KWANOKASHA, THE MEDICINE MAKER
Choctaw

He is a small man, about the size of a child. His name is Kwanokasha and he is a medicine spirit who lives in a cave in part of the country that is rough and rocky. Now, Kwanokasha is very smart and he knows all about little children, and how they sometimes run away from home when they are not happy. Kwanokasha waits for them in the woodlands. There he grabs their hand and takes them to his spirit home.

Once in the spirit home, the child is greeted by three ancient spirits. First Spirit gives the child a sharp knife. Second Spirit give the child poisonous herbs. Third Spirit gives the child medicinal herbs and spices. They watch the child make a choice. Which will the child take? If the child takes the knife, he will become a bad person. If the child takes the poisonous herbs, he will never help others. But if he accepts and keeps the medicinal herbs and spices, Kwanokasha will teach him the secrets of healing, and he will become a great medicine man in his tribe. The child must remain with the ancient spirits for three days, and when he is returned home, he cannot reveal where he has been, nor what he has learned.

Choctaws know that most children are not patient enough to wait for the third offering. Choctaws know most children will accept the first or second offering. That is why there are so few good medicine people.

From Traditional Stories and Foods: An American Indian Remembers, by Joan Leslie Woodruff