The spirit guiding a child left by its parents

A lice-infested boy is left behind by his parents but is saved and lice-picked by the spirit of a dead man. Riding the spirit’s back, he follows his mother’s trail, hunts a hare, and is reunited with his baffled parents. After graciously feeding the spirit, he tracks him across frozen lakes, only to see him depart and, in time, forget his spectral benefactor.

Source:
Ethnology of the Ungava District,
Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner
Smithsonian Institution
Bureau of American Ethnology
Annual Report 11, 1889-1890
Washington, 1894

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The mother’s decision to abandon her infested child, despite her maternal bond, embodies a poignant act of betrayal.

Journey to the Otherworld: The spirit’s intervention transports the boy into a realm beyond the living, guiding him along a supernatural path.

Ancestral Spirits: The benevolent dead man who rescues and mentors the boy represents the influence of forebears on the living.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

An Indian and his wife had but one child, which was so infested with vermin that when the parents contemplated, going to the tents of some distant friends the father advised the mother to leave the child behind. The next morning after the mother had taken down the tent the little boy asked her “Mother, are you not going to put on my moccasins?” the mother replied, “I shall put them on after I have put on my snow-shoes.” The little boy said, “Surely you are not going to leave me!” She said, “No;” but took hold of her sled and started off. The little boy cried out, “Mother, you are leaving me,” and endeavored to overtake her in his bare feet; but the mother soon was out of sight. The little boy began to cry and retraced his steps to the tent place.

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There he cried until the spirit of a dead man came to him and asked, “Where is your mother?” The boy replied, “She has gone away and left me.” “Why did she leave you?” asked the old man. “Because I was so covered with lice,” replied the boy. The spirit said it would remove all of the lice, but three. So it began to pick them off. After this was done the spirit asked, “Where did your mother go?” The boy pointed out her track. The spirit then said to the boy, “Would you like to go to your mother?” The boy answered, “Yes.” The spirit put the boy on his back and started on the path made by the sled of his mother. After a while they came to a tree and in looking at it the boy saw a porcupine sitting among the branches. The boy greatly desired to have the animal. So he said, “Grandfather, I wish you would kill the porcupine.” The old man answered, “It will make too much smoke for me to kill it.” After a time they came across a hare which the boy again desired to have. To this the man assented. So he put the boy down in the snow and soon caught the hare and killed it. It was now becoming dark, so they made their camping place for the night. The spirit gave the boy the hare and told him to cook it. After the meat was cooked the boy asked the old man what parts of the animal he preferred. The old man said “Give me the lungs and kidneys.” The boy gave him those parts and consumed the remainder himself. They laid down to sleep and in the morning they again started on the sled track. About noon they came to the tents of the Indians, and among them was the tent of the father and mother of the little boy. The spirit placed the boy down on the outside near the door of the mother’s tent and told him to go in. The boy entered and saw his father and mother sitting near the fire. The mother in astonishment said, “Husband, is this not our little boy whom we deserted at our late camp?” The husband asked the boy, “Who brought you here?” The little boy answered, “My grandfather.” The mother inquired, “Who is your grandfather?” The father asked, “Where is he now?” The boy replied, “He is sitting outside.” The father asked his wife to look outside and see if any one was there. The woman did so and informed him that “I see some one sitting there, but I do not know who it is.” The spirit replied, “You should call me somebody when you are no one to leave your child to perish.” The husband directed his wife to invite the old man into the tent.

The spirit declined to enter. The father then asked the son to tell him to come in. The boy went out and conducted the old man within the tent. The latter seated himself across the fire (this is intended to mean opposite the door but on the other side of the fire). They slept in the tent that night, and when the little boy awakened he found all the people preparing to snare deer. The people asked the little boy to accompany them. He did so, and when he was ready to start he asked the old man what part of the deer he should bring home for him. The old man replied that he would enjoy the lungs better than any other part. The boy promised to bring a quantity for him on his return in the evening. Toward evening the boy returned loaded with choice bits for the old man who had conducted him to his father and mother. While outside of the tent he called to the old man, saying that he had brought home some food for him. Hearing no reply he entered the tent, and not seeing the man he inquired of his mother where the person was. The mother announced that he had departed, but did not know where he had gone. It was late, but the boy resolved to rise early and follow his track. He was up at daybreak, and finding the track followed it until he observed the spirit crossing a large lake which was frozen over. The boy cried out to the old man to wait for him. The spirit awaited his approach. The boy said to him, “Why did you go away when I had promised you some choice food?” The spirit replied that it could not dwell among living people, as it was only a spirit and that it was returning to its abode. The old man advised the boy to return to his people. The boy did so, but the next morning the desire to see the good old man seized the boy, and again he started to find him. The other people then tied the boy to a tree and he soon forgot his benefactor.

