Young-Eagle

Family: Arikara · Role: son of the leading chief of the south village · First appears: Tale 47 · The Deeds of Young-Eagle · Part 1

Young-Eagle was the handsome son of Black-Sun, the leading chief of the south village. At Lovers’ Hill, he and Yellow-Calf (Tale 47 girl) recognized one another, talked, and agreed to travel together to her home. That night she brought him there disguised as an unkempt boy; by morning her parents assumed they were married, and the people called him Big-Belly-Boy. Before joining a war-party, he instructed her youngest brother to prepare buffalo intestines and bones for his return, and Yellow-Calf (Tale 47 girl) told her brother that Young-Eagle was wonderful.

At dusk, by the lake, Young-Eagle transformed into an eagle and flew toward the warriors. The next day he brought back ponies and gave them to his brother-in-law to distribute, and he passed a scalp to the war-party leader through him. He gave ponies left after the warriors’ share to the leading chief of the north village (Tale 47) and then to poor people. One evening, he emerged from the lake as a fine-looking man in fine clothes. He returned to his family, where his sisters embraced him and welcomed Yellow-Calf (Tale 47 girl) as their sister-in-law; Black-Sun announced his son’s return with many scalps. That same day, the warriors chose Young-Eagle to lead them to the girl’s village, and the north and south Arikara came together as one tribe again.