Kwanokasha: The Spirit Who Grants Powers (Choctaw)
Kwanokasha is a powerful Choctaw spirit associated with caves and rock shelters, who appears to young children during vision quests. According to legend, Kwanokasha takes children who wander into certain caves into the spirit world, where they are tested. The spirit offers them three choices: a knife (representing the power to heal through surgery), herbs (representing the power to heal through medicine), or a pebble (representing the power to heal through prayer and ritual). The child's choice determines what kind of medicine person they will become. Those who choose nothing may be cursed wit