line:84% woke me from my dreams of candy eggs delivered by a pink bunny, 00:05:10.510 --> 00:05:13.300 align:middle line:84% even though I was 12 years old and I knew better. 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:14.800 align:middle line:84% Hazel was a medicine woman, which 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:16.540 align:middle line:84% meant that people were likely to show up 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:19.540 align:middle line:84% at any hour of the day or night with a sick relative 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:22.840 align:middle line:84% or an injured animal asking for her help. 00:05:22.840 --> 00:05:25.060 align:middle line:84% I thought sure that's what the tapping was. 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:28.480 align:middle line:84% It was early, the sun barely up, and I 00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:30.280 align:middle line:84% knew Hazel would be down milking the cow, 00:05:30.280 --> 00:05:33.160 align:middle line:84% but I could open the door and make a welcome. 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:34.990 align:middle line:84% I leaped out of the heavy comforters 00:05:34.990 --> 00:05:37.540 align:middle line:84% into the crispness of the spring morning, ran to the door, 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:40.720 align:middle line:84% and there stood not a person but a white turkey. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.520 align:middle line:84% Cocking its head from side to side, 00:05:42.520 --> 00:05:45.430 align:middle line:84% and darting its beak at the cats that dared annoy it, 00:05:45.430 --> 00:05:47.440 align:middle line:90% and pecking at the door. 00:05:47.440 --> 00:05:52.450 align:middle line:84% I had heard that people brought their children colored chicks 00:05:52.450 --> 00:05:54.790 align:middle line:84% for Easter, but Hazel would never 00:05:54.790 --> 00:05:57.610 align:middle line:84% stoop to such foolishness, not when our own hens hatched 00:05:57.610 --> 00:06:01.330 align:middle line:84% out perfectly lovely yellow babies every spring. 00:06:01.330 --> 00:06:03.730 align:middle line:84% Nor was there likely to be a basket of candy eggs hidden 00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:07.000 align:middle line:84% in the flower bin for me, and certainly she 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:10.330 align:middle line:84% would not have gotten me a turkey for Easter. 00:06:10.330 --> 00:06:11.800 align:middle line:84% Hazel almost dropped the milk pail 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:13.060 align:middle line:84% she was carrying up from the shed 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:15.643 align:middle line:84% where the cow stood outside the battered wooden door, placidly 00:06:15.643 --> 00:06:16.795 align:middle line:90% chewing her cud. 00:06:16.795 --> 00:06:19.360 align:middle line:84% "What's this?" she said to me, and then to the turkey, 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:21.970 align:middle line:90% "And where did you come from?" 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:24.880 align:middle line:84% The turkey trotted over to her, sure the pails contained grain, 00:06:24.880 --> 00:06:27.790 align:middle line:84% but Hazel pushed the turkey away with a rubber-booted foot. 00:06:27.790 --> 00:06:29.830 align:middle line:84% It danced sideways, pecking at her boot. 00:06:29.830 --> 00:06:32.230 align:middle line:84% "Hm," she said, with her brows lowered at me, 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:34.690 align:middle line:84% standing there shivering in my skivvies. 00:06:34.690 --> 00:06:37.300 align:middle line:90% "Is this your doing, Stella? 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:38.065 align:middle line:90% I shook my head. 00:06:38.065 --> 00:06:39.280 align:middle line:90% "Strange timing. 00:06:39.280 --> 00:06:42.295 align:middle line:84% It's months and months until Thanksgiving," 00:06:42.295 --> 00:06:43.670 align:middle line:84% Hazel said as she opened the door 00:06:43.670 --> 00:06:45.970 align:middle line:84% and deposited the pan of milk on the table. 00:06:45.970 --> 00:06:47.620 align:middle line:84% Outside, the cats clawed at the screen, 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:50.740 align:middle line:84% yowling, demanding their share of the fresh steaming milk. 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:53.320 align:middle line:84% The white turkey pecked the cats and pecked the screen. 00:06:53.320 --> 00:06:55.997 align:middle line:84% "Grandma," I started, but no sooner was 00:06:55.997 --> 00:06:57.580 align:middle line:84% the word out of my mouth than her hand 00:06:57.580 --> 00:06:59.788 align:middle line:84% shot out and slapped me across the mouth, hard enough 00:06:59.788 --> 00:07:01.000 align:middle line:90% to sting. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:03.460 align:middle line:84% "The name is Hazel," she said, "Even though I 00:07:03.460 --> 00:07:06.100 align:middle line:90% am a grandmother, yours." 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:09.040 align:middle line:84% I did know better, but the appearance of the turkey 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:11.720 align:middle line:84% had addled my brain, made me want some comfort, 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.680 align:middle line:84% even if only naming her as my grandmother. 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:16.960 align:middle line:84% Quickly, she pulled me to her cow-sweat-smelling shirt 00:07:16.960 --> 00:07:19.075 align:middle line:84% and hugged me so tight I could barely breathe. 00:07:19.075 --> 00:07:21.640 align:middle line:84% "I love you more than life, little one," she said, 00:07:21.640 --> 00:07:24.460 align:middle line:84% "but I don't like to be reminded of things." 00:07:24.460 --> 00:07:27.040 align:middle line:84% She held me a moment more, then pushed me towards the door. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:28.510 align:middle line:84% "Go get some oats for that turkey. 00:07:28.510 --> 00:07:31.210 align:middle line:84% No, wait, you better get yourself dressed first." 00:07:31.210 --> 00:07:33.700 align:middle line:84% I ran back to the bedroom and pulled on the knees-out jeans 00:07:33.700 --> 00:07:35.560 align:middle line:84% I had shed on the floor the night before, 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:38.130 align:middle line:84% stomped my feet sockless into my old worn boots 00:07:38.130 --> 00:07:40.630 align:middle line:84% while pulling on an old blue checkered shirt of Hazel's that 00:07:40.630 --> 00:07:42.635 align:middle line:90% hung on me like a sack. 00:07:42.635 --> 00:07:45.010 align:middle line:84% She was putting together the parts of the cream separator 00:07:45.010 --> 00:07:47.510 align:middle line:84% when I came back to the kitchen, glancing through the screen 00:07:47.510 --> 00:07:48.670 align:middle line:90% from time to time. 00:07:48.670 --> 00:07:49.675 align:middle line:90% I hesitated. 00:07:49.675 --> 00:07:51.865 align:middle line:90% "Hazel, is it special?" 00:07:51.865 --> 00:07:54.080 align:middle line:90% "Is what special?" 00:07:54.080 --> 00:07:55.180 align:middle line:90% "The turkey. 00:07:55.180 --> 00:07:56.440 align:middle line:90% It's white. 00:07:56.440 --> 00:07:58.480 align:middle line:84% I've never seen a white turkey before, 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:00.520 align:middle line:90% does that make it special? 00:08:00.520 --> 00:08:03.257 align:middle line:90% And it came on Easter Sunday." 00:08:03.257 --> 00:08:04.840 align:middle line:84% She was just sitting down on the bench 00:08:04.840 --> 00:08:07.790 align:middle line:84% with the cream separator mounted on it, ready to turn the crank. 00:08:07.790 --> 00:08:09.790 align:middle line:84% The corners of her mouth turned up in amusement. 00:08:09.790 --> 00:08:12.640 align:middle line:90% "You mean some spiritual being?" 00:08:12.640 --> 00:08:14.590 align:middle line:84% I nodded doubtfully, fiddling with a button 00:08:14.590 --> 00:08:15.460 align:middle line:90% on the baggy shirt. 