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The Cottonwood Sings is the delightful story of the lovely Hunku (First Woman), who was immortal and never aged. The animals and plants loved her, but Hunku was lonely. Every day she would go to the riverbank and cry herself to sleep. Beaver, who lived in the river, fell in love with the beautiful Hunku and begged the Great Spirit to turn him into a man. The Great Spirit agreed, and Beaver became Takahe (First Man), but the Great Spirit told him that one day he would have to go back to being Beaver. Hunku and Takahe enjoyed their life together, and they had four beautiful daughters. The day finally came when Beaver had to return to the river. Hunku missed her companion and asked the Great Spirit to turn her into a tree so she could always be close to Beaver. The Great Spirit agreed to her request, and to this day you will find cottonwood trees living near bodies of water and beavers living near cottonwood trees.
Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo is a storyteller, poet, and artist. She is a member of the Lower Brule Lakota Nation, Kul Wicasa Oyate, Lower Brule, South Dakota, where she grew up surrounded by her tiyóspaye, her circle of family and friends. Alfreda uses various art forms to tell her stories. Currently, she lives in beautiful Palisade, Colorado.
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