The Year the Roses Died

“The Year the Roses Died” in Mary Siisip Geniusz Plants have so much to give us all we have

to do is ask: Anishinaabe botanical teachings (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press

2015) at 13-14.

(13) Gichi-mewinzha gii-oshki-niiging akiing, a very long time ago,

when the earth was new, there was a horrible year that was

remembered as “The Year the Roses Died.” In that long-ago time

a large number of animals depended on the roses for their food.

But that spring there were no roses, not on the wide prairie, not in

the mountain meadows nor in the most hidden forest glade. The

roses were gone. When the animals realized the roses were really

not going to grow that spring, there was a great outcry and a call

for a council meeting to determine what had happened and, most

important, “who did it?”

The waawaashkeshiwag, the deer, lowering their antlered

heads with great dignity, said that they knew it was the

bineshiinyag, the little birds, who were responsible, because they

had seen them eating the flowers.

The bineshiinyag flew to a branch in the middle of the

clearing and chirped, “We may have eaten a few flowers, but it was

really the aamoog, the bees, who were responsible, because they

ate the pollen.”

The aamoog buzzed angrily. “We did taste a little of the pollen

but it is really the memengwaag, the butterflies, who are responsible,

because they left their eggs on the roses, and their caterpillars

hatched and ate all of the leaves.”

The memengwaag flitted. “We had to have some nursery for

our children, and they were hungry when they were born, but it

was really the waawaashkeshiwag who ate the stems.”

The waawaashkeshiwag said, “We ate a few of the stems, but it

was Waabooz, Rabbit, who dug up and ate the roots.”

All of the animals turned and looked at Waabooz, and

then they all jumped him. They grabbed his tail and broke it

off, and that is the reason why to this day waaboozoog, rabbits,

have such tiny tails. Then Ma’iingan, Wolf, grabbed one ear,

and Ma’iinganens, Coyote, grabbed the other. Esiban, Raccoon,

grabbed one of his back legs, and Ginebig, Snake, wrapped his

long body around the other. And they pulled and they pulled (14) while

Waabooz howled. That is the reason why to this day his ears are so long

and his legs are so stretched out.

They probably would have killed Waabooz, but Makwa, Black

Bear, rose up on his hind legs, swaying side to side, and growled,

“All right! Drop the waabooz! I don’t like him much either,

but Creator must have had some purpose for him, or Creator

wouldn’t have bothered creating him.”

Just then the Manidoo, Spirit, whose job it was to watch over

that place, rose up and said, “What seems to be the problem?”

“Well,” said Makwa, softening his growl to show respect, “you

see, Your Honor, it has been determined that Waabooz is responsible

for the disappearance of the roses.”

The Manidoo said, “Killing the Waabooz will not bring back

the roses. You all noticed that the roses were in trouble, and

you all decided to take your own shares even if it meant killing

the roses forever. There is no honor in this. This is not keeping

creation in balance as you were told to do in the Beginning Time.”

All the animals hung their heads because they knew that the

Manidoo was right.

Well,” said the Manidoo.“I will bring the roses back, but

this time I am going to give them protection so you won’t be

tempted to eat them up entirely again. And I am also going to

leave Waabooz as he is so that you will always be reminded of the

disgrace of forgetting the balance.”

So now, when we see the thorns on the roses and the poor

misshaped waabooz, we are reminded of the Year the Roses Died.

Mii iw, Miigwech, That’s it, thank you.