Mik-api Character Analysis in Fools Crow

The many-faces man of the Lone Eaters’ band. Mik-api is the physical and spiritual healer of his tribe, and he takes Fools Crow on as his apprentice. He is first taught the art of healing by his aunt, a healing woman from the Never Laughs band, and after he falls in love and marries a Black Paint slave, Mik-api continues to learn healing under the direction of a Black Paint many-faces man. Mik-api’s young wife dies after just two years of marriage; claiming to be “satisfied with his memories of his Black Paint wife,” he never remarries. Mik-api’s spirit animal is an aptly named Raven, and he often speaks through Mik-api to help guide Fools Crow. After forty winters as the Lone Eaters’ many-faces man, Mik-api leads the procession that takes the surviving Pikuni north.

Mik-api Quotes in Fools Crow

The Fools Crow quotes below are all either spoken by Mik-api or refer to Mik-api. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

The Individual vs. the Collective Good Theme Icon

“It surprises you that I speak the language of the two-leggeds. It’s easy, for I have lived among you many times in my travel. I speak many languages. I converse with the blackhorns and the real-bears and the wood-biters. Bigmouth and I discuss many things.” Raven made a face. “I even deign to speak once in a while with the swift silver people who live in the water—but they are dumb and lead lives without interest. I myself am very wise. That is why Mik-api treats me to a smoke now and then.”

Related Characters: Raven (speaker), White Man’s Dog/Fools Crow, Mik-api

Page Number and Citation: 57

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote occurs as Raven comes to lead White Man’s Dog to his spirit animal, Skunk Bear, and it reflects White Man’s Dog’s connection to nature. White Man’s Dog has been unable to find his spirit animal on his own, and Raven guides him to the animal’s location. Raven’s ability to speak White Man’s Dog’s language is a testament to the closeness of their relationship, and it also establishes his proximity to the other animals as well. The Pikuni people are connected to all animals, not just their designated spirit animals, and their stories and songs, including the Beaver Medicine Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem a

Mik-api Character Timeline in Fools Crow

The timeline below shows where the character Mik-api appears in Fools Crow. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Dreams, Visions, and Storytelling Theme Icon

Spirituality and the Natural World Theme Icon

Fast Horse tells White Man’s Dog that Mik-api, a powerful many-faces man, has strong medicine and has agreed to perform a ceremony. White... (full context)

Meanwhile, White Man’s Dog examines a small pouch of yellow pigment given to him by Mik-api. Before setting out on their journey, the many-faces man had invited White Man’s Dog and... (full context)

...readies himself for the raid. He dips his fingers into the yellow paint just as Mik-api had taught him and prays to Sun Chief. He vows to sacrifice before the Medicine... (full context)

Meanwhile, White Man’s Dog gives five of his best horses to Mik-api and visits the old man frequently. Mik-api soon asks White Man’s Dog to prepare the... (full context)

Colonialism and Western Expansion Theme Icon

Later, Mik-api tells White Man’s Dog about a dream he had. In this dream, Raven came down... (full context)

...for the four-legged caught in the trap. He thinks that it is a wolverine, although Mik-api refused to confirm this. He comes across a fat raven and begins to follow it.... (full context)

...abuse his power, Raven says. He then tells White Man’s Dog to always listen to Mik-api, as he will speak through him. (full context)

Later, White Man’s Dog visits with Mik-api. Winter is over, and he is excited to go to the trading fort and secure... (full context)

White Man’s Dog tells Mik-api about his dreams of the white-faced girl. After a purifying sweat, Mik-api performs a ceremony... (full context)

White Man’s Dog asks Mik-api how he became a many-faces man. Mik-api tells him that as a young man, he... (full context)

Head Carrier told Mik-api to let him die in peace, and Mik-api left him. As he walked along the... (full context)

After Mik-api applied the mud to Head Carrier’s wounds, he made a full recovery. Mik-api later told... (full context)

...for Yellow Kidney’s disappearance, but now he is not sure. He tells his father about Mik-api’s ceremony and how the bad spirit of his dream is floating about the village. Rides-at-the-door... (full context)

Later, Mik-api tells White Man’s Dog that he has recently been to Yellow Kidney’s lodge and that... (full context)

Later that day, Mik-api and two other men paint White Man’s Dog’s skin white with double rows of black... (full context)

Mik-api has told Heavy Shield Woman that he can drive the bad spirit from Yellow Kidney,... (full context)

...days later, Fast Horse wakes in Boss Ribs’ lodge. Boss Ribs tells his son that Mik-api has healed his body with his magic but couldn’t heal his soul. Because of this,... (full context)

Back at the camp of the Lone Eaters, Mik-api watches Red Paint cook. She reminds him of his own wife who died forty years... (full context)

Mik-api remarks to Red Paint that she “looks different,” and then he guesses that she is... (full context)

Mik-api has been dreaming for the last three nights, but his dreaming powers are beginning to... (full context)

Fools Crow enters the lodge, surprising Mik-api. Raven had told Mik-api that Fools Crow was out looking for Fast Horse, and he... (full context)

...swallowing. He is unable to take any water and his eyes have a blank expression. Mik-api is away from camp visiting another tribe, but Fools Crow remembers a ritual that he... (full context)

...Four Horns agency. Fools Crow has since returned from his vision quest, and he helps Mik-api and Boss Ribs tend to the sick. Fools Crow knows that their magic is useless... (full context)

In the moon of the first thunder, Mik-api sits in his lodge alone. He thinks of his late wife and the time he... (full context)

Mik-api removes the Thunder Pipe from a bundle and unwraps it. He says a prayer to... (full context)

A procession begins with Mik-api at the front. Fools Crow and Red Paint, with a cradleboard on her back, wait... (full context)

Mik-api Character Analysis

Mik-api Quotes in Fools Crow

Chapter 6 Quotes

Mik-api Character Timeline in Fools Crow