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The great snowfall

After a brutal attack by grizzly bear men leaves only two children from each of the wolf and eagle clans alive, the survivors flee, aided by a dying shaman. His prophecy warns of a devastating snowfall. Obeying his advice, the youths build a strong shelter and survive a two-month storm. They repopulate the land, becoming ancestors of the present people. One elder dies after a final mystical hunt.

Source:
Traditions of the Ts’ets’a’ut
by Franz Boas
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.9, No.35, pp. 257-268
October-December, 1896
Vol.10, No.36, pp. 35-48
January-March, 1897

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The harrowing experience of surviving a prolonged, life-altering snowfall and the characters evolving—physically, emotionally, ritually—captures a deep transformation. They emerge changed, wiser, and renewed.

Ancestral Spirits: The influence of the dead shaman—his prophecy, his spiritual presence guiding preparations, and being honored through sacrifices—speaks directly to the power of ancestral spirit intervention.

Loss and Renewal: The story begins with devastating loss (death, collapse) and culminates in renewal (survival, rebirth of their line), tracing a full cyclical journey through destruction and revitalization.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about Tsetsaut people

Once upon a time a number of families of the wolf clan and of the eagle clan lived in a village at Sqamgo’ns, in Portland Channel. Near by there was a village of grizzly bear men. [These were men. It is not quite clear if they were men of a grizzly bear clan, or if the story happened at the time when all animals were still men.] They attacked the village, and killed everybody with the exception of one boy and one girl of each of the two clans. They were crying all the time when they saw their relatives killed. Then one of the grizzly bear men went to their hut, and threatened to kill them if they should not stop crying. But one of the boys took his bow and arrow and shot the man in the chest, thus killing him. After this had happened, they dug a deep ditch in their hut, and buried all their relatives who had been killed.

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They left the place of these misfortunes and went down the mountains. After some time they reached a house, in which-they found an old, old man who had been left by his friends to die alone. He said to them: “Stay here until I die, my grandchildren, and bury me when I am dead.” They stayed, and he asked them why they had left their country. When they had told him, he asked them to return, because salmon were nowhere as plentiful as in the river on which their house had stood. He also warned them, saying: “The sky is full of feathers. Take good care to provide yourself with plenty of meat, and build a strong house.” He was a great shaman, and was able to foresee the future.

After two days he died. The young people buried him. Then they started to return to their home in obedience to what the shaman had told them. They followed a river, and when they were near its source they saw an immense herd of mountain goats coming down towards them. They did not stop to shoot them, but ran right up to them and dispatched them, cutting their throats with their knives. Then they went back to the camp in which they had left the girls, taking along only a kid that they had killed. They threw some of its meat and tallow into the fire, as a sacrifice to the dead shaman who had directed them to return home. On the following day they moved their camp to a hill which was located in the midst of three lakes. There they built a strong hut as directed by the shaman. The two girls went out to fetch the meat of the mountain goats. While they were drying it, the boys strengthened the poles of the house, joined them with stout thongs, and thus prepared for a heavy snowfall. They put the meat into the house. On the following day the snow began to fall. They lived on the meat of the mountain goats, but they sacrificed as much to the dead shaman as they ate. It continued to snow for two months. They could not go out to gather wood for their fire, but they had to burn the bones and the tallow of the goats. The smoke kept a hole open in the roof of their hut; and, when looking up, they could see no more than a very small speck of light. But after two months they saw the blue sky through this hole. The sun was shining again. Then they dug a hole towards the surface of the snow and came out. Nothing but snow was to be seen. The rocks of the mountains and the trees were all covered. Gradually the snow began to melt a little, and the tops of the trees reappeared. One day they saw a bear near the top of a tree. When they approached, it crawled back to its lair at the foot of the tree. Now they started on their way to their old home. After a long and difficult march, they reached it just at the time when the olachen were coming. They caught a plentiful supply and were well provided with provisions. In summer there were salmon in the river. They caught them and dried and split them. They married and had many children. They were the only people who were saved from the heavy snow, and from them descended the present generations of people. They multiplied very rapidly, for they married very young, as dogs do. At the end of the first summer, only a small part of the snow had melted. A few rocks appeared in the mountains, but in the fall new snow began to fall. In the spring of the following year it began to melt again. The trees were gradually freed from snow, but some of it has always remained on the mountains, where it forms the glaciers.

