Then he shakes his head. “But that does not mean things are perfect there. There are other Indians who were already there, Osages. They think all of that land is their own and they resent our being there. I am afraid that if many more of our people go west, those Osages may end up fighting us. But we may have no choice. If things go as Jackson and other greedy Ani-yonega want, then we will have to leave our land here whether we wish to or not.”

My father looks at his empty pipe, then puts it into his pocket. “That is one of the reasons I decided to go to Arkansas. I wanted to see what that land was like. I wanted to help prepare things for the rest of our people to go there if we were finally forced to leave our homeland.”

I think about my father’s words. I do not want to leave our home. This place is all I’ve ever known and like all of our people, I would choose to stay here. But what if that choice ends up being made for us?

Sequoyah looks over at me.

“Tell me,” he says, “what do you want to do with your life?”

The question surprises me. I don’t answer right away. I stroke my fingers along Wesa’s back, feeling his purring in my hands as much as I hear it.

“I want to make things,” I say.

“Ah,” he says. “As do I.”

I think he is about to start talking about blacksmithing or working silver. Maybe he will take me out to his shop and show me something the way he just showed me how to use that wood-carving knife. But he does not. Instead, he starts a story.

“Long ago, Edoda, the great Creator, made the first book. That is what some people say. Then he gave that book to us, to the Principal People. It was right that we should have that book, for we were the strongest people back then. Because we were given that book, the gift of reading and writing was ours.

“But what happened next is that a white man came along. He saw that book and he wanted it, just as the white men today still want everything that we have. That white man was not stronger than us, but he was more clever.

“‘Why do you need that book?’ the white man said. “‘Can it help you to hunt or defend your families? It is nothing but pieces of paper and black markings that crawl across those pieces of paper like ants. Look at what I have. I have a bow and arrow. You can use it to bring home game. You can defeat your enemies with the bow and arrow. I will trade you this bow and arrow for that useless book.’