<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Christmas in Tucson</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><i style="font-size: 14px;" class="">The Exchange</i></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 11px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Her long black and white </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">hair running down her</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">shoulders, like a creek </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">with all its mysteries.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Brown eyes, kind</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">like a bear waking</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">to a new morning.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">She wore a crisp white </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">shirt with blue jeans</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">and pretty light tan </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">cowboy boots.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">You could not miss</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">her silver and turquoise </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">belt buckle with an </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">engraved claw, which </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">was an invitation to see </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">the fine craftsmanship </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">of the Tohono O'odham </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">and Navajo Indians, </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">inside a small trading post </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">store called <i class="">The Coyote</i> </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">on a dusty desolate road</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">not far outside of town</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">in the month of December.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Behind a glass counter</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">displayed were red clay pots </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">on small colorful weavings</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">along with friendship</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">baskets and hand crafted </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">artifacts. I was surprised</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">to find sweetgrass in the </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">region and traded with the </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">elder woman green frog </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">skin for it. In exchange she </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">handed me the braid with </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">some coins. She noticed </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">my Ojibwa beaded earrings.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">There was really nothing </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">more to say. She gave</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">me thoughts for a life time.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">I lit the sweetgrass on </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Christmas day.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Ziibinkokwe, Turtle Clan (Patricia LeBon Herb)</div></div></div></body></html>