A Man Made of Words

In the video A Man Made of Words, N. Scott Momaday talks about Devils Tower in Wyoming, which is sacred to the Kiowa people. I have recently been there for the first time and it truly is an amazing sight.

It is said that the Kiowas became plains people after living around Yellowstone and the Rockies. They migrated across the plains through Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and ended their migration in Oklahoma near Rainy Mountain, which was the hub of their civilization, where they fought and later allied with the Comanche's.

Momaday goes on to talk about being brought to Devils Tower as an infant for a week by his parents and how when they returned from to Rainy Mountain an man named Old Wolf came to visit. Old Wolf sat and told Momaday the stories of their people, both the good and the bad, and gave Momaday the name of Tsoai-talee which means Rock Tree Boy to commemorate his trip to Devils Tower.

The poem Momaday wrote about his name is called The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee and can be read here. He starts every line with "I am..." and it gives a sense of how his name, given to him by Old Wolf, helps him relate to the earth and everything that goes on around him. I can feel the pride he has for his people and his name coming from the words he wrote down. Momaday obviously loves his people and the history that follows them.