A Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather,

"Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

This piece of Indian philosophy was sent to me by a friend. It triggered off all sorts of memories for me.

A few years ago we went to Minnesota to visit our ex-minister at Kirkham United Reformed Church. We went on a tour of the State and went up to Ely, near the Canadian border and adjacent to the wilderness. There we visited a wolf sanctuary. Four wolf cubs had been orphaned. They were being brought up with minimal human contact, and were to be released into the wilderness when they were older. We flew over the wilderness to see if we could spot wild wolves, but that day they had decided to hide from us.

This holiday inspired me to produce a wall hanging for my City and Guilds Creative Embroidery assessment. I found a large triangular piece of chamois leather; it had a lower edge which was erratic and so I made it into a fringe – which reminded me of an Indian’s squaw’s dress. I then added an alpha wolf (leader of the pack) made in felt and surrounded him with smaller felt

wolf heads. These heads were emerging from slivers of flimsy fabric to represent mist, and a dreamlike quality was given to the hanging. I added some pottery beads which my daughter Gail had made specially for me. I was lucky to find some 4" tubular glass beads which being turquoise, brought in the Indian influence. I finished the wallhanging with a long pipe of peace running diagonally over the chamois.

I am interested in Indian culture and beliefs. The origins of Indian culture respect all living things and the people only took from the land and animals just enough for their needs. It is such a pity today that many Indians have been corrupted by drink and gambling, such a far cry from their ancestors who lived and worked on the land before settlers came and disrupted their way of life.