The Day The Earth Rose Up

A tale of how the Seven Sisters, who ran away from a giant bear, were saved when their prayer was answered. The Seven Sisters shine on us every night as the Pleiades.

When seven Lakota sisters venture deep into the forest to gather chokecherries, they are surprised and chased by a giant bear. As they huddle together on a rock ledge and pray for help, the earth rises up, taking them out of reach of the bear. A great eagle rescues the Seven Sisters by taking them to the Star Nation, where they become the Pleiades star formation we see in the night sky.

Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo is a storyteller, poet, artist and illustrator. Her recent book, The Day the Earth Rose Up, is her Lakota version of the story of the Pleiades star constellation. She is a member of the Lower Brule Lakota Nation, Kul Wicasa Oyate, Lower Brule, South Dakota. Alfreda grew up surrounded by her tiyóspaye, her circle of family and friends and uses stories she heard as a child, along with various art forms, in all her work. "As long as I have a story left to tell, I feel I have a responsibility to gift that story forward." Alfreda currently lives in beautiful Palisade, Colorado.