Two Old Women

Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is a cautionary tale told about elders in North American Indian tribes. The tale has many morals behind it including those surrounding not taking advantage of one's position within society, following one's heart, and the importance of knowledge. The two old women whom the tale is about are left behind in the winter time due to the diminishing food supply of the tribe and the burden that the old women are placing upon the tribe in terms of use of resources. The two old women decide that they can either sit around and wait to die or that they can die trying and decide that the latter is the best way to go.
The two women have to bring back their knowledge of hunting, building things such as shelter and snowshoes, among many other things in order to survive through the freezing winter. The women end up surviving the winter and collecting food all summer long. They relearn how to fish and catch wild animals as well as how to store them away from bears and such in order to preserve their food supply for the following winter. It comes about that the following winter the tribe decides to go back to the place they deserted the two old women and figure out that the old women are not dead. The tracker Daagoo finds the old women and convinces them to let the tribe move close to them and share their food supply. The old women end up saving the tribe and the relationships with the people in their tribe are mended.
This tale teaches a lot of important skills while emphasizing the importance of knowledge. One can learn how to hunt squirrels, make snowshoes, and track people and animals. The morals taught in this tale are of the utmost importance and one of the main ones focuses on the relationship between one of the old ladies and her daughter and grandson. The daughter and grandson leave the old women and move on with the tribe in the beginning of the story. The healing process and forgiveness presented in the tale show that one cannot focus on past mistakes and be bitter but that one must move on because family is too important to hold grudges.