A man decides to paint all white birds in different colors. The crow, originally white, refuses to be painted but is forcibly turned entirely black as punishment for his conceit. In retaliation, the crow hoards deer, causing the people to starve. Eventually, a truce is reached: the people can hunt deer again, provided they leave the liver and internal fat for the crow.
Source:
Chipewyan Tales
by Robert Harry Lowie
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 3
New York, 1912
► Themes of the story
Origin of Things: The tale explains the origin of the crow’s black color and the cultural practice of leaving certain parts of the deer for the crow.
Trickster: The crow embodies the trickster archetype, using cunning and retaliation against the humans.
Moral Lessons: The narrative imparts lessons about humility, respect for nature, and the consequences of actions.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Chipewyan people
A large band of Indians were living along a lake. All kinds of white birds came there. A man called out to them, “I shall paint you with different colors, it does not look well for all of you to look alike!” He left the white wavy as it was, painted the loon black and white, and so gave a different color to each species. At last came the crow, who was quite white. “I’ll spot you like the loon,” said the man. But the crow protested strongly, saying he did not want his clothes painted at all. But the Indians caught him, and the painter blackened him all over, saying, “You are too conceited, I’ll blacken you.” All the other birds and the Indians ran away. The crow tried to catch them, but only managed to get hold of the blackbird. The crow said, “You, at least, shall be of the same color as myself,” and rubbed his paint all over the blackbird.
► Continue reading…
The crow continued to be angry. He started first south, then northwards to the Barren Grounds, and built a fence to prevent the deer from coming to the Indians. The painter bade different birds scour the country for deer, but they returned without having found a trace of them. A long time after, the night-owl, perching on a tree, saw the crow coming from the south. The crow was seated on a pine; he wore a necklace of deer’s eyeballs. The people said, “The crow is getting deer away from us.” The crow laughed, and said, “You made me black, you are looking black from starvation now.” The bird-painter bade the night-owl watch the crow’s movements. He saw the crow fly first south, then return and go in the opposite direction to the Barren Grounds until he disappeared between two big mountains. All the Indians started after him. They found a big enclosure with two gates between the rocks. Several animals were sent to get through these entrances, but the crow beat them back with a club. The wolves tried first, then the lynx attempted to crawl through, putting in his nose, but the crow dealt him a blow that flattened his nose to its present shape. Then two white foxes were sent. They got through the first door, and the crow, instead of hitting them, only broke his own gate. The foxes got through the second door. Then the deer began to sally forth. The night-owl was watching them and cried out, “They are coming as plentiful as maggots!” There were so many that they trampled down the track so as to become invisible, they could only be heard coming. The crow wept at the loss of his game, but by his medicine he made the skins of the escaping deer so hard that weapons could not pass through them, so the Indians continued to starve. At length, the crow said, “You played me a fine trick, but I played you one also by making you starve. But from tomorrow on you shall be able to chase the deer again, only leave me the liver and the inside fat.” The people promised to do so as long as he lived. Then their young hunters went out and got plenty of meat. The Indians still leave the guts and fat for the crows to feed on.
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