The HARK Journal recognizes student talent from elementary-to-university level.
Enjoy the student contributions below.
High School Division
Washish awoke during the night to see a vast expanse of rolling hills. He could not sleep because of flashbacks.
He was not alone in his troubles. His mother wept in the corner of the grass dome hut; his sister rolled from side to side in her makeshift bed. Life was spinning before his eyes. His perfect childhood was no more.
Washish asked his mother where they were.
In tears, she replied, “We are in Texas.”
“Mama, where is Papa?” asked Washish.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “He is with God,” replied his mother.
Washish was born in what is known today as Caddo Parish. He, his mother and father, and sister lived in a grass hut on the banks of the Red River. Every morning, the tribe woke to the sounds of birds chirping in the nearby trees, children laughing and playing in the distance. Washish was one of these children.
Every afternoon, he and his father hunted for deer or bison with a bow and arrow. His sister and mother harvested the beans and corn in their garden. Their family and the Caddo tribe worked together like one well-oiled machine. Everything in Washish’s life was normal until word arrived of nearby tribes encountering Europeans. The chief of the Caddo tribe ordered men to establish an army to fight the newcomers.
Three months later, the Europeans arrived. Washish’s father was forced to join in the efforts to eradicate the invaders, but they seemed to come in peace.
Soon enough, French settlers and the Caddo tribe established trading. However, the French settlers also brought diseases that the Caddo people were not immune to. The Caddo tribe was greatly affected by diseases such as smallpox and malaria. Washish’s family was not affected by the diseases, but many of his closest friends and relatives were.
Life changed for Washish once the Europeans arrived. His tribe slowly converted to Christianity, and the culture and traditions he once adored were fading away.
In the two years since the arrival of French settlers in Caddo lands, Washish had almost adapted to their presence. But, the French settlers took a bold step. They forced the Caddo tribe out of the region and took over their land.
Washish was furious. “How can someone tell us to leave the lands we have lived on for hundreds of years?” The thoughts that raced through his mind collided into each other. The lands he and his ancestors lived on were declared French in a matter of three days. His childhood and memories were lost, and he was forced to pack his belongings for the path of fate ahead of him. Long months of travail and exhaustion tore Washish’s body apart. The Caddo tribe had to walk about three hundred miles until they reached their safe haven in Texas.
After five months of walking, the Caddo tribe finally made it to Texas lands. Washish and his family were devastated at the loss of their homelands. Texas was a new region with a different climate and unfamiliar neighboring tribes. Life was hard for Washish’s family and the Caddos. Many loved ones and sentimental belongings were lost on the long journey. Then, Washish’s father was killed in a skirmish with a neighboring tribe. The emotional pain Washish, his mother, and sister endured was beyond terrible. Washish’s old life seemed a dream, but he eventually adapted to his new land. However, always in the back of Washish’s mind was, “I wish I was back home.”
From the Author: The short story I wrote is important in regional history and heritage because the Caddo Indians were a tribe that was forced to leave their lands due to European settlement. I wrote about the life of a young boy experiencing this change in his life once the settlers came. Many people are unaware that Native Americans inhabited regions for hundreds of years before white settlers came. Indian Reserves in Texas are there today due to many tribes who relocated there after being forced out of their own lands.