Napa (a.k.a. Old Man) is my Blackfeet people’s inflection of the mythic trickster archetype, found commonly in tribal societies the world over. Part hero, part antihero (so human an animal...) you never know what Napi is gonna do next...

In the long ago time in this homeland of mine
Old Man roamed far and alone
Walking to and through each adventure aligned
With the peaks of the Earth’s backbone
Along the ridgeline he walked with his face in the wind
He follows the trace scent of hooves
He watches wolves down an elk by an evergreen belt
His fascination led to the tale
Of Napi Becomes A Wolf

“As we all grow old, it’s through choice we grow wise
Napi listen close if you can
Through this transformation you may realize
The love that binds our Wolf Clan.”
And then by choice Napi fell under his medicine spell
He woke behind eyes of different sheen
His new ears heard the world as each moment unfurled
The Sacred within every living thing
When Napi Became a Wolf.

Napi’s vision was restored in communion with his family
They hunted in the Sun
He glimpsed the principles key to weaving survival
For both Wolf and Man
Always share and understand...

(Musical Interlude)

By the grace of the days in this long ago land
We can focus on the gifts of the Sun
Wolf Chief was messenger to early man
Both forms sprang from one common sand
Through this Eden we’ve seen folded into our dream
Now mortal, struggling to stand
Take a lesson from one who beneath this same Sun
Was transformed, into a kin of man
When Napi Became a Wolf
When Napi Becomes a Wolf
When Napi Becomes a Wolf
Napi Becomes a Wolf