The two couples who had been saved from the snow grew to be very old. Their hair was white, and they were bent with old age. One day the young men climbed the mountains to hunt mountain goat. One of the old men accompanied them, but he was left behind, as he could not walk as fast as the young men did. When he had reached a meadow high up the side of the mountain he heard a voice from the interior of the rocks saying: “Here is the man who killed all our friends.” When he looked up he saw a number of mountain goats above. He did not know how to reach them, since his legs were weak. He took two sticks and tied one to each of his legs in order to steady and to strengthen them. Thus he was enabled to climb. He reached the mountain goats and cut their necks. He killed thirty. Among these was a kid. He took out its tallow and put it on his head; he cut off its head and took it under his arm to carry it home. He had stayed away so long that his friends had given him up for lost. He told them of his adventure. He roasted the kid’s head and ate it. On the following morning he was dead.

Hunting experiences

These narratives recount close encounters with moose, martens, weasels, bears, and grizzlies, highlighting the hunters’ skills, challenges, and the unpredictable nature of the wilderness. The stories offer a glimpse into the traditional hunting practices and experiences of the Dane-zaa people.

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: The hunters face challenges posed by animals and the environment, highlighting the struggle between humans and natural forces.

Trials and Tribulations: The hunters undergo a series of challenges, such as tracking elusive prey and dealing with malfunctioning equipment, testing their perseverance and skills.

Ancestral Spirits: References to advice from elders and traditional hunting practices indicate a connection to ancestral knowledge guiding present actions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

I. I had been hunting all day without seeing a track when toward sunset I started toward some distant pines. Just at dusk I came near a bluff and there I saw a moose track. A strong wind was blowing. “I wish I had seen your track in the day time,” I said to myself. I started after the moose and when I was about to pass behind the pines I looked ahead and saw a moose standing by a tree. I came up to it, raised my gun and aimed it. I could not see the sights of the gun. My father had told me to put snow on the end of the gun when shooting at night. I did this and aimed low when I saw nothing and then high, gradually lowering the gun until it seemed to me right when I shot. The moose ran along one side of me.

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I looked for it again toward the west and again saw it standing. I reloaded the gun and again put snow on the end of the barrel. I raised the gun again until I thought it was aimed right and fired. The moose ran in the same direction again.

As I went after the moose again I saw something dark on the snow. “What is it?” I thought to myself and taking some of it up I put it in my mouth. It was blood and I thought I had killed the moose, I went where there was something dark under a tree. I took up a stick and stabbed it under its head. I had killed it.

II. We were making a road and carrying some traps we were going to set. My brother-in-law and my elder brother went on ahead while I set a trap. I came where my brother-in-law was sitting by a little creek. He was killing himself with laughter. I asked him why he was laughing and he told me to look. A marten and a weasel were fighting. Although the weasel is small, he is smart. We sat there watching them. Just as we decided to shoot and kill the marten they started to fight again. “Fight hard,” my brother-in-law told them and they ran off. We killed nothing after all.

III. It happened once when I was a boy that I was after a bear. The bear chased me and when he came up to me my gun would not go off. I threw it away and fled empty handed. I pulled out my knife and ran under a leaning tree and jumped back over it. The bear did the same and we jumped toward each other. The bear struck out with his foreleg and I disemboweled him with the knife which was two-edged.

IV. I had a single-barreled gun when two dogs were barking in front of a grizzly’s den. The bear ran out after the dogs but my gun would not go off. The cap came off. The bear chased me all about until I bit the cap together and then the gun went off. The bullet broke the bear’s backbone. I went with dogs after a moose in the early morning. The dogs barked at the moose which stood still and then ran after the dogs. It ran so close to me, it stepped on my snowshoes. It was so close I could hear its heart beat. I was holding the gun by its muzzle and I fired. The moose fell and I jumped off the snowshoe. Its leg was sticking through the snowshoe. I skinned the moose and went home to my tipi.

The man who talked to the buffalo

A man communicates with buffalo, instructing them to enter water backward, facilitating their hunting by the tribe. The buffalo comply, and the tribe successfully spears them. Notably, the calves vocalize “mother” similarly to humans. One bull consistently escapes, believed to be the offspring of a man who married a buffalo, highlighting the deep connection between humans and buffalo in this lore.

