This guide contains Animal Legends from the Northwest Coast Nations; these stories were meant to explain Creation & Clan Migration, Traditions & Customs, etc...

Native Art generally depicts images from archetypal Legends such as these, or the animal totem crest that each family was entitled to; Zoomorphic crests are common among the West Coast cultures of Canada, as they are in old European cultures, often representing family lineage or mythological stories. 

RAVEN

The Raven is a central figure for many peoples, and has been a powerful spiritual symbol for West Coast cultures for thousands of years - carved Northwest coast First Nations Raven artifacts have been found in the Fraser Valley here dating as old as 1000 BC.  In Norse mythology, the god Odin used two ravens named Thought and Memory, to fly the world each day in order to inform him of what was happening.

The First Nations legends believe that Raven is the Creator’s helper, and can transform into anything he desires.  A trickster character often motivated by greed, Raven usually ends up helping humans in the end, and is credited with heroic actions such as putting the Fish in the Sea, and the Sun, Moon and Stars in the Sky.  He is called the ‘Bringer of Light’, and is often characterized with the Sun in its mouth.

A Story of the Bringer of Light

The tribes on the rivers Skeena and Nass... say that long ago an old chief who had all the light in three boxes lived with his only daughter where the Nass now flows. Cauch (the raven god) wanted to have this light in the worst way, and for a time tried to get the boxes, but without success. At length he hit on a plan. He noticed that the daughter went to the well every day for a supply of water. While there she often had a drink. So, he turned himself into the needle-like leaf of the spruce tree and floated on her drinking water and was swallowed by her.

In due season she gave birth to a son, who was none other than Ke-kilst­lass, or Cauch, who by this means was born into the family. He quickly grew up to be a big boy and became a great favorite with his grandfather, who spoiled him by letting him have all he asked for. One day he asked the old man for one of the boxes, in order, he said, to play with it. This the old man sturdily refused to grant.

Being determined to have all of them, sooner or later, the raven raised a great row, so that the old man had no peace. At length he got angry and, pointing to a box, he said, "Here, take that one and play with it until you get tired." So the raven quickly took the box and rolled it about until he had it out­side, where he took it up and dashed it to pieces, letting out a flood of light, because it was the sun box he had obtained. So he took the sun and placed it on high, where it has been giving light to the world ever since.

Having gotten the sun box, his next step was to secure the other two. Knowing that he could not play the old game, he thought of another. He had heard that the old chief had gone up the river fishing, so he made himself a false moon, then took a canoe and went up the river to meet the old chief. While the chief was fishing he usually took the moon out of its box in order to give him light, because he always fished after dark. Before getting near to the chief's house the raven god hid the false moon under his coat of feathers.

When he reached the place where the chief dwelt it was quite dark. The chief said to the raven, "How do you see to get about in the dark when you have no moon?" "Oh, well enough," replied the raven, "I have a moon of my own," at the same time raising up his feathers and letting out a little light. When the chief saw that his moon was not, as he had believed, the only one in the world, he lost all conceit of it and the stars, and left the two boxes lying about. His neglect was the raven's opportunity; he opened the two boxes and let out their contents, which were placed in the heavens, where they have been ever since, and will be to the end.

- Traditional, by James Deans, 1899

EAGLE

Eagles are another central character in Native legends and tradition.  They represent leadership, prestige, and power, and their feathers, down, talons, etc are used for many ceremonial purposes.  The Eagle is said to carry prayers to the Creator, and can be recognized in art by the talons and curved beak. 

A Story of the Eagle and the Bear

Long ago the bears were very fond of salmon, just as they are now. They preferred live fish, but had to settle for dead ones, for they had no claws to hold them. When they tried to catch live salmon with their paws, the fish usually wriggled away, but if the bears had had claws, they could have held them. This is the story of how the bears got claws. 

Long ago, a bear who had come a long way over the moun­tains in search of a few fresh salmon found, when he reached the level country, a stream in which a number of beautiful salmon were swimming. It was early in the season, so no dead fish were lying on top of the stream, and the others were all quite lively. The bear spotted a number of nice ones in a pool and waded in hoping to catch a few and take them ashore for his dinner.

After he had been in the pool a long time, a nice big one came along. The bear put his paw on its back, but the fish soon wriggled away. Again and again he tried to hold the salmon as they swam past him, but the result was always the same. Finally the tired, hungry and unhappy bear lifted his eyes toward heaven and said: "0 thou great and good Ne-kilst­lass; thou who listens to the prayers of all thy creatures and helpest them in all their troubles..."

An eagle on a nearby tree, who had been listening to his cry for relief, flew down beside him, saying, "I have been listening to your prayer and have come to help you; hold up your paw." So saying, he wrenched off one of his own talons and planted it on the bear's upheld fore-paw, saying: "That will hold the salmon for you." This claw not only quickly took root, but at the same time all the other paws were well provided with claws, and afterward every bear that came into the world was well provided with them, and consequently never after was with­out a plentiful supply of fresh salmon in their season.

- Traditional, by James Deans, 1899

BEAR

Bears are highly regarded by Natives, and are seen as closely related to humans.  Tradition requires that a Bear killed by Native Hunters be honoured as a guest in the Chief’s house, with appropriate ceremonies and displays of respect and welcome.  Bears symbolize teaching, motherhood and friendship, often shown smiling.  It is believed that, during the Winter, Bears walk in only their spirit bodies, and leave their physical beings to hibernate.  Art forms of Bears are often represented with curled nostrils and claws and, of course, sharp teeth. 

