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| THE CHICKASAW INDIAN PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA TELLS OF A BRAVE
YOUNG WARRIOR WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE DAUGHTER OF A CHIEF. THE CHIEF DID NOT LIKE THE YOUNG MAN WHO WAS CALLED BLUE JAY. SO THE CHIEF INVENTED A PRICE FOR THE BRIDE THAT HE WAS SURE THAT BLUE JAY COULD NOT PAY. "BRING ME THE HIDE OF THE WHITE DEER," SAID THE CHIEF. THE CHICKASAW NATION BELIEVES THAT ANIMALS THAT ARE ALL WHITE ARE MAGICAL. "THE PRICE FOR MY DAUGHTER IS ONE WHITE DEER," THE CHIEF ADVISED AS HE LAUGHED. THE CHIEF KNEW THAT AN ALL WHITE DEER, AN ALBINO, WAS VERY RARE AND WOULD BE VERY HARD TO FIND. WHITE DEER SKIN WAS THE BEST MATERIAL TO USE FOR A WEDDING DRESS, AND THE BEST WHITE DEER SKIN CAME FROM THE ALBINO DEER. BLUE JAY WENT TO HIS BELOVED, WHOSE NAME WAS BRIGHT MOON. "I WILL RETURN WITH YOUR BRIDE PRICE IN ONE MONTH, AND WE WILL BE MARRIED. THIS I PROMISE YOU." TAKING HIS BEST BOW AND HIS SHARPEST ARROWS, BLUE JAY BEGAN TO HUNT. HE HAD BEEN TOLD THAT THE WHITE DEER WAS AGGRESSIVE AND COULD BE DANGEROUS. THREE WEEKS WENT BY, AND BLUE JAY HAD NOT SEEN A WHITE DEER. HE WAS OFTEN HUNGRY, LONELY AND WAS SCRATCHED BY BRIARS. THEN, ONE NIGHT DURING A FULL MOON, BLUE JAY SAW A WHITE DEER THAT SEEMED TO DRIFT THROUGH THE MOONLIGHT. WHEN THE DEER WAS VERY CLOSE TO WHERE BLUE JAY HID, HE SHOT HIS SHARPEST ARROW. THE ARROW SANK DEEP INTO THE DEER'S HEART. BUT INSTEAD OF SINKING TO HIS KNEES TO DIE, THE DEER BEGAN TO RUN. AND INSTEAD OF RUNNING AWAY, THE DEER BEGAN TO RUN TOWARD BLUE JAY. THE WHITE DEER'S RED EYES WERE GLOWING, HIS HORNS WERE SHARP AND MENACING... A MONTH PASSED AND BLUE JAY DID NOT RETURN AS HE HAD PROMISED BRIGHT MOON. AS THE MONTHS DRAGGED BY, THE TRIBE DECIDED THAT HE WOULD NEVER RETURN. BLUE JAY BECAME A PART OF THE CHICKASAW LORE AND LEGENDS. BRIGHT MOON NEVER TOOK ANY OTHER YOUNG WARRIOR AS A HUSBAND. SHE HAD A SECRET. WHEN THE MOON WAS SHINNING AS BRIGHTLY AS HER NAME, BRIGHT MOON WOULD OFTEN SEE THE WHITE DEER IN THE SMOKE OF A CAMPFIRE. SOMETIMES SHE SAW THE WHITE DEER IN THE MOONLIGHT AS THE COYOTES SANG THEIR SERENADE. THE WHITE DEER WAS RUNNING WITH AN ARROW IN HIS HEART. BRIGHT MOON LIVED ALL OF HER LIFE, HOPING THE DEER WOULD SOMEDAY FINALLY FALL, AND THEN BLUE JAY WOULD RETURN. TO THIS DAY THE WHITE DEER IS SACRED TO THE CHICKASAW NATION, AND THE WHITE DEER SKIN IS STILL THE FAVORITE MATERIAL FOR A WEDDING DRESS. |
