The Turtle

One of my favorite Ojibwe stories to share with students is about a turtle, a long time ago. In short, the turtle used to be best of friends with the birds, which was all well and good until the birds flew south every autumn and the turtle was left all alone for the long, cold winter.

One autumn, as the birds are gearing up for their southwardly flight, the turtle decides that he wants to come with this year. The birds don't undertand how that could be possible, since he can't fly, but he comes up with a plan. He proposes that crow and blackbird, the two strongest flyers, hold a stick with their legs. With his strong jaw, turtle will bite down on the stick, and thus the birds will carry him south for the winter.

It sounds a little silly, but the birds agree to give it a try. And for awhile, it works. The turtle sees so many amazing new things as they fly south. His curiosity is overwhelming, but he can't ask any questions because he would fall. Eventually, inevitably, his curiosity does get the better of him, and he opens up his mouth to ask crow and blackbird a question. Of course, the turtle falls down, down, down. When he hits the ground, he is so embarrassed that he crawls to the nearest river-bank, buries himself under the mud, and there he spends every winter forevermore.

In my last few times telling this story, I've come to realize that I am the turtle. The turtle was craving an adventure, the turtle was really curious to learn more about the natural world around him, the turtle was invested in his community (and the turtle really liked birds). The turtle in this story represents who I am as a naturalist.

Weaver Dunes, circa May 2011. This is me with a Blanding's turtle, quite different from the river turtle described above.

Thus, this blog. "Miskwaadesi" is the Ojibwe word for river turtle. I have recently been wishing I was recording my adventures, my observations, the things I've learned, and my stories as a naturalist. This is the place where I intend to do that. It's for me, of course, but for anyone else who's interested as well. Once more, I'm giving this blogging thing the ol' college try. We'll see what happens.