Part 2 Divine Masculine
True Brotherhood ~ The Doctor and the Medicine Man
Part 2: Divine Masculine
True Brotherhood
The Doctor and the Medicine Man
Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi just liked to run and run. He forgot about Alan and pretended he was racing with Grandfather’s horses in the field. After a while, he remembered his new friend and looked back. Alan was just a little speck in the distance, so Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi made a U-turn and ran back to him in no time at all. Alan decided it wouldn’t be much fun to race with Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi, so he picked up a couple of chokecherry branches and handed one to his friend. Boys always like to throw spears, so they did that for a while. But Alan’s spear just didn’t go as far as Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi’s.
Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi didn’t want Alan to feel like he could beat him at everything they did, so he waited until his friend chose a new game. Alan ran ahead, and Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi let him stay in front. Alan led him to a huge tree behind the trading post. Tied to a high limb was a big rope. Next to it were two smaller ropes with a board attached to the bottom.
First, Alan climbed up the rope to the big limb and smiled down at Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi. Then he scooted right down, got on the swing, and began to swing higher and higher. When he reached his highest point, he jumped and sailed through the air, landing a good distance away. He felt proud because it was a record for him—he had gone farther than ever before.
Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi knew it was his turn to try the new game. He climbed the rope a little more slowly than Alan but made it to the big limb and waved down below. Then he came down and mounted the swing. He mimicked the leg movements he had seen his friend make and got the swing going quite high. Alan motioned with his arms for Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi to jump, but he looked down and thought it might be too high. He kept swinging while Alan continued signaling that it was time to jump. Finally, Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi gathered his courage and leapt through the air, landing short of Alan’s mark.
Each boy had his own special talents, and they both felt they were equals. They were happy to have a playmate. The day passed with great adventures and laughter. Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi lost track of time; he was having so much fun. But when he saw the sun beginning to set, he pointed to the west, and Alan understood. The two boys walked back to the trading post, and Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi mounted his pony and started toward the woods. He paused to wave at his new friend, and Alan waved back.
That night at supper, each boy told his family about the wonderful adventures with his new friend. Everyone was glad the boys had someone their own age to play with. Alan’s family knew the chief and trusted that Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi was as kind as his great-grandfather. Chief Shot Both Sides and Long Time Pipe Woman had traded at Alan’s father’s trading post and knew he was a kind man who had surely raised a good boy.
After that, whenever the boys finished their chores and the weather was good, they would meet and share more adventures. Alan taught Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi some of his language, English, and Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi taught Alan some Blackfoot. When they played “cowboys and Indians,” sometimes Alan would be the Indian and Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi would be the cowboy; they would switch roles. But in the end, the cowboys and Indians always became friends.
The years passed quickly, and the boys grew tall and strong. Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi went to a boarding school with other Indigenous children, and Alan attended a day school with children like him. Some of Alan’s friends didn’t like Indigenous children, and they were often unkind to Alan as well.
Alan began to worry that Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi might not like him as much as before now that they were becoming teenagers. He thought Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi might see him as being like the other boys at school who didn’t like Indigenous people. Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi always saw the best in others and had no idea Alan was worried. One day, while riding their horses to the coulee for a swim, Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi asked Alan if something was troubling him. Alan didn’t reply, and they rode on together in silence.
They reached the swimming hole at the coulee and jumped into the water, frolicking, splashing, laughing, and having a wonderful time. The hot prairie sun made the swimming hole their favorite place in the summer. They had swimming races, diving competitions, endurance floating contests, and running jump demonstrations to see who could make the biggest splash.
When they got out of the water and opened their lunch bundles, they sat down on the warm grass and ate their meals. Alan took a bite of a big red apple and spoke with a mouthful, “M na lik dos orders.” Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi laughed because he couldn’t understand a word. Alan laughed too, then swallowed his food. “I’m not like those others,” he repeated clearly.
“What do you mean, Alan?” Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi asked.
Alan explained that he wasn’t like the other white teenagers who didn’t like Indigenous people, and he was worried that Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi might not want to be his friend anymore.
Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi was surprised that Alan would think that. They were lifelong friends. He believed in the spirit of people, and he knew that Alan G. Van Orman had a good heart and would never turn his back on their friendship. Ba-Ti-Ga-Sa-Pi reached out, patted Alan on the shoulder, and smiled.
“Always friends, Alan. Always.”
