The four scouts were the first relatives Anunk Ite had seen since her banishment from the underworld. She must have been thrilled at their arrival and therefore hosted a feast for them. Nevertheless, she hid her ugly face from them and schemed with Iktomi and the wolves to deceive them regarding the reality of life in this world.

Kevin Pourier recalls “visiting with a guy that I learned a lot from some years ago and telling him I was afraid of something and he said, ‘well how do you think our relatives felt when they came out of Wind Cave and they didn’t know where to go?’ Up until that moment, I thought narratives such as this one were just stories. But he talked about the emergence onto this earth as though it could have happened yesterday. These narratives aren’t just stories–they are lessons of the way to be.”

For countless generations since our ancestors emerged onto this earth, Kevin believes, Lakota people lived “as complete human beings.” They created beautiful things for each other. There “was no price tag on them; they weren’t going to be in a catalog; there were no museums.” In creating his buffalo horn spoon for this exhibit, Kevin chose to represent the condition of many Lakotas today: “I left the outside raw, rough, hair sticking out; and polished the inside because I know that inside we all have the ability to be human. I drilled holes all over in the spoon and textured the inside of the holes. I wanted to make a statement about our condition today as human beings compared to our ancestors. I want people to question ‘Why?’ Why is this piece raw, why is it not finished, why is it so unlike the powerful pieces our ancestors created? This piece is a reflection of the way human beings behave today.” Many of us live rough lives of deception, just as Anunk Ite and Iktomi deceived Tokahe and his fellow scouts, but inside we all possess the smoothness and polish to be complete human beings like our Lakota ancestors.

The spoon also suggests the contrary nature of its namesake. The numerous holes drilled through its bowl makes it impossible to use as a spoon. Or maybe, as Kevin wryly remarks, “only Iktomi could drink from it!”

... and when they were on the world, it led them to the lake where the double-woman had her tipi. Iktomi and the double-woman saw them coming, and while she prepared a feast of meat and soup he invited them to the feast. She served them with choice bits of meat and plenty of good soup. She covered her other face with her robe and appeared to them as a beautiful woman. Iktomi appeared as a handsome young man, and he told them that both he and the woman were very old, but because they ate meat they remained young. Iktomi had told the wolves to drive the game so the young men saw many moose, deer, and bears.