1961 STAN BRAKHAGE FILM

[Music] [Music] uh [Music] for countless thousands of years this place was unnamed unnamed for the forests the rivers the peaks the canyons the grasslands [Music] then men arrived out of the north hunters and gatherers small bands that lived upon the land and then drift on [Music] eventually there came to this place groups of people who called themselves the ute and these people gave names to the streams and mountains and lakes and called the land their home then the white men arrived who explored the land fought for it and settled it they drew boundaries around the land and named it colorado [Music] men have come and gone names have been changed and lost but much of this land remains untouched unchanged the birthplace and the resting place of the stories and legends men have told about it here begins the tale on a peaceful evening many many summers ago in a camp of the ute who plays the courting song whose heart would he win the young player will one day be called husband and his beloved wife and they will be honored by their sons and live in peace to the end of their days thus it has always been thus it will always be these were the thoughts of the old man as he sat smoking meditating this old one called smoking water by the ute was gifted in medicine and healing and he was wise in the traditions of his people but the song of love to which he listened was short upon the night air [Music] the shriek of bone whistle told of those among the youth who were not content and who scorned peace these were the vain and restless ones among the braves cast aside the courting flute and take up your bow they cried win for your bride better hunting lands to the north and to the east let us drive our enemies from these lands but the old man smoking water answered those you call enemies are our neighbors with whom we live in peace they do not covet our lands should we desire theirs war against our neighbors would bring us only sorrow [Music] the leader among the braves taunted smoking water are we to listen to the clucking of this old grandmother huddled in his rabbit skin robe his vision pale he cannot see beyond the smoke of his cloud maker [Music] my vision is keener than my brothers said smoking water for my heart shows me what my eyes fail to see our fathers and their fathers before them knew not hunger nor do we do not the forests and streams yield their children to our snares [Music] who would count our wealth and find it wanting who would number the seeds and berries ground upon our stones and say of them not enough [Music] who would lift our food packets laden with pemmican and call them too light [Music] foreign [Music] who would taste our broth and say that it lacks of this or that my vision does not weaken for i can see the bounty of nature around us we dwell here as children in the lap of their mother and nothing is denied to us [Music] he speaks truly the leader marked for children we are lost to us are the arts of war and the honors of manhood we dance only the women's dances not the dances of power our lances are splintered and weak our bows lie idle and unstrung our war clubs thirst for blood while we fatten on berries and broth now we would give a new hunger to arrows and let them seek the hearts of our enemies my brother speaks like the north wind that withers the leaves and brings the snows to our land like the howl of the white wolf his boasts freeze my blood for when winter is upon the land the forest children seek their lodges and hide in the canyons we too within our dwellings close out the howls of the white death and draw comfort from our fires but if we go forth into battle what then our young men will fall disease and grief will carry away our young women our children will cry for food but there will be none to give them no dwellings will there be to shelter us nor fires to warm us one by one our people will weaken and fall prey to the white wolf the white wolf now ranges far from our land we would be men as our forefathers were we would count blows on the field of battle we would be called powerful and have tales of greatness to pass to our sons you will have no sons they will lie still within their mother's wombs and be born without breath so so [Music] so so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] the young braves fought and fell not one warrior remained to honor his brothers with proper burial coyotes feasted upon the dead and left only their bones [Music] so [Music] each day the howl of the north wind was heard clearly as winter approached soon came the white wolf of the north he fell upon the bones of the dead and devoured them and left in his path a frozen wilderness [Music] [Laughter] then came the days of hunger and suffering of which smoking water had spoken [Music] in time there were no seeds nor berries to be ground into meal upon the stones [Music] the food packets yielded their stores to hungry mouths and were soon emptied [Music] starvation and disease stalk the people and scattered them far and wide sensing the end of his days was near old smoking water gathered his belongings and seated himself beside a frozen stream and puffed on his cloud maker and meditated deep was his sorrow for his people as he awaited death but the white wolf passed over him and did not seize him as he sat and smoked the snows melted about him and he imparted to the stream the warmth of his cloud maker and the healing power of his medicines and in time his spirit became one with the waters and so it was that the people came to the side of smoking water and warmed their bodies and cleansed their sores and the people endured and healed and grew strong in heart at length the white wolf departed and spring returned to the land even as it does to this day but smoking water remained in the hot spring to which he gave his spirit and his name [Music] even now his signs may be seen upon the land among the plants and medicine herbs growing in sheltered deeps in the winds courting of the trees and in the distant peaks which bear the weight of winter year around here still are the untouched unchanged unbounded places which yield their legends to all who seek them in this timeless land we now call colorado [Music] you