Jake Thomas - A Story About our Medicine Man

A STORY ABOUT OUR MEDICINE MAN as told by Jake Thomas, an Onondaga on the Six Nations Iroquois Reserve, near Brantford, Ontario, At the time, our Creator made this world. After he had created everything, he thought he would go out and see all the things he had made in this world. He thought he would look around before he created human beings, (the man and the woman). Our Creator thought that children should be raised from this couple to expand our populate all over the continent North America.

Then he made different kinds of animals. He knew that his brother, the Evil Spirit was behind him all the time and the Evil Spirit started making bigger monsters to harm the people.

Our Creator seeing this thought he should remove all the big monsters so he went all around the Continent. As he was on his way he met this False Face Man. When they met, our Creator asked the False Face Man, where he came from and where he was going and what brought him there. He answered: “I am going around to examine what I have created in this world.” The False Face asked our Creator: “Where are you going?” Our Creator replied: “I think I have made this world and I am going to remove all the things that would harm my people and furthermore,” our Creator said: “We will have to find out which one of us made this world.” So the False Face said: “I agree, we will do that.”

(At this point the Creator and his brother the False Face or the Evil Spirit match their powers in a contest to see who can move a distant mountain the closest) Our Creator then said: “Do you see that mountain some distance away from the valley?”

The False Face said: “Yes, I see it,” Then our Creator said: “We will turn around and you will start first as you first said that you made the world.” Now, the Great False Face shook his giant rattle and the uproar frightened the game animals. He summoned the mountain towards them but it moved only part way. Then it was the Creator’s turn and he too summoned the mountain which came directly up to them. However, his rival becoming impatient suddenly looked around and the mountain struck his face. The impact broke his nose bridge, and pain distorted his mouth.

Now, the Creator realized that this man had great power. He assigned him the task of driving disease from the earth and assisting the people who were about to travel to and from hunting. The loser agreed that if humans made portrait masks of him, called him grandfather, made tobacco offerings and set down a kettle of mush (thick smoked corn soup) that they too would have the power to cure disease by blowing hot ashes. The Creator gave him a place to dwell in the rocky hills to the West, near the rim of the earth and the False Face agreed to come whenever the people summoned him.

Later a man had a dream that the False Face came and taught him their (the Iroquois nation’s songs) songs and the method of treating patients with hot ashes. In a subsequent dream they requested him to remember them every year with a feast, saying they are everywhere in the forests, bringing luck to those who remember them.

(These masks are used among the False Face Society. He has to be a member to cure, and these masks are still used by the Iroquois of the Six Nations of the Longhouse People).