00:08:15.460 --> 00:08:16.727 align:middle line:90% "Don't be silly. 00:08:16.727 --> 00:08:18.310 align:middle line:84% It's just a turkey it probably escaped 00:08:18.310 --> 00:08:19.977 align:middle line:84% from a truck went through on the highway 00:08:19.977 --> 00:08:22.540 align:middle line:84% or wandered off from somebody's place around here." 00:08:22.540 --> 00:08:25.060 align:middle line:84% "But I never heard of anybody around here raising turkeys." 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:27.310 align:middle line:84% "Doesn't mean somebody hasn't got a flock recently," 00:08:27.310 --> 00:08:30.005 align:middle line:84% she said, putting a steel bowl on top of the separator 00:08:30.005 --> 00:08:32.380 align:middle line:84% and laying the clean filter cloth over at the top of that 00:08:32.380 --> 00:08:34.980 align:middle line:84% and fastening it all with clean clothespins. 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:37.658 align:middle line:90% "And it's white," I said. 00:08:37.658 --> 00:08:39.950 align:middle line:84% "Aren't turkeys always brown or black, like the ones we 00:08:39.950 --> 00:08:41.960 align:middle line:90% color at school at Thanksgiving? 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:42.890 align:middle line:90% She shook her head. 00:08:42.890 --> 00:08:45.375 align:middle line:84% "No, dear, these days turkey farmers breed for white ones. 00:08:45.375 --> 00:08:47.000 align:middle line:84% They're easier to clean for the market. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:48.860 align:middle line:90% Not so many pinfeathers." 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:49.580 align:middle line:90% Pinfeathers. 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:50.600 align:middle line:90% I knew about those. 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:52.070 align:middle line:84% Little feathers just emerging that 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:53.737 align:middle line:84% had to be picked out of the chicken skin 00:08:53.737 --> 00:08:54.710 align:middle line:90% when we dressed them. 00:08:54.710 --> 00:08:57.470 align:middle line:84% A tedious job, but not so nasty as having to kill the chickens, 00:08:57.470 --> 00:08:59.300 align:middle line:84% and pull out the guts, saving back 00:08:59.300 --> 00:09:01.208 align:middle line:84% the liver and the gizzard and the heart. 00:09:01.208 --> 00:09:02.750 align:middle line:84% I heard the slow hum of the separator 00:09:02.750 --> 00:09:06.258 align:middle line:84% as Hazel started turning the crank. 00:09:06.258 --> 00:09:08.050 align:middle line:84% The turkey picked at the oats I had put out 00:09:08.050 --> 00:09:09.640 align:middle line:90% for it as if it was starving. 00:09:09.640 --> 00:09:10.960 align:middle line:90% It was a real creature, then. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:14.680 align:middle line:84% It had to eat, couldn't live off air. 00:09:14.680 --> 00:09:16.583 align:middle line:84% The chickens that we kept had dusty feathers 00:09:16.583 --> 00:09:18.250 align:middle line:84% in spite of constant pruning and pecking 00:09:18.250 --> 00:09:21.850 align:middle line:84% to rid themselves of mites, and there were always traces 00:09:21.850 --> 00:09:23.560 align:middle line:90% of manure on their butts. 00:09:23.560 --> 00:09:26.590 align:middle line:84% This turkey looked as if it had been bathed in bleach water 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:28.180 align:middle line:90% and polished with car wax. 00:09:28.180 --> 00:09:30.118 align:middle line:90% It gleamed. 00:09:30.118 --> 00:09:32.410 align:middle line:84% When it had finished all the oats I had scoured for it, 00:09:32.410 --> 00:09:35.080 align:middle line:84% it strolled off as if taking a tour the place. 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:37.220 align:middle line:84% I followed it, half expecting it to speak to me. 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:40.930 align:middle line:84% But of course, it only uttered the usual turkey nonsense. 00:09:40.930 --> 00:09:42.770 align:middle line:84% I thought that perhaps I had not the wisdom 00:09:42.770 --> 00:09:45.940 align:middle line:84% to understand whatever message it had. 00:09:45.940 --> 00:09:49.120 align:middle line:84% Maybe the message was not for me at all. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.090 align:middle line:84% At the chicken house, it stopped and looked inside, strolled in 00:09:52.090 --> 00:09:54.590 align:middle line:84% and promptly appropriated the end roost, 00:09:54.590 --> 00:09:57.190 align:middle line:84% the one that the black rooster had claimed as his territory. 00:09:57.190 --> 00:09:59.800 align:middle line:84% He did not object, but only gave a little dip of his head 00:09:59.800 --> 00:10:01.270 align:middle line:90% as he moved aside. 00:10:01.270 --> 00:10:03.220 align:middle line:84% In spite of Hazel's words, I believe 00:10:03.220 --> 00:10:05.590 align:middle line:84% that turkey was sent for a purpose, 00:10:05.590 --> 00:10:08.530 align:middle line:84% or was a spirit that had sent itself. 00:10:08.530 --> 00:10:10.477 align:middle line:84% School still had some weeks to run 00:10:10.477 --> 00:10:13.060 align:middle line:84% and I was glad, because all the students in the country school 00:10:13.060 --> 00:10:14.685 align:middle line:84% lived so far apart that we didn't often 00:10:14.685 --> 00:10:16.600 align:middle line:90% see each other in the summer. 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:21.310 align:middle line:84% I wanted to share my story of the white turkey, 00:10:21.310 --> 00:10:24.010 align:middle line:84% but when I breathlessly told the Morris sisters and Avril 00:10:24.010 --> 00:10:25.845 align:middle line:90% Lately, they only stared at me. 00:10:25.845 --> 00:10:27.220 align:middle line:84% Finally, Teensy Morris said, "Oh, 00:10:27.220 --> 00:10:29.165 align:middle line:84% you're just making up stories again." 00:10:29.165 --> 00:10:30.310 align:middle line:90% "I'm not! 00:10:30.310 --> 00:10:31.180 align:middle line:90% It's true! 00:10:31.180 --> 00:10:33.640 align:middle line:84% It's big and it's white and it's a turkey." 00:10:33.640 --> 00:10:35.200 align:middle line:90% Avril gave a snort of disgust. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:36.820 align:middle line:90% "Turkeys don't come in white. 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:38.140 align:middle line:90% Everyone knows that." 00:10:38.140 --> 00:10:40.450 align:middle line:84% "Yes, they do," I said, my hands on my hips 00:10:40.450 --> 00:10:42.473 align:middle line:84% ready to slap them into believing me. 00:10:42.473 --> 00:10:44.890 align:middle line:84% "Hazel said that farmers raised white ones because they're 00:10:44.890 --> 00:10:45.670 align:middle line:90% easier to clean. 00:10:45.670 --> 00:10:47.320 align:middle line:90% You don't know everything." 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:49.645 align:middle line:84% So it was that Teensy and Melva Morris and Avril 00:10:49.645 --> 00:10:51.410 align:middle line:84% Lately walked home from school with me, 00:10:51.410 --> 00:10:53.410 align:middle line:84% even though it was a mile in the wrong direction 00:10:53.410 --> 00:10:55.420 align:middle line:84% from their homes, to see the white turkey. 00:10:55.420 --> 00:10:58.480 align:middle line:84% And there it was, perched on the edge of the horse tank, 00:10:58.480 --> 00:10:59.500 align:middle line:90% getting a drink. 00:10:59.500 --> 00:11:01.060 align:middle line:90% I ran toward it in panic. 00:11:01.060 --> 00:11:03.250 align:middle line:90% What if it fell in and drowned? 00:11:03.250 --> 00:11:05.590 align:middle line:84% It happened to a chicken every now and then. 00:11:05.590 --> 00:11:07.090 align:middle line:84% As I reached out to grab the turkey, 00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:08.950 align:middle line:84% I slipped in the muddy overflow from the tank 00:11:08.950 --> 00:11:10.867 align:middle line:84% and sprawled on my back, knocking the wind out 00:11:10.867 --> 00:11:11.830 align:middle line:90% of myself. 