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The man’s unique ability to communicate with buffalo and the existence of a bull with human-like features suggest interactions with beings possessing supernatural attributes.

Trickster: The man uses cunning to manipulate the buffalo into positions where they can be easily hunted, showcasing trickster behavior.

Ancestral Spirits: The story references a young man who disappeared and was believed to have integrated with the buffalo, indicating a connection between ancestors and the present.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

One time there was a man who used to talk to the buffalo, and they would do what he told them to do. He would tell them to go to a certain place, to go into the water, and to give him food. Then they would go into the water backwards, and the Indians would kill them with a spear. The calves would say, “unnai” (mother) just as plainly as people do. They took hold of them and killed them. There; was one bull they did not kill. He always ran through between the people. [The narrator in conversation afterward referred to the well-known story of the man who married a buffalo. The bull, which invariably escaped, was the result of this union. “There was a young man who disappeared. They supposed he went among the buffalo. After that they used to see a bull with hair just like a man’s. The buffalo understands what people say because a man used to live among them.”]

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Then they would take the dead buffalo ashore and eat them. [He added that the female organs of the buffalo cows were cut off and pushed back into the water before the bodies were removed. No one was allowed to look while this was being done.]

The loaned hunting dog

An old man owned a hunting dog, which was actually a wolf adept at hunting moose. A young man borrowed the dog but ignored instructions to reward it with the moose’s tongue, offering the liver instead. Angered, the dog killed the young man. The old man lamented his loss, but the dog eventually returned, and they continued hunting together.

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Moral Lessons: The tale imparts the importance of following instructions and respecting established customs.

Conflict with Nature: The young man’s failure to adhere to natural laws or customs leads to his demise.

Ancestral Spirits: The old man’s relationship with the wolf-dog may symbolize a connection to ancestral knowledge or guidance.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

An old man had a hunting dog which was very good for moose. That was because it was not an ordinary dog but a wolf. A young man saw a moose track, but did not succeed in killing the moose. He came to the old man and said, “Grandfather, I saw a moose track, lend me your dog and I will go after it.” “My dog is mean,” the old man replied, “you must promise to treat the dog exactly as I tell you.”

The young man agreed to do so. “If you kill a moose the first thing you must do is to give the dog the end of the tongue. He is only pleased when I do that. You must do the same. Do not fail to do as I do, my grandson.”

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The young man went hunting with the dog and killed a moose. Instead of doing as the old man had told him he cut off the liver and threw it to the dog. The dog was angry and did not eat the liver but went off and left it there. The young man cut up the moose and started home. Being thirsty he went to get a drink. The dog which was lying there jumped on the man as he drank and disemboweled him, killing him. He ate all the man’s ribs.

Neither the man nor the dog returned. The Indians at the camp were going to bed, but the old man said, “There must be some reason my dog is not here. He has been howling and he does not do that without some reason. I told the young man repeatedly not to treat the dog in any way differently from the way I treat him. I loaned him the dog because he asked me for him so many times. The dog has probably killed him. I fear he is not living. Look for him and see if you can find out what has happened.”

They went out to look for him and came upon his tracks where he had been approaching the camp. They saw his body lying there in front of them. The dog had killed him. The dog was not there and they did not know where he had gone.

The old man who had been living by the dog’s aid said, “How shall I live? The dog with which I got my living has left me alone.” He was much displeased. He called the dog and the next morning it came back to him. He lived with the help of the dog again. The dog did not kill the old man who was able to live on good meat again. They say that was a very good dog.

They tell this story about the time the world was beginning.

The boy who was cared for by the wolf

A man with many children lost his wife during winter and abandoned an orphaned child he had been caring for. Upon returning in spring, he found the boy alive. The child revealed that a wolf had cared for him, providing warmth, fire, and meat. The boy survived into middle age before succumbing to illness.

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Guardian Figures: The wolf acts as a protector and caretaker for the boy during his time of need.

Loss and Renewal: The boy experiences the loss of his caretakers but finds renewal through the wolf’s guardianship and his eventual reintegration into human society.

Ancestral Spirits: The narrative reflects the belief in animal spirits or ancestors taking care of humans, a common motif in indigenous cultures.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

This story was affirmed to be true by the narrator, John Bourassa, one of the most intelligent of the mixed-bloods in the vicinity of Vermilion. Lowie has a story of a bear who gave suck to a grown man.

