Lakota Prophecy
Lakota legend of the end of the world
They say that somewhere, in the badlands, there is a hidden cave, but no one has ever found it. In this cave lives an old woman with a wrinkled face. She wears a dress made of leathers and beadwork. This old woman is I-hkų́. I-hkų́ is grandmother to the Lakota people.
Since the beginning of time I-hkų́ has been there and in her wisdom and her charity, she makes garments out of buffalo hides and porcupine quills so that all the Lakota people will be protected.
To guard her while she works, I-hkų́ keeps a black dog at her side and he watches over her. Since the beginning of time, Black Dog has never left I-hkų́’s side.
I-hkų́ and Black Dog sit by a great fire that is always burning. This fire throws its warmth onto the garments I-hkų́ makes, and because of this, they stay warm even when the lakes and rivers freeze solid.
Suspended above her fire is a pot of sweet red stew. Inside the stew is always boiling. Since the beginning of time I-hkų́ has cooked this stew. For she knows that as long as she cooks it, the Lakota people will never go hungry, and their hearts will carry the warmth of her fire.
To get up and stir this stew is the only reason that I-hkų́ will leave her work. She knows that as long as she stirs the stew, her people will be fed.
The time approaches when I-hkų́ cannot stir the stew or make her garments for she grows old and weak with age. And as I-hkų́ grows old, Black Dog grows more and more restless.
It is said that when the end is near Black Dog will grow so restless with I-hkų́ as she stirs the pot, that he will start to unravel her garments with his teeth. And when she returns to mend them, Black Dog will eat the stew. Because of that I-hkų́ will go back and forth. From sewing to cooking. From garments to food. From warmth to nourishment. And it is known that she will not be able to keep Black Dog at bay by herself.
When Black Dog destroys all of her work, the Lakota people will change. That when the snows come, their hearts will harden and become cold like ice. And for those who refuse to follow Black Dog & harden their hearts, they will freeze and die. And Black Dog will consume them all.