00:11:11.830 --> 00:11:13.610 align:middle line:84% As I lay there panting for breath, 00:11:13.610 --> 00:11:15.610 align:middle line:84% the turkey jumped down, squished through the mud 00:11:15.610 --> 00:11:17.443 align:middle line:84% and stood by my face, where it bent its head 00:11:17.443 --> 00:11:19.827 align:middle line:90% to look at my eyes. 00:11:19.827 --> 00:11:21.910 align:middle line:84% For one moment I thought it would peck my eyes out 00:11:21.910 --> 00:11:23.743 align:middle line:84% for foolishly trying to grab it, but it only 00:11:23.743 --> 00:11:26.200 align:middle line:84% made a garbled cluck, cocked its head at one side, 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.720 align:middle line:84% pecked at something in the mud beside my ear. 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:30.287 align:middle line:90% I sat up. 00:11:30.287 --> 00:11:32.620 align:middle line:84% The Morris sisters and Avril stood staring at the turkey 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:33.190 align:middle line:90% and at me. 00:11:33.190 --> 00:11:36.295 align:middle line:84% "See," I gasped out, "I told you we had a white turkey." 00:11:36.295 --> 00:11:38.980 align:middle line:84% "Wow," said Avril, and then, "Where did it come from?" 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:41.612 align:middle line:90% "Is it-- is it wakan?" 00:11:41.612 --> 00:11:43.910 align:middle line:84% Teensy asked in a soft, low voice. 00:11:43.910 --> 00:11:44.410 align:middle line:90% There. 00:11:44.410 --> 00:11:46.390 align:middle line:84% That was the word I've been searching for. 00:11:46.390 --> 00:11:50.050 align:middle line:84% "Yes," I said, trying to look dignified and deserving 00:11:50.050 --> 00:11:52.780 align:middle line:84% of a sacred white turkey standing there 00:11:52.780 --> 00:11:54.250 align:middle line:90% in my muddy clothes. 00:11:54.250 --> 00:11:56.753 align:middle line:84% "Stella," my grandmother's voice came 00:11:56.753 --> 00:11:58.420 align:middle line:84% ominously from behind the kitchen screen 00:11:58.420 --> 00:12:00.920 align:middle line:84% door, where I could barely see her for the glare of the sun. 00:12:00.920 --> 00:12:02.740 align:middle line:84% I'd been caught out running my mouth. 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:03.708 align:middle line:90% Again. 00:12:03.708 --> 00:12:05.500 align:middle line:84% Hazel opened the screen door and walked out 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:08.020 align:middle line:84% onto the stone step, a dish towel in her hand. 00:12:08.020 --> 00:12:10.720 align:middle line:84% Her dark, gray shot hair gleamed in the setting sun, 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:13.420 align:middle line:84% illuminating her tall, slender figure held 00:12:13.420 --> 00:12:15.820 align:middle line:84% erect in that posture I knew meant 00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:17.695 align:middle line:90% she was less than happy with me. 00:12:17.695 --> 00:12:19.570 align:middle line:84% "Stella, don't be filling people's heads 00:12:19.570 --> 00:12:20.890 align:middle line:90% full of nonsense." 00:12:20.890 --> 00:12:23.140 align:middle line:84% She sat down on the step, dish towel in her hand. 00:12:23.140 --> 00:12:26.050 align:middle line:84% "Come here," she said, patting either side of her. 00:12:26.050 --> 00:12:28.265 align:middle line:84% The Morris sisters and Avril went reluctantly, 00:12:28.265 --> 00:12:29.890 align:middle line:84% Avril standing in front of her but well 00:12:29.890 --> 00:12:32.980 align:middle line:84% out of her reach, Teensy and Melva gingerly 00:12:32.980 --> 00:12:35.500 align:middle line:90% sitting as if the step was hot. 00:12:35.500 --> 00:12:39.160 align:middle line:84% Hazel had a reputation, one I think she liked to perpetrate. 00:12:39.160 --> 00:12:40.820 align:middle line:90% She was a healer and a good one. 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:42.940 align:middle line:84% Sometimes her cures were so immediate, so 00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:45.640 align:middle line:90% long-lasting that people talked. 00:12:45.640 --> 00:12:47.140 align:middle line:84% They said that anyone that effective 00:12:47.140 --> 00:12:50.117 align:middle line:84% had to be in touch with more than just the good spirits. 00:12:50.117 --> 00:12:51.700 align:middle line:84% It didn't help that Hazel still looked 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:54.010 align:middle line:84% young in her mid-forties, still beautiful, 00:12:54.010 --> 00:12:57.190 align:middle line:84% still turned the heads of men, including the heads of those 00:12:57.190 --> 00:12:58.360 align:middle line:90% who gossiped. 00:12:58.360 --> 00:12:59.860 align:middle line:84% The biggest talker of all was not 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:03.700 align:middle line:84% a woman but a man, George Wanbli, a big-voiced medicine 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:05.320 align:middle line:90% man from up on Potato Creek. 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:07.900 align:middle line:84% He scoffed at everything good said about Hazel. 00:13:07.900 --> 00:13:10.810 align:middle line:84% He was jealous of her, I know now. 00:13:10.810 --> 00:13:13.540 align:middle line:84% Medicine men don't charge for their services, exactly, 00:13:13.540 --> 00:13:16.510 align:middle line:84% but it is traditional of people seeking their help 00:13:16.510 --> 00:13:19.090 align:middle line:84% to bring a gift along with the request for help. 00:13:19.090 --> 00:13:21.250 align:middle line:84% Sometimes they bring money, but usually the gift 00:13:21.250 --> 00:13:23.260 align:middle line:90% is something more tangible. 00:13:23.260 --> 00:13:25.360 align:middle line:84% Always an offering of tobacco, but also 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:30.340 align:middle line:84% coffee, sugar, a case of soda or two, or something like that. 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:33.130 align:middle line:84% Medicine people are supposed to go into the profession 00:13:33.130 --> 00:13:35.410 align:middle line:84% because they feel called to help others, 00:13:35.410 --> 00:13:38.170 align:middle line:84% because they have a connection with the spirit world, 00:13:38.170 --> 00:13:40.720 align:middle line:84% not because of what presents in money or goods 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:43.120 align:middle line:90% they can extract from people. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.040 align:middle line:84% I don't know any rich medicine people, 00:13:45.040 --> 00:13:47.110 align:middle line:90% but some have more than others. 00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:48.862 align:middle line:84% George Wanbli had an active practice 00:13:48.862 --> 00:13:51.195 align:middle line:84% with more people coming to see him than any other wicasa 00:13:51.195 --> 00:13:52.810 align:middle line:90% wakan on the rez. 00:13:52.810 --> 00:13:57.010 align:middle line:84% But he was a jealous man who didn't like-- 00:13:57.010 --> 00:13:59.720 align:middle line:84% who didn't want to be shown up by any other medicine person, 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:01.090 align:middle line:90% and especially not Hazel. 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:04.330 align:middle line:84% She was a woman, for one thing, and women wikasa wakan 00:14:04.330 --> 00:14:06.540 align:middle line:90% were not usual among us Dakota. 00:14:06.540 --> 00:14:08.790 align:middle line:84% Besides that, Hazel was gaining a reputation that 00:14:08.790 --> 00:14:10.620 align:middle line:90% makes George feel threatened. 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:13.230 align:middle line:84% Medicine people may have better contacts with the spirits, 00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:15.720 align:middle line:84% but they aren't always necessarily wise people 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:17.460 align:middle line:90% or even kind. 