Becoming Chickadee People: Working for Wisdom

As coaches and aspiring coaches know so well, change is incredibly hard. People tend to think that we thrive on certainty and stability, and that may be true to some degree. But I think we can all recognize that throughout the course of our life we have grown the most during times of chaos, loss, upheaval and uncertainty.

No one knows chaos, loss, upheaval and uncertainty better than Plenty Coups, the last chief of the Crow people. He lived during the 1800's, when the buffalo still roamed the prairies, and his people still lived a traditional lifestyle. At the age of 10, Plenty Coups had an important dream that would define his people forever. In this dream he saw a large forest. The four winds descended on it and knocked down all the trees but one. In the one, tall, straight tree that remained was the nest of the chickadee.

The following is his dream as written in his biography Plenty Coups Chief of the Crows "He is least in strength but strongest of mind among his kind. He is willing to work for wisdom. The Chickadee-person is a good listener. Nothing escapes his ears, which he has sharpened by constant use. Whenever others are talking together of their success or failures, there you will find the Chickadee-person listening to their words. But in all his listening he tends to his own business. He never intrudes, never speaks in strange company, and yet never misses a chance to learn from others. He gains success and avoids failure by learning how others succeeded or failed, and without great trouble to himself. There is scarcely a lodge he does not visit, hardly a Person he does not know, and yet everybody likes him, because he minds his own business, or pretends to." (37)

As part of a treaty, Plenty Coups was given 360 acres of land near what is now the town of Pryor, Montana. Plenty Coups never had any children, and before he died, he wished for his land to be turned over to the state of Montana to become a state park upon his passing. Last spring, I visited the old home of Chief Plenty Coups. It was a very windy day, and I walked the path that goes through this beautiful park. At the very farthest corner of the park there is a bench that overlooks Pryor Creek. On the banks of this creek was a pair of chickadees sitting in the willows. The wind was blowing the willows violently and I noticed how the chickadees were unable to stay perched on the willows with each gust of wind. As they were blown off their perch, they would simply flutter to a more stable part of the willow, get blown off again, and repeat, as if they were just playing a fun game they knew well.

For many people right now, the world seems windy and chaotic. Many federal workers are not able to keep their jobs and don't know where to land. And also, many tribal people haven't known where to land and what purpose to fulfill since the world drastically changed over 100 years ago. Out of chaos comes creation, and this is a great time to begin to work on creating the world you want to live in.

The world needs people with the spirit of the chickadee. To cheerfully play in the winds of change, to listen to the successes and failures of others, to work for wisdom and build a nest for future generations.

Frank B. Linderman, (2002). Plenty Coups Chief of the Crows (p. 37). University of Nebraska Press.