A Story of the Bear Mother

An extraordinarily beautiful maiden, who lived on the Nass or Skeena River, once said some unkind things about bears while she was out on the hillside picking berries. To punish her, two Bears in human form took her to their great chief. The Bear chief thereupon married her, to his nephew. She lived with the Bear in a cave, and soon she gave birth to twins. The children were half human, half bear.
But one day her brothers found her, and they killed the Bear, her husband. Before the Bear died, he taught his wife a song to sing in order to have good luck at bear hunting.  The twin children grew up and were like bears some of the time, and they guided their human uncles to the bears' dens, and helped the hunters set snares.   (Some stories say they could transform into bears at will.)  In this way, and by singing the songs, the clan became famous bear hunters. 

- Traditional, by Barbeau 1929
 

FROG

A Haida Story of the Frog

“Once, in a village on the coast, which is now called Skidegate, the Ravens lived near the Eagles, and the people fished and were always at peace. A Raven prince and his friends were fishing for salmon one day when a great frog approached them. One of the boys picked up the frog and threw it into the fire. That night, a woman's voice was heard, crying out, "Give me back my child." This went on for days, and the voice said that their village would be destroyed if the child was not returned.

Only one old woman believed the voice; everyone else laughed. But the old woman dug a cave, where she stored food, and where she went with her own child when the voice appeared. One night there were great rumblings, and then smoke appeared, and flames were everywhere. The villagers now were awakened, and they tried to escape. But this they could not do, for the flames were all around them, and their canoes were all burned up. So they all died, except for the old woman and her child.

Days later, when the old woman came out, she heard the mysterious voice saying, "Oh, my son, as you were destroyed by fire, so were your killers destroyed by fire."

The old woman found an abandoned canoe and paddled out into the river where earlier the frog had been killed. In the water, she saw a huge frog, which appeared half human. Then she heard the voice saying that the proud frog killers had been killed, and that the frog child was now avenged.

Time passed, and the old woman's daughter was brought up by a great Haida chief from another village. When the great chief died, she married his son, the new chief. She had children, and one day they asked why they had no uncles. "They all died," she told them, so they set off in a canoe to find one of their relatives. This was to be their Uncle Gitrhawn, (the Salmon Eater), and the story illustrates how the Gitrhawn group came to be among the Haidas.”

- Traditional, by Moody 1947

 

WOLF

A Story of the Wolf Clan on the upper Nass River

 “Once, near where Prince Rupert now stands, the people of the village had no food. And all day long they heard a wolf crying in the woods behind them. Only one of the villagers was brave enough to go out and see why the wolf cried so; he found the wolf, as it was walking back and forth, appearing to be in great agony. The fearless visitor said soothing words to the sorrowful wolf, and offered to help with its ailment. The wolf felt reassured by the kind words and came up to the visitor and opened its mouth. Inside a bone could be seen stuck in the poor wolf's mouth. The visitor took the bone out, and the delighted wolf jumped with gratefulness-and disappeared into the woods.

A little later the wolf was heard to call again. The fearless one answered the call, and again found the wolf at the same place in the woods. When the visitor arrived, the happy wolf jumped with joy, and led the visitor to a deer carcass. This happened every day, and soon the people of the village had lots of food, although the other villages nearby were still starving. The friend of the wolf gave many feasts, and he became a great hero, the Prince of the Wolves. A little later, an argument broke out in the village, and he moved to the upper Nass River.”       

- Traditional, by Barbeau 1929

 

SALMON

Legend holds that Salmon are actually People with eternal Life, that live far under the ocean.  In Spring they don their Salmon disguises and sacrifice themselves, to become food for their tribes... When the entire fish skeletons are then returned to the Sea, the Spirits will rise again and change back into the Salmon People...  Salmon art often includes faces or parts of man spirits in transformation.   Further, Salmon themselves have beaklike mouths, and several fins, so art can be highly stylized. 

SEA OTTER

There is a story about a white Otter and a Hunter named Gunarnesemgyet that killed it, and gave the fur to his wife to clean. But the Otter transforms when she takes it into the sea to wash, and carries her underwater to the land of the orcas, where she is to become the Chief's wife. The Hunter follows her, however, and gets her back in time...

THUNDERBIRD

The Thunderbird is a supernatural bird believed to be the only predator of the Orca Killer Whale.  The bird captures the Whale and carries it off to the mountain top where it lives to devour it!  Legend says that it was during a monumental struggle during such a capture that the praries east of the Rockies were so extremely flattened.  The Thunderbird is recognizable by the Crown on its head; it often has a face in the centre of its chest, too.

ORCA KILLER WHALE

Killer whales are seen as the rulers and guardians of the Sea.  Some stories explain the markings of the Orca as a magical White Wolf that entered the Sea and transformed, retaining some markings as a reminder of where it came from, but continuing to live and hunt in packs and mate for life.  Like Wolfs, Orcas are often attributed with having human spirits. 

Even today it is literally believed that Orcas lingering close to shore are actually men reincarnated, trying to communicate with their previous human families... either lost fishermen that were transformed below the sea, or great Chiefs returning… Orca art often depicts faces calling, or eyes looking out, from the dorsal fin or air hole.   
 

SISITUIL (Sea Monster / Serpent)

The Sisiutl is a mythical creature that commonly adorned hunting boats for protection, as it represents a Warrior's power - it was said that while the Sisiutl blood can give men Invincibility, the monster's Gaze would bring them death!  I have seen Sisituil spelt several ways, and either laid out flat or curled into a circle, but it is always illustrated with a crown and a two-headed tail.   

 

 
The West Coast of BC, Canada

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