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:19.950 align:middle line:90% "Stella, you too," Hazel said. 00:14:19.950 --> 00:14:22.830 align:middle line:84% I walked over beside her just as reluctantly as the other kids, 00:14:22.830 --> 00:14:25.020 align:middle line:84% but not because I was afraid of Hazel's powers. 00:14:25.020 --> 00:14:27.390 align:middle line:84% Not spiritual ones, anyway but the power of her right 00:14:27.390 --> 00:14:30.140 align:middle line:90% hand to swat me for showing out. 00:14:30.140 --> 00:14:31.620 align:middle line:90% "Listen to me," Hazel said. 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:33.420 align:middle line:90% "That turkey is just a bird. 00:14:33.420 --> 00:14:35.170 align:middle line:90% It is not wakan. 00:14:35.170 --> 00:14:37.830 align:middle line:84% An eagle may be holy, or a certain place on the Earth 00:14:37.830 --> 00:14:39.660 align:middle line:84% where a wonderful thing happened." 00:14:39.660 --> 00:14:42.280 align:middle line:84% She nodded toward the turkey, now pecking small stones 00:14:42.280 --> 00:14:42.990 align:middle line:90% from the ground. 00:14:42.990 --> 00:14:44.010 align:middle line:90% "Look at it. 00:14:44.010 --> 00:14:46.980 align:middle line:84% It's a bird, a domesticated one at that. 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:48.630 align:middle line:90% Turkeys are stupid birds. 00:14:48.630 --> 00:14:50.310 align:middle line:84% They say that in a rainstorm, turkeys 00:14:50.310 --> 00:14:52.320 align:middle line:84% will drown because they don't have sense enough 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:54.320 align:middle line:84% to keep their heads down so water doesn't run up 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:54.868 align:middle line:90% their noses. 00:14:54.868 --> 00:14:56.910 align:middle line:84% That's probably not true, but they can't be smart 00:14:56.910 --> 00:14:57.870 align:middle line:84% or they wouldn't have gotten lulled 00:14:57.870 --> 00:14:59.625 align:middle line:84% into eating what people give them, 00:14:59.625 --> 00:15:01.000 align:middle line:84% sticking around until they're fat 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.310 align:middle line:84% and we chop their heads off and eat them 00:15:02.310 --> 00:15:03.510 align:middle line:90% for Thanksgiving dinner. 00:15:03.510 --> 00:15:05.460 align:middle line:90% See?" 00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:08.040 align:middle line:84% Avril nodded, but his eyes kept returning to the turkey. 00:15:08.040 --> 00:15:08.880 align:middle line:90% "See? 00:15:08.880 --> 00:15:10.290 align:middle line:90% You hear what I say?" 00:15:10.290 --> 00:15:12.420 align:middle line:84% Hazel looked from one Morris sister to the other. 00:15:12.420 --> 00:15:14.010 align:middle line:84% They nodded their heads vigorously. 00:15:14.010 --> 00:15:15.927 align:middle line:84% Hazel put her hands on the back of their necks 00:15:15.927 --> 00:15:18.900 align:middle line:84% and pulled them up as she said, "It's just a turkey. 00:15:18.900 --> 00:15:19.980 align:middle line:90% Now go home. 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.302 align:middle line:84% Your mamas will be wondering why you're so late." 00:15:22.302 --> 00:15:23.760 align:middle line:84% She stood there, looking after them 00:15:23.760 --> 00:15:25.677 align:middle line:84% as they walked back up the lane from our house 00:15:25.677 --> 00:15:28.080 align:middle line:84% heading home, lunch pails bumping against their thighs. 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:28.980 align:middle line:90% "Bye!" 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:31.890 align:middle line:84% I yelled after them, but only Melva had nerve enough 00:15:31.890 --> 00:15:33.585 align:middle line:90% to give me a waggle of her hand. 00:15:33.585 --> 00:15:35.220 align:middle line:90% "Stella." 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:36.570 align:middle line:90% I didn't want to look up. 00:15:36.570 --> 00:15:39.510 align:middle line:84% "You can't be starting rumors about a dumb barnyard animal 00:15:39.510 --> 00:15:40.560 align:middle line:90% being a holy creature. 00:15:40.560 --> 00:15:41.280 align:middle line:90% It's not. 00:15:41.280 --> 00:15:42.390 align:middle line:90% You know that." 00:15:42.390 --> 00:15:43.720 align:middle line:90% I didn't know any such a thing. 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:45.095 align:middle line:84% But I couldn't say that to Hazel, 00:15:45.095 --> 00:15:46.410 align:middle line:90% so I didn't say anything. 00:15:46.410 --> 00:15:48.390 align:middle line:84% "We'll have half the countryside out here 00:15:48.390 --> 00:15:51.420 align:middle line:84% to see this damn turkey if rumors get started." 00:15:51.420 --> 00:15:52.590 align:middle line:90% "I didn't start any rumors!" 00:15:52.590 --> 00:15:53.220 align:middle line:90% I protested. 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:55.282 align:middle line:84% "Teensy is the one who said it was wakan!" 00:15:55.282 --> 00:15:57.240 align:middle line:84% "Then you should have told her it wasn't wakan. 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:59.490 align:middle line:84% If it happens again, you know what to say?" 00:15:59.490 --> 00:16:00.450 align:middle line:90% "Yes, Hazel. 00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:01.550 align:middle line:90% It's just a turkey. 00:16:01.550 --> 00:16:02.880 align:middle line:90% A dumb, domesticated bird." 00:16:02.880 --> 00:16:04.590 align:middle line:90% "Right." 00:16:04.590 --> 00:16:08.760 align:middle line:84% Half the countryside started showing up that very night. 00:16:08.760 --> 00:16:11.340 align:middle line:84% After supper, a car drove into the yard and more than half 00:16:11.340 --> 00:16:13.320 align:middle line:90% a dozen people stepped out. 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:15.000 align:middle line:84% Avril's parents, his grandmother who 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.670 align:middle line:84% lived with them, his three younger brothers, and older 00:16:17.670 --> 00:16:20.227 align:middle line:84% sister Nancy, who always tormented me 00:16:20.227 --> 00:16:22.560 align:middle line:84% in school before she graduated and went onto high school 00:16:22.560 --> 00:16:23.470 align:middle line:90% this year. 00:16:23.470 --> 00:16:25.635 align:middle line:84% Mrs. Lately had her arms full of bags. 00:16:25.635 --> 00:16:28.500 align:middle line:84% "I brought some clothes of Nancy's that she's outgrown," 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:31.277 align:middle line:84% Mrs. Lately said as Hazel came out to greet them. 00:16:31.277 --> 00:16:33.360 align:middle line:84% "I thought Stella might get some good out of them. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:35.640 align:middle line:84% I hate to throw out anything good." 00:16:35.640 --> 00:16:38.400 align:middle line:84% Hazel took the bags with a smile and a thank you, 00:16:38.400 --> 00:16:41.400 align:middle line:84% but I knew I would never wear any of those clothes. 00:16:41.400 --> 00:16:44.640 align:middle line:84% Hazel said that Clara Lately let Nancy dress like a hooker, 00:16:44.640 --> 00:16:47.155 align:middle line:84% and one of her skirts wouldn't make a good size dishrag. 00:16:47.155 --> 00:16:48.963 align:middle line:90% "Come in," Hazel said. 00:16:48.963 --> 00:16:50.880 align:middle line:84% "I've got coffee on the stove and half a batch 00:16:50.880 --> 00:16:52.290 align:middle line:90% of cream puffs." 00:16:52.290 --> 00:16:54.060 align:middle line:90% I wished Hazel hadn't said that. 00:16:54.060 --> 00:16:57.330 align:middle line:84% I love cream puffs, but Hazel didn't make them very often. 00:16:57.330 --> 00:16:59.430 align:middle line:84% She saved every ounce of cream to sell in town 00:16:59.430 --> 00:17:01.090 align:middle line:84% to pay for coffee and sugar and flour 00:17:01.090 --> 00:17:03.442 align:middle line:84% and occasional package of hamburger. 00:17:03.442 --> 00:17:04.859 align:middle line:84% I knew there wouldn't be any cream 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:07.800 align:middle line:84% puff left after Hazel-- after Clara Lately and her family 00:17:07.800 --> 00:17:08.579 align:middle line:90% left. 