Kaya and the River Girl is part of the Short Stories collections.
Characters[]
Only in Kaya and the River Girl[]
Story Summary[]
Kaya sits with Speaking Rain and Tatlo on a plateau above the Big River. Kaya is resting after playing a game of Shinny with the other girls; Speaking Rain doesn't play it because she can't see. It is a warm summer evening with a strong wind, and Kaya is hot and tired. She and Speaking Rain work on making a toy horse. It has willow stick legs, a deerskin body stuffed with buffalo hair, and a tail of buffalo hair. Kaya also made a saddle from bent willow twigs, and Speaking Rain added twined hemp cord to tie it onto the horse. A girl shouts at Kaya across the Shinny playing field, wanting to ask her something. When Speaking Rain doesn't recognize the voice, Kaya explains the voice was one of the River People from the north shore who she played Shinny with, though Kaya didn’t know her name. The River Girl sits next to the two and introduces herself as Spotted Owl. Spotted Owl has a pretty, round face with full lips and bright eyes. She wears a hemp cord necklace with a copper bead. She compliments Kaya on her fast running and Kaya blushes at the compliment. When Kaya asks how Spotted Owl learnt to speak their language so well, she explains she often went upstream with her mother to visit their trading partner, a Nimíipuu woman.
Spotted Owl introduces herself to Kaya.
Spotted Owl asks Kaya for another race and Speaking Rain and Tatlo encourage her. Kaya loves races and often wins, even against the boys, so she agrees. The two go on the playing field and their friends help set up the race markers. The markers are white stones that are set in the center of the field, and Kaya and Speaking Rain each walked one hundred paces to opposite ends of the field to lay their starting point stones. Once Little Fawn gave the signal, the two girls ran. Kaya feels so much strength in her legs that she is certain she would win, but to her shock, Spotted Owl beats her. The other girls congratulate Spotted Owl. Tatlo runs up to Kaya to lick her face and comfort her, but Kaya’s pride is still hurt from losing the race.
Spotted Owl tells Kaya it was a good race and offers to race again sometime, but Kaya can only murmur an agreement in response. She returns to Speaking Rain dejected, and her pride only falls further when Speaking Rain compliments Spotted Owl’s strong spirit. Kaya decides to practice racing whenever she could and vows to beat Spotted Owl next time.
Kaya loses the Race.
Speaking Rain goes across the river to stay with White Braids, and after missing her sister quite a lot, Kaya comes to visit a few days later. She runs upstream to the Salish camp so she can become stronger. When she arrives, Kaya is upset to find her sister playing dolls with Spotted Owl. She tries to hide her feelings as she greets them, though she speaks more warmly to Speaking Rain. Speaking Rain explains that Spotted Owl visits her every day, and she asks Kaya if she wants to go to Spotted Owl’s village to visit She Who Watches, the old chief who looks after her people. Kaya notes that her sister was wearing Spotted Owl’s necklace, and Spotted Owl cheerfully invites Kaya to go with them. Kaya wouldn’t refuse her sister’s request, but she wishes she could just take her sister away from Spotted Owl. Even though Kaya recognizes that it's selfish to feel this way, she just reunited with her sister and she didn’t want to share what little time she had with the River Girl.
Spotted Owl doesn't notice Kaya’s silence during the trip as she tells the story of She Who Watches. She was a woman chief from a long time ago who was a leader revered by her people. Coyote one day disguised himself and visited the village to see if the River People were thankful for Coyote’s lessons and gifts. The leader sensed Coyote was visiting in disguise and thought he might try to trick her. Coyote asks if she treated her people well and the chief said she taught her people to do good. Coyote warns her the world of the River People would change drastically: new people will arrive who bring sickness and death, and there will no longer be women chiefs among her people. However, the chief states she would stay as long as her people wanted her to lead. Coyote tells her nothing would separate her from her people and from now on she would guard her people. The chief vanished and when people looked for her, they found a strange new face chipped in the pillar of the rock, still watching over her people.
Spotted Owl shows Kaya She Who Watches.
The girls arrive and Kaya is impressed by the face in the reddish-gray basalm rock; the chief is still reminding people to do good. Kaya describes the sight to Speaking Rain, and she stretches Speaking Rain's arms wide to explain how wide the chief's face is. Her sister notes that while the chief’s eyes were stone, she wasn’t blind like she herself. Spotted Owl comforts Speaking Rain, telling her she sees with her heart like the chief does. Kaya exclaims that Speaking Rain was the kindest person she knew. She is hurt that Spotted Owl is comforting her sister instead of Kaya, who knows Speaking Rain the best. Spotted Owl, doesn't seem to notice Kaya’s cold tone, and she invites the two to have a meal of salmon with her family. Kaya asked herself why she couldn’t feel the same way as Speaking Rain about such a good-natured girl. She looked back at the eyes of the petroglyph and wondered if the old chief would show her how to get rid of the painful feelings Kaya knew was wrong.
