The Day the Earth Rose Up

K-Gr 3–Beartrack-Algeo, a Lakota artist and storyteller, relates the Lakota origin story of the Wincicala Sakowin (the Pleiades constellation) and the Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge, located in the Black Hills of Wyoming). In a time long ago, Maske and her six sisters leave their idyllic lakeside village in the Paha Sapa to pick chokecherries for making pudding. As they venture too far into the forest, distracted by chatting, Mato Sica (Giant Bear) attacks the girls, forcing them to flee for their lives. Desperate to get away, the sisters pray to the Wakan Tanka (Great Spirit) to rescue them. In answer to their plea, the earth rises up in a fiery cataclysm, creating a tall mount that lifts the sisters far out of reach of the pursuing bear. Then, Wanbli Tanka (Great Eagle) appears and ferries the sisters to Wicahpi (Star Nation) where they become the famed constellation, while the exhausted bear collapses and turns into Mato Paha (Bear Mountain). Though the text of the story is somewhat long, it’s full of descriptive tidbits about the traditional Lakota way of life such as food, homes, and clothing, which is also true of the evocative illustrations executed in serene blues and earth-tones. This includes a glossary of Lakota words at the beginning of the book and a stylized map at the end.