One time there was a man who with many children was living by himself. In the middle of the winter his wife died, and he went to join the other people. He had been taking care of an orphan child, but now could do nothing for him, so he deserted him, leaving him alone in the camp.

When he passed by the next spring, he found the child was still alive and took him along, “How did you get through the winter without freezing?” he asked the child. “A wolf took care of me. He slept with me and made a fire for me. That is why I did not freeze to death. He also fed me with meat,” the boy said.

The boy lived long after this, until he was of middle age and finally died of some ailment.

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The giants

A giant hunts beavers along Lake Athabaska, keeping only one Indian boy alive as his ‘grandchild.’ After discovering the edibility of beaver tails through the boy’s initiative, they encounter another giant, Djeneta. A battle ensues, with the boy aiding his ‘grandfather’ by cutting Djeneta’s ankle, leading to Djeneta’s defeat. Djeneta’s massive body forms a land bridge, introducing deer to new territories.

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 story explains natural phenomena, like the reddish appearance of rocks and the migration of deer between lands.

Mythical Creatures: The narrative features giants as central characters.

Ancestral Spirits: The giant raises the Indian boy, indicating a connection between mythical beings and humans.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

A giant used to hunt beaver along Lake Athabaska, going about half way to Fond du Lac. He was bringing up a little Indian boy, whom he called his grandchild, and whom he kept alive after killing all the other Indians. In hunting beavers he broke the beavers’ lodge, and they all escaped. He broke another lodge. One beaver went across the lake, another up the river.

The giant looked around for the former, found a little hole and saw the beaver’s head popping out. He struck it with a stick, so hard that blood was sprinkled all over, hence the reddish appearance of the rocks there. The beaver that went up the river escaped, that is why there are many beavers there.

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The giant cut off the beaver’s tail. Seeing the scales he said, “This is not good to eat,” and threw the beaver’s tail away. The Indian boy picked it up and put it in the fire. The scales fell off, and the inside was found good to eat. This was the first time the giant ever ate a beaver tail. When through eating, he put his grandson in his mitten, and walked off. He found moose tracks, but said, “These are rabbit tracks.” His grandson said to him, “These are not rabbit tracks but moose tracks.” They got to a moose, and Hotcowe, the giant, put it in his belt as one would a rabbit. Then he went to the Barren Grounds, and thence to the sea, where he met another giant, named Djeneta. Djeneta was fishing in the ocean with a hook.

Before reaching Djeneta, Hotcowe took his grandson out of his mitten, and bade him approach the fisherman half way and deliver him a challenge to fight. The boy did as he was bidden, and when near enough shouted, “Grandfather!” Djeneta asked, “What do you want?” The boy delivered his message, and ran back, but by that time the giants had already each made a step forward and were already fighting above him. The fisherman was getting the best of the contest, when Hotcowe called to his grandchild, who always carried a beaver tooth, to cut the giant’s ankle. The boy obeyed, causing the giant to fall down so that Hotcowe could easily dispatch him.

The fisherman’s head fell on this island [my interpreter suggested “North America”] while his feet reached another land. Mud gathered on his corpse, connecting the island and the other country, and then deer for the first time ran from the new land into this country.

Crow-head

The story recounts his journey from avenging his father’s death to reviving his slain people. After learning that a medicine-man killed his father, Crow-head uses mystical means to kill him. Later, when enemies massacre his tribe, Crow-head employs his crow-skin garment’s powers to resurrect his people and outwit the adversaries. This narrative highlights themes of vengeance, resurrection, and cunning.

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

Revenge and Justice: Crow-head seeks retribution against the medicine-man who killed his father.

Resurrection: He brings his community members back to life after they are killed by the Cree.

Ancestral Spirits: The influence of his deceased father motivates Crow-head’s actions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

Soon after Crow-head’s birth, his father died. Crow-head knew nothing about him. Once the other Indians were fishing, and there were several medicine-men among them. It was in the evening, and the setting sun presented a bloodshot appearance. One medicine-man pointed at it and asked the boy, “Do you see that red sky? That is your father’s blood.” This made Crow-head suspect that one of the medicine-men had killed his father. He went home, where he was living with his grandmother, and began to cry. “Why are you crying?” “I heard those men talking about my father.” “There is no use crying, you will be a man some day.” The next day the people were fishing. Crow-head punched a hole in the ice and began angling with a hook. The Indians caught nothing, only Crow-head caught a large trout.

