Mary Whitebird - Ta-Na-E-Ka

Ta-Na-E-Ka

"Ta-Na-E-Ka" is based on a ceremony of the Kaw Indians. which is where she was a tribe of. My husband comes from the northern part of Nebraska. I visit the Omaha and Winnebago reservations in Nebraska regularly, and there are few Indians there of Kaw ancestry. Almost no full-blooded Kaw exist; they were a sub-tribe of the Kansas. Tuberculosis and cholera wiped them out about 70 years ago. But I learned of the ceremony from my father-in-law. And, I wrote the story.

This was an author's comment on his short story Ta-Na-E-Ka.

The short story Ta-Na-E-Ka has received great feedback:

Here are two quotes from one of the numerous letters that the author of "Ta-Na-E-Ka" has received over the years:"Only an Indian could have written this", a Cherokee girl wrote from Oklahoma. And a teacher from Ohio complimented the author on dealing with this specific subject:" It's obvious that, as a woman, you are concerned with feminist issues." Of course, the author was pleased that he was able to convey both feelings to the reader, especially because he is neither female nor Indian.