Kaya’s bad feelings towards Spotted Owl didn’t vanish, though, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to think about her anymore once the salmon runs were over. One evening, however, several River People arrived on the south side of the river for trading and games, and the girls gathered together to play Shinny. Spotted Owl greets Speaking Rain, but when she calls a greeting to Kaya, Kaya pretends not to hear her. As they play Shinny, the River Girls are in the lead and Kaya takes the ball in hopes of scoring a goal. Spotted Owl manages to grab the ball from her, and Kaya purposefully trips and pushes Spotted Owl down. The River Girls help her up and Kaya, who is alarmed that she purposefully hurt someone in anger, leaves to sit with Speaking Rain.
After a moment of silence, Kaya admits her shame over her bad feelings toward Spotted Owl despite knowing everything she did and said was good. Speaking Rain tells her sister that Spotted Owl is a strong leader, just like Kaya. They are very similar, but Kaya mustn't live alone like Coyote. She has to be like the wolf; strong individually, but always working together. She Who Watches would have taught this to her people as well Kaya thinks over her sister’s words and says she has to go after Spotted Owl.
Kaya puts a horsehair rope on a chestnut mare, and she rides upstream to where the River People beached their canoes. She sees Spotted Owl pushing out Elder Woman’s canoe. Kaya walks up to the girl, looking at Elder Woman’s canoe as she thinks of what to say. Elder Woman is doing well until her paddle gets caught in underwater rocks and breaks. When Elder Woman tries to reach out for it, the force of the river tilts the canoe, tossing her into the water. Elder Woman is washed against an outcropping and tries to climb up and away from the heavily loaded canoe. However, the canoe smashes the woman's leg against the rocks, causing her to cry in pain.
Kaya and Spotted Owl save Elder Woman.
Kaya and Spotted Owl run to a smaller canoe nearby and ride to where Elder Woman was stranded. Spotted Owl keeps the canoe still as Kaya climbs out and pulls Elder Woman back to their canoe. Back on shore, other women start to gather around and help bring Elder Woman to aid. Kaya calls for them to take her horse, so the women attach a travois to the horse and have Elder Woman lie on it so they can take her downstream for aid. Both girls are tired, but they meet each other's eyes and smile at each other. They agree that they work well together.
As they rest, Kaya offers her toy horse to Spotted Owl, who gives Kaya her doll in return. Kaya asks Spotted Owl if she wanted to be trading partners, and Spotted Owl nods happily. Kaya’s bad feelings are gone now, and she feels like she can finally breathe after being underwater for a long time. She can't wait to tell Speaking Rain what happened and that she and Spotted Owl are now friends, and she feels certain this is what She Who Watches wanted.
Meet The Author[]
This section includes a photo of Janet Shaw at age 8 and as an adult. She describes that she learned to swim and canoe at a camp in Missouri as a child, and like Kaya, she thought she was strong and skilled. However, when she and her friends got caught in a storm in the middle of the lake, she sat in the middle of the canoe while her friends paddled them to safety. She was grateful that day that her friends were stronger than her.
Looking Back: Trading in 1764[]
Discusses trading between the Nimíipuu and other native tribes. Topics include:
- The thousands of people who gathered at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River in the summer. They gathered to trade, fish, and socialize. Some came as far away as the Pacific Ocean and what is now Montana.
- Spotted Owl is Wishram, and they were one of the tribes with permanent river settlements. The Wishram lived on the north side of the river.
- Each tribe brought items to trade; the Nimíipuu brought roasted camas roots, and the Wishram traded dried salmon and salmon eggs.
- Baskets were a common trading item for many tribes.
- Girls learned how to start weaving when they were about six, and their first baskets were given to an older, skilled basket maker as a sign of respect. This would also bring good luck to the girl in the future.
- The Wishram were known for their unique round or flat twined bags made from dried beargrass and hemp. Dried berries and plants were used for dyes.
- Designs on the baskets often appear in ancient rock art on the bluffs above the river as well. These kinds of designs are common in places where many people gather together.
- Communication could be a challenge between so many tribes, but many people knew a sign language that most tribes could understand.
- People with trading partners in other tribes often learned the language of those tribes. Trading partners would exchange gifts whenever they met, such as woven bags, baskets, food, toys, or clothing.
- Trading partners were always welcome in another's tribe, hunted and fished in each other's areas, and sometimes even arranged marriages between children.`
- Nez Perce children still learn basket making today.
Activity: Make a Petroglyph[]
Instructions on how to make a petroglyph, or a rock carving that tells a story. These were made by scratching designs into a rock with a sharp stone. Pictographs were made by painting images onto rocks with a bone or frayed stick paintbrush. The instructions include sample designs and their meanings.