The Friend of the Night

In many Native homes, when the sun slipped behind the hills and the drums grew quiet, people returned to their tipis to rest —
but the owl remained awake with the night.

My grandfather once said:
“When the village sleeps, the owl keeps watch for us.”
The owl never made a fuss.
It perched silently on a branch near the lodge,
watching shadows move through the darkness.
Sometimes it was a weasel sneaking into the chicken coop.
Other times, a strange wind brushing past a child’s tent.

To the elders,
the owl was a weather whisperer —
if it flew close to camp, winter was coming early.

To children,
its call was the earth’s lullaby,
a story told when mothers were too tired to speak.

To hunters,
it was a silent guide —
if the owl flew east,
they believed the spirit of the animal waited in that direction.

And though its voice could send a shiver down the spine,
no one chased the owl away.

Because they knew:
The owl does not bring fear —
it brings what we are ready to face.

Acknowledgment of the Story
This story is shared as a respectful retelling inspired by Indigenous oral traditions in which Owl is a night watcher, a keeper of hidden knowledge, and a threshold being. It is offered here not as an original teaching, but as a way to honor the role Owl carries across many Native lineages.