The Pte People were created by Skan to serve the Tunkasilas. Their Itacan, Wa, was married to Kan, a seer and the wisest of women. Their daughter, Ite, who was the most beautiful of women, had married Tate, and they had four sons.
The first born was called Yata, the second born Eya, the third named Yanpa and the fourth called Okaga. A fifth son, who would always remain with another person who cared for him, was called Yum.
One day, Tate saw a star fall from the sky and went to see it. In its place he found a very beautiful woman who was carrying a package. Tate knew immediately she was Woohpe (Skan's daughter) and that the package was a message from Skan. It decreed that, since there were no directions in the world, the four older sons were to go out and walk the edge of the world in order to establish four directions. As each fixed his direction, that would be the place he would live. This journey would also establish the fourth time -- the year -- for it would take one year to complete the task. Woohpe would stay with Tate and take care of Yum.
When it came time for Eya, Yanpa, Yata, and Okaga to set out on their journey, Woohpe gave each of them gifts and provisions. To Eya, Yanpa and Yata she gave large packs filled with food and robes. To Okaga she gave a small pouch and a tiny circle of fur. Okaga placed these mysterious objects next to his heart.
When they set out, they didn't know where they were going, since there were no directions. One night, after they made camp and Okaga built a warm fire, an old man (Wazi in disguise) approached them. He asked to spend the night near their fire and to share their food. In return he would help them on their journey.
All the brothers except Okaga refused to share their food, but Okaga, who had only the small pouch that Woohpe had given, offered to share whatever he had. He opened the pouch and found a small piece of food. It smelled wonderful, and he gave some to the old man. They both ate and enjoyed it's wonderful taste. And they noticed that no matter how much they took, the same amount was still left.
Then Wazi told Okaga that this was the food of the Tunkasilas and had been given to him out of love. Wazi also told him that as long as Okaga ate only that food, he would never be hungry. When it was time to sleep, Okaga took the small circle of fur and it magically grew large enough to cover both him and the old man.
The next day, the four sons heard terrible noises coming from the top of a nearby mountain. They knew the sounds were coming from Wakinyan (Thunder), and Yata insisted that it had been Iktomi, not Wazi, who had brought them to this dangerous point. He refused to go up the mountain.
Only Eya was brave enough to go up, and he met Wakinyan, who told him that when each of the brothers had established a direction, they should put a stone at that place. The stone would become a huge rock that could not be moved. And each should watch this rock until a bird came and landed on it, and that bird and all its offspring would be the messengers of that brother.
Eya caught up with his brothers, but told them nothing of what had happened. Wakinyan had advised him to remain silent. That evening, they came to the foot of another mountain and Wazi appeared, telling Eya to place a stone on the trail where they were standing. Eya did so and the stone immediately began to grow.
The next morning when they all awoke, they saw that the stone had turned into a huge rock that could not be moved. Wazi then told all of them that this was the first direction and from that moment Eya would have all the rights of the first born instead of Yata. Yata was furious, but Wazi was firm and told him that his cowardice, stinginess, and arrogance had cost him his position. But he did say that Yata could establish the second direction.
Yata was angry that he was no longer first in privilege, and he tried to bully Eya. But Eya would have none of it and they quarrelled endlessly. They finally made an offering to the Tunkasilas for a final decision in the matter. A hupucasakala (swallow), Wakinyan's messenger, appeared and told the brothers that Wakinyan had said that Wazi had been given the authority to express the will of Skan. So the giving of the first direction to Eya had been fair.
In a rage, Yata grabbed a stone and threw it at the swallow, but as he did so he froze. Wazi suddenly appeared and declared that Yata, since he was cold and mean, would forever be frozen in ice and that all living things would run from him. In Yata's presence, nothing would grow from the ground.
That night, Okaga sat on the edge of the world and made music with his flute. Stars clustered nearby to hear him and the power of the music melted them forever into a cloud of stars reaching across the sky -- the Milky Way.
The next morning, the four brothers continued on their journey. It had now been one moon since they had left the lodge of Tate. One night, an old man appeared at their camp fire. His face was covered and they all thought it must beWazi.
The old man showed the brothers a gambling game that would pass the time. They got so involved in it that for three days they completely forgot their mission and lingered at the same spot waiting for the old man to reappear each evening. On the fourth night, the old man appeared as usual. This time he took Yata aside and made a large bet. Knowing that Yata had lost his heritage, the old man promised that if Yata won, his birthright would be restored. He asked only for Okaga's fire making things that Yata had stolen from his brother as a stake. But Yata wanted to gamble for even higher stakes, and put up his position with the Tunkasilas and the woman he loved, Woohpe, against the promises of the old man.