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He pulled out its soft parts, and hid the bones under his deerskin capote. He started towards the medicine-man who had killed his father, pulled out the fish spine, and broke it over him. When the people went home that evening, they missed the medicine-man. They did not know what was the matter with him. One man went out and found him lying dead by his fishing rod. This was the first time Crow-head ever killed anyone. By breaking the fish spine, he had broken that of his enemy and thus killed him.

(b) Crow-head was living with a little orphan, whom he called his grandchild. He used to wear a crow-skin cape, which warned him of the approach of enemies and constituted his medicine. Two girls in the camp once made fun of his crow-skin garment. Crow-head was displeased and said to his grandson, “We will make a birchbark canoe and leave.” In a coulee they found fine birchbark. Some Indians from the rocks on either side pelted them with snowballs. “Some bad Indians are pelting us with snow,” said the orphan. “That’s nothing,” replied Crow-head. They took the bark for the canoe and returned. In the meantime the bad Indians, who were Cree, had killed all the Chipewyan. Crow-head piled all the corpses together in a heap. He was a great medicine-man. He began to make a canoed Worms began to come to the corpses. Then he took his crow-skin, laid it on the dead bodies, and told the boy not to wake him until the next day at noon. While he was sleeping, worms crawled into his nose, ears, and mouth.

Crow-head woke up and started off in his canoe. In the Barren Grounds he made many small lodges, and with his medicine declared that all the dead should be in those lodges. He left and lay down on the worms. The people all came to life again, and nothing remained in place of their corpses save their rotten garments. The Cree started homewards, but Crow-head, lying on the maggots, caused them by his magic to return to the same place. The little boy cried, thinking his grandfather was dead. He pushed the old man, but Crow-head pretended to be dead. At last, the boy pulled him by his beard, then Crow-head awoke and beheld the Cree. The Cree were surprised to get back to their starting point and, seeing the two survivors, decided to kill them also. Crow-head rose, walked to the river, shaved off the bark of a rotten birch, made peep-holes in the tree, hid the boy in the hollow, and ordered him to watch.

Crow-head was a dwarf. He went to the river with the crow-skin on his back and a blanket over it, pretending to mourn his lost relatives. The Cree, thinking he was but a child, said, “There is no use killing a child like that with a pointed arrow.” So they shot at him with blunt points, but all the arrows grazed off. Then they pulled ashore, and Crow-head fled to the brush, pursued by the enemy. When far from the canoes, he threw off his blanket, took a deer horn which he carried for a weapon, and ran among the enemy, breaking each man’s right arm and left leg. Then they said, “This is Crow-head.” They retreated towards their canoes, but Crow-head smashed every one of them. Then he summoned his grandson from his hiding place. The Cree had spears, and Crow-head told the boy to take them and kill their enemies. The boy did as he was bidden. The Cree said to the boy, “If it were only you, you could not do this to us.” And they made a “crooked finger” at him [a gesture of contempt, signifying, “Ne cunno quidem equivales”; the left thumb is held between the index and middle finger of the same hand, and the palm is turned towards the speaker].

Crow-head left his grandson. He was gone for many days. The boy cried, not knowing what was the matter. Up the river he heard waves beating against the bank. Going thither, he found his grandfather washing himself. Crow-head asked the boy, “What are you crying for?” “I thought you were lost.” “There is no use crying, all our people are alive again.” When through washing, he bade his grandson fix the canoe, then he told him to put the slain enemies’ mentulae on the gunwale. They started to join the resuscitated Indians. They heard some one playing ball, laughing and singing. Putting ashore, they heard the noise of crying. They went into a lodge and asked what the crying was about. “Two friends of ours are lost, they have been killed by the Cree.” Then they recognized Crow-head and his grandson.

The two girls who made fun of Crow-head’s crow-skin were not restored to life by him.

(c) Late in the fall, when the Chipewyan were going to a lake to fish and it was commencing to freeze, two boys came running and told the people that two giants taller than pine trees had killed all their friends. The Chipewyan were camping on the edge of a big lake. None of them slept that night for fear of the giants. The next morning the giants were seen approaching. Crow-head said, “There is no use in running away, they will kill me first.” He put on his crow-skin and went towards them on the ice. The first giant wished to seize him, and with long fingers shaped like bear claws he tore Crow-head’s crow feathers. The giants fought for the possession of Crow-head, each wishing to eat him up. Crow-head hit both of them with his deer horn, and killed them. He walked homeward. He was so angry that he could neither speak nor sleep. His eyes were like fire. He went to the lake and, beginning at one point, he commenced to hammer along the edge until he got back to his starting place. There he fell dead, for his heart was under the nail of his little finger and by hammering the ice he had injured it.