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:10.829 align:middle line:84% Clara was the joke of every gathering, funeral, 00:17:10.829 --> 00:17:12.690 align:middle line:90% wedding ceremony, or whatever. 00:17:12.690 --> 00:17:14.849 align:middle line:84% People said she always left with a donut stuck 00:17:14.849 --> 00:17:17.859 align:middle line:84% on every one of her fingers, and it wasn't far from the truth. 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:19.349 align:middle line:84% She would displace a lot of water 00:17:19.349 --> 00:17:22.060 align:middle line:84% if she could be fully submerged, a concept I 00:17:22.060 --> 00:17:24.486 align:middle line:90% had just learned in school. 00:17:24.486 --> 00:17:26.349 align:middle line:90% "Let's go see the turkey!" 00:17:26.349 --> 00:17:27.180 align:middle line:90% Avril whispered. 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:27.980 align:middle line:90% "Yeah, let's!" 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:29.610 align:middle line:84% His youngest brother, Lester, insisted. 00:17:29.610 --> 00:17:32.130 align:middle line:90% "I don't know," I said. 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:34.445 align:middle line:84% "Hazel's mad at me about showing off the turkey." 00:17:34.445 --> 00:17:36.570 align:middle line:84% I turned and went to the house behind their father, 00:17:36.570 --> 00:17:38.350 align:middle line:84% Ed, a skinny little man who looked like he 00:17:38.350 --> 00:17:40.060 align:middle line:90% didn't get enough to eat. 00:17:40.060 --> 00:17:42.060 align:middle line:84% They sat at the table while Clara Lately removed 00:17:42.060 --> 00:17:44.185 align:middle line:84% every piece of clothing from the bags one at a time 00:17:44.185 --> 00:17:45.390 align:middle line:90% and held them up to me. 00:17:45.390 --> 00:17:47.880 align:middle line:84% I was six inches shorter than Nancy Lately. 00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:49.830 align:middle line:84% Most of the pieces had seen better days, 00:17:49.830 --> 00:17:52.500 align:middle line:84% with frayed hems and stains from who knows what. 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:56.290 align:middle line:84% One white sundress had grass stains on the back. 00:17:56.290 --> 00:17:58.853 align:middle line:84% Grandmother Lately fingered the fabric of the various items 00:17:58.853 --> 00:18:01.020 align:middle line:84% and remarked that they would have made good material 00:18:01.020 --> 00:18:03.248 align:middle line:90% for the quilt she was making. 00:18:03.248 --> 00:18:05.040 align:middle line:84% I was tired of the Latelys long before they 00:18:05.040 --> 00:18:06.150 align:middle line:90% were ready to go home. 00:18:06.150 --> 00:18:08.310 align:middle line:84% They lingered over a cup after cup of coffee, 00:18:08.310 --> 00:18:09.935 align:middle line:84% and just one more of those cream puffs. 00:18:09.935 --> 00:18:11.702 align:middle line:90% "You're such a good baker." 00:18:11.702 --> 00:18:14.160 align:middle line:84% Finally, even Clara couldn't think of another thing to say, 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:15.615 align:middle line:90% so she just came out with it. 00:18:15.615 --> 00:18:17.700 align:middle line:90% "Avril says you've got a turkey. 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:19.740 align:middle line:90% A white turkey." 00:18:19.740 --> 00:18:24.000 align:middle line:84% Hazel shot me a look from her black eyes that said "You!" 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:25.290 align:middle line:90% I changed my mind. 00:18:25.290 --> 00:18:27.750 align:middle line:84% The longer the Latelys stay, the more time Hazel 00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:30.700 align:middle line:84% had to get over being mad at me for telling about the turkey. 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:33.423 align:middle line:84% "We had one wander in here on Sunday morning," she said. 00:18:33.423 --> 00:18:35.340 align:middle line:84% "I'm going to put an ad in the paper about it. 00:18:35.340 --> 00:18:36.900 align:middle line:84% It belongs to someone, that's sure. 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:38.827 align:middle line:90% It's been well-fed. 00:18:38.827 --> 00:18:41.160 align:middle line:84% Clara licked the spot of cream off the back of her hand. 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.560 align:middle line:84% "We've never seen a live turkey before," Clara said. 00:18:43.560 --> 00:18:45.390 align:middle line:84% "I can't imagine a white turkey." 00:18:45.390 --> 00:18:46.140 align:middle line:90% Hazel shrugged. 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:49.080 align:middle line:84% "It's just an ordinary turkey, except it's white." 00:18:49.080 --> 00:18:51.210 align:middle line:84% "Grandma," Clara said, poking the old lady awake. 00:18:51.210 --> 00:18:54.390 align:middle line:84% "Grandma, have you ever seen a turkey before?" 00:18:54.390 --> 00:18:56.250 align:middle line:84% The old lady's milky cataract eyes 00:18:56.250 --> 00:18:57.810 align:middle line:84% stared at the corner of the ceiling. 00:18:57.810 --> 00:18:58.365 align:middle line:90% "No. 00:18:58.365 --> 00:19:00.360 align:middle line:90% I can't recall ever seeing one. 00:19:00.360 --> 00:19:01.800 align:middle line:90% A live one, that is. 00:19:01.800 --> 00:19:03.750 align:middle line:90% But I've cooked many more. 00:19:03.750 --> 00:19:05.490 align:middle line:90% Did I tell you about--" 00:19:05.490 --> 00:19:06.780 align:middle line:90% Clara smoothly interrupted. 00:19:06.780 --> 00:19:10.170 align:middle line:84% "It would really be nice if we could see a real live turkey," 00:19:10.170 --> 00:19:10.840 align:middle line:90% Clara said. 00:19:10.840 --> 00:19:13.620 align:middle line:84% "She's not getting any younger, you know." 00:19:13.620 --> 00:19:15.630 align:middle line:84% I wondered how she could see the turkey anyway, 00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:18.120 align:middle line:84% with her eyes half-blinded with cataracts. 00:19:18.120 --> 00:19:20.080 align:middle line:90% "Avril saw the turkey!" 00:19:20.080 --> 00:19:22.050 align:middle line:84% Avril's next-youngest brother, Melvin, 00:19:22.050 --> 00:19:24.690 align:middle line:84% spoke up now from his position beside his grandmother, 00:19:24.690 --> 00:19:26.340 align:middle line:84% where he had been silently pinching off 00:19:26.340 --> 00:19:29.730 align:middle line:84% bites of the last cream puff, which she had in front of her 00:19:29.730 --> 00:19:32.790 align:middle line:84% but couldn't seem to find with her gnarled, arthritic hands. 00:19:32.790 --> 00:19:34.450 align:middle line:84% "It's just a turkey," Hazel said. 00:19:34.450 --> 00:19:35.520 align:middle line:90% "A dumb animal." 00:19:35.520 --> 00:19:37.190 align:middle line:84% The way she was looking at Clara, 00:19:37.190 --> 00:19:40.140 align:middle line:84% I wondered who she thought was the dumb animal. 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:41.670 align:middle line:90% Mr. Lately spoke up. 00:19:41.670 --> 00:19:43.950 align:middle line:84% "Are you sure it was a turkey, Avril? 00:19:43.950 --> 00:19:46.710 align:middle line:84% It might have been a wild goose or--" 00:19:46.710 --> 00:19:48.430 align:middle line:90% "It's a turkey," Hazel said. 00:19:48.430 --> 00:19:48.930 align:middle line:90% "All right. 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:50.280 align:middle line:90% Everybody out. 00:19:50.280 --> 00:19:52.530 align:middle line:84% We're going to go see the turkey." 00:19:52.530 --> 00:19:54.750 align:middle line:84% She grabbed the flashlight from atop the refrigerator 00:19:54.750 --> 00:19:57.450 align:middle line:84% and led the way out the front door to the kitchen coop-- 00:19:57.450 --> 00:20:00.528 align:middle line:90% chicken coop. 00:20:00.528 --> 00:20:04.260 align:middle line:84% That'd be kind of cool, wouldn't it? 00:20:04.260 --> 00:20:05.550 align:middle line:90% Sorry. 00:20:05.550 --> 00:20:07.290 align:middle line:90% Sorry. 