Yata cheated all evening and expected to win. But the old man won. When Yata accused him of cheating, the old man readily admitted that he had. But he said that Yata should have expected that, saying, "I should have taught you the rules that, if a player cheats, he will be cheated. I have played according to those rules, and you cannot complain."
Yata cried and lamented, because he had lost everything. It was then that the old man finally revealed who he really was. He was not Wazi at all, but Iktomi. He said that all the sons had fallen for his trick and he had made them look ridiculous. "It will be known forever that while you were supposed to be doing the work of the Tunkasilas, you neglected it to gamble on a game of chance," he proclaimed. All four brothers were sad and ashamed.
The next day, they continued their journey. That night, without the tinder and flint that Yata had lost to Iktomi, they had no fire and were cold. Eya called for the help of Wakinyan, whose swallow came and told them that they would pay dearly for neglecting their mission. But he also told them how to make fire by moving a dry stick swiftly against wood, which Okaga did.
After three months on the trail, Wazi appeared and told Yata to put a stone down. But they could find no stones because everything was covered with ice. So Wazi had Yata place a block of ice on the trail.
In the morning, the block of ice that Yata had placed on the trail had turned into a huge cliff. As they gazed at it, a halhate (magpie) came and landed on it. Since the magpie was not considered a helpful bird, Wazi said,"The Tunkasilas declare that the magpie shall be your messenger, Yata. It is an evil bird, an enemy of all other birds. It is a bird of ill omen, so when it comes as your messenger, it will bring bad news."
The next day, the brothers traveled on. They came to a great lake, which they walked beside for a month. Then they came to a sandy place with no plants and little water. They walked for days without water. Finally an old woman appeared before them saying she was hungry. Okaga immediately shared his bit of food with her. In return, the woman took a pangeska (shell) from her pouch and drank from it. She passed it among the brothers, and there was more than enough sweet water. She told Okaga to keep the pangeska in his pouch.
After six months, the brothers finally came to a place where Wazi appeared and told Yanpa to place his stone and set his direction. But Yanpa could find no stone, for it was dark, so Wazi had him place a tree branch in the ground. By morning, the branch had grown into a huge oak tree. As they looked at it, a hihan (owl) landed in it and so the hihan became known as the messenger of Yanpa, the East Wind.
Yanpa started out to rejoin his brothers, but he was lost. He heard a strange sound above. It was his hihan. The owl led him back to his brothers. Yanpa promised the owl that as a reward, when he became a Tunkasila he would give the owl great power to see through the darkness and the ability to fly noiselessly, so that it could stalk its prey without being heard.
The brothers traveled for many more days, until they came to a place where Wazi instructed Okaga to place his pangeska. When they awoke the next morning, they found that the shell had become a beautiful, colorful tipi. A "tasiyagnupa" (meadowlark) sat upon the tipi and became the messenger of Okaga.
The brothers kept walking on the path around the edge of the world so they could return to the point where their journey had begun and thereby complete the circle around the world. On the last evening of the twelfth moon--a year later--they came to the place where the first direction had been established.
Eya, Okaga, Yanpa and Yata then returned to the lodge of Tate and there was a great celebration. When Woohpe and Okaga saw one another again, they realized that they had fallen in love.
Woohpe made a great feast with the help of Wazi and Wakanka. The whole family and all the animals were fed, and even the Tunkasilas came to the celebration. After this, Tate and his five sons ceased to be men and became Wakan. Wazi and Wakanka served theTunkasilas as they had before they were banished. Iktomi served the animals.
After the feasting, Skan decreed that Tate should once again become the invisible companion of Skan and never again assume human form. The four brothers were praised for establishing the four directions and also the fourth time, which was a year.
Each of them was told that he must live where he had established his direction. Eya would be known as the West Wind, Yata as the North Wind, Yanpa as the East Wind and Okaga as the South Wind. Yum was to also be a Tunkasila in charge of amusements, games and love. He would be known as the Whirlwind. Woohpe asked to remain forever with Okaga. Skan said that, since she was his daughter, she should have whatever she wanted.
And so, there are four directions and four times moving in circles. The Day Time, the Night Time and the Moon Time circle above the world, but the Year Time moves in a circle around the world.