(d) Everyone was moving. Two girls were making little birchbark vessels for Crow-head. They were just sewing the edge with roots. One of them said, “This Crow-head knows everything, but he will not know this.” And she pulled out one of her pubic hairs and twisted it in with the roots. The two girls were married, but never told Crow-head of their husbands, who were far out on the lake. An Indian in league with them plotted to have Crow-head killed by the husbands, and invited him to run a race to the place where they were. But Crow-head beat his opponent in the race, and killed the women’s husbands with his spear.

The Indians were angry and desired to kill Crow-head. They began shooting at him, but he merely took his deer horn from his crow-skin tippet and pointed it at them, so that they hit only the point of his weapon without being able to touch him. At last he said, “If you don’t cease, I shall kill all of you.” Then they were afraid and let him alone. Nevertheless, many medicine-men tried to make medicine against him in secret. They attempted to throw a beetle (?) at him. Crow-head had left the people and was living by a lake. Once he was thirsty and pulled out the grass growing. by the water edge. He began to drink and found a beetle in the water. He killed it. Then he bit his own tongue and spat out the bloody spittle to make his enemies believe they had killed him. They went after him, but when they found the slain beetle they knew their medicine was not strong enough for him. Then they sent a big bear after him. Crow-head had lain down to sleep. In the night the bear caught him, and without hurting him held him by his feet and legs, waiting for the arrival of the Indians. But Crow-head twisted round and round in the bear’s grasp until he got free. Then he crawled away between his legs. He turned back and dispatched the bear with bow and spear. He cut up the animal, spread out its flesh and skin, and started off again. The Indians made a big feast when they found the fresh bear meat all ready to be eaten.

Crow-head, by his medicine, restored the two women’s husbands to life.

He traveled along as far as a lake. There was no snow, but only clear ice. He looked through the ice and saw a great many people below it. “I will kill all these people,” he said. He began pounding the ice with a club. But what he had taken for people were only arrows, and one of them entered his little finger, where his heart was. The Indians following him found him dead.

Crow-head was so called because he made a crow-skin collar that became his medicine.

(e) Once Crow-head left his crow-skin in his lodge and went off. Coming back, he did not find it in the position he had left it. He asked his grandmother why she had allowed any one to abuse it. “Someone has counted every feather on it and has been laughing at it. I will go away and let the Cree kill the people.” “What shall I do?” asked his grandmother. “I will take you along.” That night the Cree killed all the Chipewyan, but Crow-head and his grandmother escaped.

(f) Crow-head and Spread-wings started traveling, knowing that no one could kill them. Long ago the Indians did a great deal of fighting. Crow-head and Spread-wings always helped the Indians they stayed with. They were related to everybody. Crow-head the older of the two, knew it was impossible to kill him. Spread-wings could be killed, but had three lives. Crow-head started off towards the place where the sun is close to the earth, and he will not come back here until the end of the world.

The jackfish that became a man

An eagle catches a jackfish but drops it into a lake, where it grows large. A girl eats the fish and later gives birth to a child with fish scales. Initially, her father wants to abandon the baby but allows her to raise it. The child becomes a man who sings about his transformation from fish to human.

Source:
Chipewyan Texts
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 1
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The jackfish undergoes a significant change, first growing into a large fish and then transforming into a human being.

Mythical Creatures: The tale features a creature that exists beyond the ordinary realm—a fish that becomes a human.

Ancestral Spirits: The man’s origin from a fish and his recounting of his story through songs may suggest a connection to ancestral or spiritual elements within the culture.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

This was given as a “story.” The interpreter, Ennou, insisted that it was only a story, but the relator immediately explained that it was ceremonial as the context plainly shows it to be. The objects used were small pieces of the fat from the tail of an otter, piece of moose tongue, tissue from the inside of bear’s tongue, “stone” from the head of a fish, tooth of a weasel, silk thread and beaver scent. These are tied to the hook as a charm.