00:20:07.290 --> 00:20:09.120 align:middle line:84% Clara rushed after, leaving her husband 00:20:09.120 --> 00:20:11.580 align:middle line:84% to lead Grandma stumbling along behind as she tried 00:20:11.580 --> 00:20:13.410 align:middle line:90% to shake off Mr. Lately's hand. 00:20:13.410 --> 00:20:15.210 align:middle line:84% "I'm old and half-blind," she grumbled. 00:20:15.210 --> 00:20:17.220 align:middle line:90% "I'm not a cripple." 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:19.680 align:middle line:84% The flashlight beam bounced along the weed-bordered path 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.720 align:middle line:90% as Hazel took long strides. 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:24.120 align:middle line:84% One of the kids tripped over a sleepy cat, 00:20:24.120 --> 00:20:26.280 align:middle line:84% come to see what the fuss was about. 00:20:26.280 --> 00:20:28.770 align:middle line:84% The cat yowled and ran off into the weeds. 00:20:28.770 --> 00:20:31.260 align:middle line:84% Hazel waited until the entire Lately family clustered 00:20:31.260 --> 00:20:33.240 align:middle line:84% to the chicken coop door, and then 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:35.327 align:middle line:84% she ceremoniously pulled out the stick 00:20:35.327 --> 00:20:37.410 align:middle line:84% that went through the house to keep the door shut. 00:20:37.410 --> 00:20:38.340 align:middle line:90% "Be quiet," she said. 00:20:38.340 --> 00:20:40.170 align:middle line:90% "No use disturbing the hens." 00:20:40.170 --> 00:20:43.170 align:middle line:84% The moon was just rising over the distant hills, a fat spring 00:20:43.170 --> 00:20:46.380 align:middle line:84% moon that made the flashlight unnecessary for seeing outside 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:49.810 align:middle line:84% once your eyes got used to the semi-light. 00:20:49.810 --> 00:20:52.810 align:middle line:84% Hazel opened the door and aimed the flashlight inside the coop, 00:20:52.810 --> 00:20:55.000 align:middle line:84% motioning the Latelys one at a time to step up 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:56.290 align:middle line:90% and peek through. 00:20:56.290 --> 00:20:57.740 align:middle line:84% Avril pushed his way to the front, 00:20:57.740 --> 00:20:59.020 align:middle line:90% but Melvin jerked him back. 00:20:59.020 --> 00:20:59.800 align:middle line:90% "Not you! 00:20:59.800 --> 00:21:01.762 align:middle line:90% You already saw!" 00:21:01.762 --> 00:21:03.970 align:middle line:84% Clara pushed them both aside and leaned over slightly 00:21:03.970 --> 00:21:05.178 align:middle line:90% to peer through the low door. 00:21:05.178 --> 00:21:07.555 align:middle line:90% "I see chickens," she said. 00:21:07.555 --> 00:21:08.990 align:middle line:90% "Of course you do," Hazel said. 00:21:08.990 --> 00:21:10.510 align:middle line:90% "It's a hen house." 00:21:10.510 --> 00:21:12.220 align:middle line:90% "But where is the turkey?" 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:14.380 align:middle line:84% Clara's voice was muffled as she pushed her round 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:16.360 align:middle line:84% body through the shorter than normal door. 00:21:16.360 --> 00:21:18.460 align:middle line:84% "Look at the end roost," Hazel said. 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:21.880 align:middle line:84% "I don't see--" Clara started to say. 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:23.830 align:middle line:84% A fluttering of heavy wings that erupted 00:21:23.830 --> 00:21:26.320 align:middle line:84% during a loud sound that wasn't exactly a gobble, 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:29.540 align:middle line:84% wasn't exactly a squawk, wasn't anything human either. 00:21:29.540 --> 00:21:32.050 align:middle line:84% It came from behind them, from the fence that 00:21:32.050 --> 00:21:33.970 align:middle line:84% divided the chicken pen from the cow pen, 00:21:33.970 --> 00:21:36.550 align:middle line:84% and all the Latelys pushed forward against each other, 00:21:36.550 --> 00:21:40.150 align:middle line:84% shoving Clara to her knees in the mess on the floor 00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:41.410 align:middle line:90% of the chicken coop. 00:21:41.410 --> 00:21:42.850 align:middle line:84% I turned, and there with the moon 00:21:42.850 --> 00:21:45.520 align:middle line:84% behind its head like a halo sat the white turkey, 00:21:45.520 --> 00:21:49.240 align:middle line:84% with something around its head like a shiny crown of thorns. 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:53.260 align:middle line:84% Again came that sound, "Rrrr-ffrt." 00:21:53.260 --> 00:21:56.380 align:middle line:84% I never heard a turkey make that sound before or since, 00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:58.690 align:middle line:84% but there was no doubt it came from the turkey's beak, 00:21:58.690 --> 00:22:01.390 align:middle line:84% directly from the turkey's beak, a pronouncement on the state 00:22:01.390 --> 00:22:04.000 align:middle line:90% of affairs it observed. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.500 align:middle line:90% Old Grandma Lately saw-- 00:22:05.500 --> 00:22:07.820 align:middle line:84% well, whatever it was that a half-blind old lady 00:22:07.820 --> 00:22:09.570 align:middle line:90% could see, or thought she saw. 00:22:09.570 --> 00:22:10.150 align:middle line:90% "Wakan!" 00:22:10.150 --> 00:22:11.080 align:middle line:90% she exclaimed. 00:22:11.080 --> 00:22:11.890 align:middle line:90% "It's holy! 00:22:11.890 --> 00:22:14.455 align:middle line:84% Look, it has a halo, and a crown of thorns! 00:22:14.455 --> 00:22:18.092 align:middle line:90% And it said, repent!" 00:22:18.092 --> 00:22:20.350 align:middle line:84% It didn't sound like repent to me, sounded more 00:22:20.350 --> 00:22:23.320 align:middle line:84% like it had a piece of corn caught in its craw. 00:22:23.320 --> 00:22:24.880 align:middle line:90% "It's not wakan!" 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:25.510 align:middle line:90% Hazel yelled. 00:22:25.510 --> 00:22:28.810 align:middle line:84% "It's just a goddamn turkey, for Christ's sake!" 00:22:28.810 --> 00:22:31.203 align:middle line:84% Clara had backed out of the chicken house on all fours, 00:22:31.203 --> 00:22:33.370 align:middle line:84% looked over her shoulder, and saw the turkey perched 00:22:33.370 --> 00:22:35.770 align:middle line:84% on the fence with the halo of the moon behind it, 00:22:35.770 --> 00:22:37.570 align:middle line:84% and immediately she rose to her knees 00:22:37.570 --> 00:22:39.880 align:middle line:90% and began praying the Hail Mary. 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:42.400 align:middle line:84% But she couldn't remember the words past the first line, 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.005 align:middle line:90% so she only repeated it louder. 00:22:44.005 --> 00:22:46.210 align:middle line:90% "Hail Mary, full of-- 00:22:46.210 --> 00:22:47.200 align:middle line:90% Hail Mary, full of-- 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:49.300 align:middle line:84% Hail Mary, full of--," as she reached out 00:22:49.300 --> 00:22:52.120 align:middle line:84% and pulled the old lady down to her knees too. 00:22:52.120 --> 00:22:53.860 align:middle line:84% The rest of the family stood shocked, 00:22:53.860 --> 00:22:56.620 align:middle line:84% staring back and forth between the turkey and the kneeling 00:22:56.620 --> 00:22:57.580 align:middle line:90% woman. 00:22:57.580 --> 00:22:59.650 align:middle line:84% Then Mr. Lately hollered, "It's a sign! 00:22:59.650 --> 00:23:00.880 align:middle line:90% A sign from the spirits!" 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:02.530 align:middle line:90% and he began a prayer in Lakota. 00:23:02.530 --> 00:23:04.150 align:middle line:90% "Tukashila--" 00:23:04.150 --> 00:23:05.110 align:middle line:90% "Stop it!" 00:23:05.110 --> 00:23:07.180 align:middle line:84% Hazel yelled, and began to laying about herself 00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:09.880 align:middle line:84% with a flashlight, one blow catching Clara 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:11.710 align:middle line:84% alongside the head, after which she toppled 00:23:11.710 --> 00:23:13.690 align:middle line:90% over moaning into the weeds. 