Nokomis teaches Hiawatha what he needs to know to run swiftly, step lightly, and take what is necessary, but not more than what is needed or can be appreciated. She is much older than Hiawatha.

Is she standing still? Is Hiawatha running? Yes, but another way to look at it is:
Nokomis runs through her life in her mind. She remembers running, dancing, building houses, creating delicious dishes, and making new friends. Hiawatha uses his legs, but puts his mind aside, only thinking about running.

They are fixed in place.
Hiawatha is running.
Nokomis is standing still.
Our ideas about Native Peoples can remain fixed.
Or they can run and flow, both mentally and experientially.

Nokomis

Hiawatha

Layered in Photoshop Elements 7 with my own photographs, and sketches from The Hiawatha Primer, by Florence Holbrook, published in 1898.

Nokomis is Hiawatha’s grandmother. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote an epic poem about them in 1855. An epic poem is one who tells a story. It is usually quite long, and has lots of descriptions of heroic actions and loves gained and lost. Another epic poem to read is Beowulf , the bee hunter, the bear.