The Deer Woman

parlance · Guest

This story has been around since I was a kid, and probably for as long as there have been paved roads and automobiles. When I heard it, I was living on the reservation and one of the girls I went to school with told the tale:

Two men were driving along at night and they saw a girl in a red sweater hitchhiking along the road. So they picked her up and she didn't say much, just that she was going home. Finally she asked them to stop and let her out. There was nothing but a house in the distance across a field, and they could see lights in the house. The girl got out and started running across the field and while doing this she turned into a deer.

The next day the men went to the house to find out what was going on and the old woman living there told them that the girl they saw sounded like her dead daughter who was buried on the property. When she took them to see the girl's grave, there was the red sweater, laying across the grave.

While this story is an urban legend, I was told another story about shapeshifting that came from a woman whose grandmothers had been medicine women. They were her great aunts, but because relationships are figured that way, aunts and uncles are like mothers and fathers, and a generation back everyone is a grandmother or grandfather, though there are terms to explain how they are actually related.

The two sisters ended up living by themselves away from the main community on some land that had been allotted their family. They were still in their 30's and kept mostly to themselves when some white men came through the area and decided to pay them a visit for the purpose of causing trouble. The women struggled against their attackers and one of them broke her wrist getting free of the man who tried to hang onto her. The two sisters ran out of the house and as soon as their feet hit the ground they changed into buffalo and loped off.

That whole business had the white men so scared they told on themselves, not wanting to be blamed for murder if the women didn't come back. When someone went to investigate the area, they found the tracks of the women leading out of the house, and then suddenly the tracks of the women ended and the tracks of two buffalo started. One of the buffalo was lame in the front on the same side as the broken wrist.

Eventually the women came back to their house, but after that people were afraid to come around with bad intentions and they were never bothered by the whites again.

AbranaBonney · Posted: Jul Sat 14, 2007 4:33 pm Post subject:

Oh wow! That is fascinating; being Native American myself, i am more likely to believe that something as this is possible.
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AbranaBonney

oldcloud · Guest

Hau ,
This is Native story in same area.

It came to pas that this Lakhota village had a relly hard winter. The chief called the warriors together and chose Two to search for food. As they went forward for two days they came upon a woman shinning with light.
THe first warrior said she is Holy,, The second said I desire her,, as he went to her he was turned to dust..
She said go prepare for me,,,, As warrior went to village and they prepared. She came to village and taught them the 7 rights and gave them there brother , the Buffalo to eat> As she left she rolled on the ground seven times and changed 7 colors then became a buffalo

AbranaBonney · Posted: Aug Wed 08, 2007 3:51 pm Post subject:

Wow! Cool!
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AbranaBonney