00:23:13.690 --> 00:23:15.700 align:middle line:84% Another near blow brought the turkey down 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:18.117 align:middle line:84% off the fence, where it gave a very normal turkey-sounding 00:23:18.117 --> 00:23:21.520 align:middle line:84% "gobble, gobble," and walked sedately into the chicken coop. 00:23:21.520 --> 00:23:23.887 align:middle line:84% It took half an hour to herd the hysterical Latelys back 00:23:23.887 --> 00:23:25.470 align:middle line:84% to the house and another pot of coffee 00:23:25.470 --> 00:23:28.150 align:middle line:84% and another hour of talking from Hazel before they seemed 00:23:28.150 --> 00:23:31.150 align:middle line:84% calm enough to drive safely home, 00:23:31.150 --> 00:23:33.520 align:middle line:84% Clara with a wet washcloth rested on the knot 00:23:33.520 --> 00:23:34.840 align:middle line:90% on her forehead. 00:23:34.840 --> 00:23:36.550 align:middle line:84% But Hazel was not able to convince them 00:23:36.550 --> 00:23:39.107 align:middle line:84% that they had not seen something out of the ordinary. 00:23:39.107 --> 00:23:41.690 align:middle line:84% After that, Hazel was too tired to take me to task for telling 00:23:41.690 --> 00:23:43.090 align:middle line:90% Avril about the turkey. 00:23:43.090 --> 00:23:44.390 align:middle line:90% We just went to bed. 00:23:44.390 --> 00:23:45.890 align:middle line:84% And the next morning when I went out 00:23:45.890 --> 00:23:47.800 align:middle line:84% to feed the chickens and the turkey, 00:23:47.800 --> 00:23:50.140 align:middle line:84% I saw the turkey had gotten an old piece of barbed wire 00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:53.830 align:middle line:84% wrapped around its head and neck that it couldn't get off, 00:23:53.830 --> 00:23:55.353 align:middle line:90% or maybe didn't want to get off. 00:23:55.353 --> 00:23:57.520 align:middle line:84% I pushed the turkey up in the corner of the henhouse 00:23:57.520 --> 00:23:59.937 align:middle line:84% and pulled the wire off, leaving a few little drops of red 00:23:59.937 --> 00:24:02.360 align:middle line:84% on the turkey's neck where the barbs had pierced. 00:24:02.360 --> 00:24:04.615 align:middle line:84% I showed it to Hazel, and she just shook her head. 00:24:04.615 --> 00:24:07.042 align:middle line:84% "Fools will believe anything," she said. 00:24:07.042 --> 00:24:08.500 align:middle line:84% The very next day, she went to town 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:10.583 align:middle line:84% and put an ad in the Lost, Strayed, Stolen section 00:24:10.583 --> 00:24:12.310 align:middle line:90% of the newspaper Want Ads. 00:24:12.310 --> 00:24:15.130 align:middle line:84% It read, "Strayed into Hazel Latour's place, 00:24:15.130 --> 00:24:16.420 align:middle line:90% one white turkey. 00:24:16.420 --> 00:24:18.760 align:middle line:90% Will the owner please claim it? 00:24:18.760 --> 00:24:22.420 align:middle line:84% No one did, but the ad sure stirred up conversation. 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:25.540 align:middle line:84% There were no turkey farmers within 500 miles or more, 00:24:25.540 --> 00:24:29.080 align:middle line:84% no turkey processing plants any closer than Minnesota. 00:24:29.080 --> 00:24:31.355 align:middle line:84% Highway 20 ran along just south of the state line, 00:24:31.355 --> 00:24:32.980 align:middle line:84% but it wasn't the main route for trucks 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:36.588 align:middle line:84% to take when transporting turkeys to the slaughterhouse. 00:24:36.588 --> 00:24:38.380 align:middle line:84% The railroad tracks paralleled the highway, 00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:40.150 align:middle line:84% but the trains didn't transport poultry 00:24:40.150 --> 00:24:42.460 align:middle line:84% either or not that anybody could swear to. 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:43.990 align:middle line:84% Speculation said that maybe a truck 00:24:43.990 --> 00:24:45.573 align:middle line:84% had gotten off the main route and come 00:24:45.573 --> 00:24:47.620 align:middle line:84% through on the highway, maybe the turkey escaped 00:24:47.620 --> 00:24:49.245 align:middle line:90% from a cage that way. 00:24:49.245 --> 00:24:50.620 align:middle line:84% But wouldn't the turkey have been 00:24:50.620 --> 00:24:52.078 align:middle line:84% injured crawling out of a wire cage 00:24:52.078 --> 00:24:54.830 align:middle line:84% and falling off a truck going about 50 miles an hour? 00:24:54.830 --> 00:24:56.290 align:middle line:84% Then someone else wondered, how could that turkey 00:24:56.290 --> 00:24:58.150 align:middle line:84% have made its way across 20 miles of prairie 00:24:58.150 --> 00:25:00.070 align:middle line:84% with no water and nothing to eat, 00:25:00.070 --> 00:25:03.160 align:middle line:84% and coyotes running around out there, not to mention 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:06.940 align:middle line:84% the occasional farm or ranch dog? 00:25:06.940 --> 00:25:09.010 align:middle line:84% It might not be a holy turkey, but its appearance 00:25:09.010 --> 00:25:10.938 align:middle line:84% was certainly strange and unexplainable. 00:25:10.938 --> 00:25:13.480 align:middle line:84% Hazel decided to put another ad in the paper in the next town 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:15.820 align:middle line:84% over, but the results were the same, no results 00:25:15.820 --> 00:25:16.932 align:middle line:90% except for more talk. 00:25:16.932 --> 00:25:18.890 align:middle line:84% We can wait a little while longer, she decided, 00:25:18.890 --> 00:25:20.598 align:middle line:84% and then we would have turkey for dinner. 00:25:20.598 --> 00:25:23.380 align:middle line:84% Maybe for Memorial Day or 4th of July at the latest. 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:25.000 align:middle line:84% I begged her not to kill the turkey. 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:27.490 align:middle line:84% It might be bad luck, I said, but she laughed at me 00:25:27.490 --> 00:25:29.590 align:middle line:84% and told me not to listen to idle talk. 00:25:29.590 --> 00:25:32.140 align:middle line:84% In the end, it wasn't my begging that saved the turkey. 00:25:32.140 --> 00:25:34.725 align:middle line:84% It was Hazel's own practical ways. 00:25:34.725 --> 00:25:36.100 align:middle line:84% After the Latelys began spreading 00:25:36.100 --> 00:25:38.100 align:middle line:84% the story of the turkey's miraculous appearance, 00:25:38.100 --> 00:25:40.090 align:middle line:90% other people began showing up. 00:25:40.090 --> 00:25:42.070 align:middle line:84% I think they were afraid of the turkey, 00:25:42.070 --> 00:25:43.792 align:middle line:84% didn't necessarily want a visitation 00:25:43.792 --> 00:25:45.250 align:middle line:84% of the spirit within it, but wanted 00:25:45.250 --> 00:25:49.010 align:middle line:84% to satisfy some curiosity with a sighting from a distance. 00:25:49.010 --> 00:25:50.928 align:middle line:90% In the daytime, of course. 00:25:50.928 --> 00:25:52.970 align:middle line:84% People that used to take their troubles to George 00:25:52.970 --> 00:25:55.130 align:middle line:84% Wanbli or one or the other wicasa wakan 00:25:55.130 --> 00:25:57.770 align:middle line:84% started bringing their offerings of tobacco and money 00:25:57.770 --> 00:26:00.410 align:middle line:84% and bags of sugar and three-pound cans of Folgers 00:26:00.410 --> 00:26:01.940 align:middle line:90% to Hazel. 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:03.590 align:middle line:84% A car or a pickup would drive up, 00:26:03.590 --> 00:26:05.642 align:middle line:84% people would get out with bags of goods. 00:26:05.642 --> 00:26:07.850 align:middle line:84% They would observe the social graces of chatting over 00:26:07.850 --> 00:26:10.225 align:middle line:84% a cup of coffee, and then present their tobacco and gifts 00:26:10.225 --> 00:26:12.680 align:middle line:84% and ask Hazel if she could help them with their problems. 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:14.780 align:middle line:84% She would refuse, or she might agree, 00:26:14.780 --> 00:26:17.000 align:middle line:84% but if it seemed a worthy cause, she agreed. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:20.210 align:middle line:84% People rarely came to a medicine man with a foolish request. 00:26:20.210 --> 00:26:21.320 align:middle line:90% They knew better. 00:26:21.320 --> 00:26:23.540 align:middle line:84% Even if the medicine person agreed to take the case, 00:26:23.540 --> 00:26:26.960 align:middle line:84% the spirits would likely be annoyed and give a bad outcome. 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.760 align:middle line:84% Hazel's supplicants were real, all right, 00:26:28.760 --> 00:26:30.770 align:middle line:84% but while they were getting out of the car 00:26:30.770 --> 00:26:32.900 align:middle line:84% and while they were presenting their case, 00:26:32.900 --> 00:26:35.240 align:middle line:84% or while they were leaving, they were looking out 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.570 align:middle line:84% of the corners of their eyes for a glimpse of the white turkey. 00:26:38.570 --> 00:26:40.737 align:middle line:84% I knew Hazel was annoyed, she talked to me about it, 00:26:40.737 --> 00:26:42.445 align:middle line:84% but she also knew that most of the people 00:26:42.445 --> 00:26:43.790 align:middle line:90% had a legitimate need for help. 00:26:43.790 --> 00:26:45.413 align:middle line:84% So she wouldn't turn them down just 00:26:45.413 --> 00:26:46.830 align:middle line:84% because they had some silly notion 00:26:46.830 --> 00:26:48.740 align:middle line:90% that a turkey could be sacred. 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:51.380 align:middle line:84% A little cash money came in, but much more goods. 00:26:51.380 --> 00:26:54.050 align:middle line:84% Our cabinets were full for the first time I could remember, 00:26:54.050 --> 00:26:55.520 align:middle line:90% with more piled on top. 00:26:55.520 --> 00:26:57.260 align:middle line:84% There were stacks of cans full of coffee, 00:26:57.260 --> 00:27:00.265 align:middle line:84% cases of canned vegetables, fruit, soup, and bags of sugar 00:27:00.265 --> 00:27:02.390 align:middle line:84% that Hazel finally had to put into a metal trashcan 00:27:02.390 --> 00:27:04.850 align:middle line:84% with a tight lid to keep the ants out. 00:27:04.850 --> 00:27:06.710 align:middle line:84% Our refrigerator had so much meat inside 00:27:06.710 --> 00:27:09.110 align:middle line:84% that Hazel had to rent a cold storage locker in town 00:27:09.110 --> 00:27:11.780 align:middle line:84% to preserve the meat that we couldn't eat up right away. 00:27:11.780 --> 00:27:15.380 align:middle line:84% I never felt so full when I left that table, or so rich. 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:16.730 align:middle line:90% The house smelled, too. 00:27:16.730 --> 00:27:19.540 align:middle line:84% Not just of cooking food but of the cedar and the sage 00:27:19.540 --> 00:27:22.040 align:middle line:84% and the sweetgrass that Hazel burned as part of the ceremony 00:27:22.040 --> 00:27:23.840 align:middle line:90% she performed for her clients. 00:27:23.840 --> 00:27:26.222 align:middle line:84% It worked, too, almost every time and that 00:27:26.222 --> 00:27:27.680 align:middle line:84% brought those people back when they 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:29.780 align:middle line:84% had other problems, brought other people who 00:27:29.780 --> 00:27:31.610 align:middle line:90% heard of Hazel's success. 00:27:31.610 --> 00:27:33.650 align:middle line:84% It was a prosperous time and Hazel 00:27:33.650 --> 00:27:36.560 align:middle line:84% knew it was because of the white turkey. 00:27:36.560 --> 00:27:38.720 align:middle line:84% One day coming back from a trip to deposit yet 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:40.670 align:middle line:84% more meat in the cold storage locker in town, 00:27:40.670 --> 00:27:42.875 align:middle line:84% she brought up the subject of the turkey dinner. 00:27:42.875 --> 00:27:45.335 align:middle line:84% "I don't want you to get the wrong idea," she began, 00:27:45.335 --> 00:27:47.750 align:middle line:84% "Because that turkey is not wakan. 00:27:47.750 --> 00:27:49.610 align:middle line:90% It's just a turkey, a bird. 00:27:49.610 --> 00:27:51.470 align:middle line:84% It's true that it's because of the turkey 00:27:51.470 --> 00:27:53.450 align:middle line:84% that we have more now than we ever had before, 00:27:53.450 --> 00:27:55.100 align:middle line:90% but it's just circumstances. 00:27:55.100 --> 00:27:57.530 align:middle line:84% Because silly people choose to believe in something 00:27:57.530 --> 00:27:59.535 align:middle line:90% even sillier than themselves. 00:27:59.535 --> 00:28:01.160 align:middle line:84% There's a logical explanation for where 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:02.785 align:middle line:84% that turkey came, even if we don't know 00:28:02.785 --> 00:28:05.070 align:middle line:90% what it is, you understand?" 00:28:05.070 --> 00:28:06.260 align:middle line:90% I did understand. 00:28:06.260 --> 00:28:08.360 align:middle line:84% I knew she was feeling guilty about using 00:28:08.360 --> 00:28:11.485 align:middle line:84% the turkey as a drawing card for her medicine practice. 00:28:11.485 --> 00:28:12.860 align:middle line:84% "We're going to eat that turkey," 00:28:12.860 --> 00:28:14.900 align:middle line:90% she said, "Just not yet." 00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:17.780 align:middle line:84% "OK," I said, and pulled back as she reached out and tugged 00:28:17.780 --> 00:28:19.460 align:middle line:90% on my ponytail. 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:22.250 align:middle line:84% Hazel was wrong about the sacredness of the white turkey, 00:28:22.250 --> 00:28:24.050 align:middle line:90% but I couldn't tell her why. 00:28:24.050 --> 00:28:25.730 align:middle line:90% She would never believe me. 00:28:25.730 --> 00:28:28.370 align:middle line:84% The white turkey was wakan, not because of some piece 00:28:28.370 --> 00:28:31.190 align:middle line:84% of barbed wire wrapped around its head, 00:28:31.190 --> 00:28:33.900 align:middle line:84% not because some people thought it spoke to them. 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:35.900 align:middle line:84% On the night the turkey it appeared on the fence 00:28:35.900 --> 00:28:38.240 align:middle line:84% for the Latelys, I had put it up for the night 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:39.470 align:middle line:90% with the chickens. 00:28:39.470 --> 00:28:41.240 align:middle line:84% The turkey was inside on the end roost 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:43.070 align:middle line:84% where the black rooster used to sit. 00:28:43.070 --> 00:28:46.280 align:middle line:84% I saw it there, gleaming in the muted light as I shut the door 00:28:46.280 --> 00:28:48.650 align:middle line:84% and put the wooden pin through the hasp on the door. 00:28:48.650 --> 00:28:50.720 align:middle line:84% That chicken coop was animal-proof. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:53.030 align:middle line:84% Hazel had made it so after losing too many chickens 00:28:53.030 --> 00:28:55.850 align:middle line:84% to winter hungry coyotes, and I had helped her nail strips 00:28:55.850 --> 00:28:57.860 align:middle line:90% of boards over every crack. 00:28:57.860 --> 00:28:59.408 align:middle line:84% That turkey could not have escaped 00:28:59.408 --> 00:29:00.950 align:middle line:84% to sit on that fence in the moonlight 00:29:00.950 --> 00:29:03.260 align:middle line:84% under any ordinary circumstances, 00:29:03.260 --> 00:29:06.260 align:middle line:84% but it had, and that was the first miracle 00:29:06.260 --> 00:29:07.730 align:middle line:90% of the sacred white turkey. 00:29:07.730 --> 00:29:09.880 align:middle line:90% There would be many more. 00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:12.000 align:middle line:90%