A large eagle caught a jackfish and was carrying it to a tree. It fell into the middle of the lake and lived there until it grew to be a big fish. Finally, it was caught in a net. A girl, while eating it, suddenly stopped. She had a child on which there were fish scales. Her father started to throw it away but relented and gave the girl permission to raise it. When the child became a man, he used to tell his story in songs. “When I was a small jackfish I stuck my nose in the grass by the shore. An eagle took me up suddenly and started with me toward his nest. I fell back into the middle of the lake and became a large jackfish. Once, when swimming through the narrows, I thought I smelled something. As I swam around I thought I saw a small fish and bit him. I broke the fish line but could not eat because the hook was in my throat. Soon after, while swimming through the narrows, I thought I saw some algae but it was a net and I was caught. ‘It is only a poor jackfish, just skin and bones,’ he said of me and threw me by the shore. As I lay there I thought to myself, ‘I wish a young girl who is pregnant would roast my tail.’ Soon a nearly grown girl came there. ‘I am going to roast that jackfish’s tail,’ I heard her say. She began to eat me, but as she was swallowing the last bit, I caused her belly to shake. She caught her breath and stopped chewing. I became a person.” This is what he told by means of songs in the sweat lodges. They found out from him what kind of a person he was. Long ago, a man used to know something like this.

► Continue reading…

Raised-by-His-Grandmother

An old woman discovers a crying infant under a caribou chip and decides to raise him. The boy, often requesting young caribou feet, faces denial from others. He then exhibits mystical abilities, providing food and transforming into a caribou to supply meat for his grandmother. This tale, “Raised-by-His-Grandmother,” originates from the Chipewyan people and highlights themes of transformation and resourcefulness.

Source:
Chipewyan Texts
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 1
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Sacred Spaces: The narrative includes significant locations, such as the place where the boy is found and the area abundant with caribou, which hold spiritual importance.

Healers and Cures: The boy’s actions provide sustenance and survival for his grandmother, acting as a form of healing and support.

Ancestral Spirits: The boy’s origin and abilities may suggest a connection to ancestral or spiritual entities, influencing the present.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

Dr. Lowie secured the tale here given in much the same form at Lake Athabaska. Petitot gives four versions two of which he secured at Great Slave Lake, one from a Chipewyan, and one from a Yellow Knife in 1863. The third version was secured at Lake Athabaska in 1859 and the fourth one from a Caribou Eater of Hudson Bay and Churchhill River. In these versions from Petitot, Raised-by-his-grandmother is a person of great power who comes to relieve the natives to whom the caribou migrations have ceased. He restores the caribou on the condition of being given the tips of their tongues as tribute and when the tribute fails, he leaves them. He is ever after invoked as the deity in charge of caribou. According to one version, he joins the musk ox and to another the bear. Evidently then, this myth is related to a caribou hunting ceremony which, judging from their almost complete reliance on that animal for food, was probably the most important of their ceremonies.

An old woman heard a little child crying. After she had looked for him some time she discovered him sitting under a caribou chip. As he was a very little child she put him in her mitten, carried him home, and undertook to raise him. Whenever caribou were killed, and his grandmother went out after meat, the boy asked her to bring him the feet of the young caribou. One time when she went out after meat, the boy sat and waited for her return. When he saw her coming, he began calling to her, “Grandmother, the feet, the feet.” “Grandson,” his grandmother said, “the feet are not for you. You are not the only child. ‘He is always asking for young caribou feet. This time he shall not have them,’ they said about you.” “Let them all freeze, let them freeze,” he said. “What will your uncles do, if you say that?” his grandmother asked. “’May they find the last poor bear, the last poor bear,’ you may say,” he said. Then he told his grandmother when they moved camp, “Do not take me along.” “What will we do? We shall die for want of meat,” she said. “No, we will not die,” the boy replied.

When the people had all moved away, the boy went back to the campsites and pulled away the partly burned sticks from the fireplaces. After a while, he came to the deserted camp of his uncles where he found the partly burned feet and hoofs of the caribou. “It looks like partly burned hoofs right here,” the boy said to his grandmother. “Grandmother, carry me over in that direction.” She took him on her back and carried him. When she had gone a long way she put him down to rest. “Grandmother, sit there and fish in that small slough.” “There are not any fish there, grandson,” she replied. “Yes, there are,” he said. The old woman then cut a hole through the ice and let down a hook into the water of the small slough. She immediately pulled out a large trout. “Put the hook in again,” the boy said. When she put the hook down again, she pulled out a jackfish. “That is enough,” the boy said. “We will camp not far from here.” She made a shelter of spruce boughs in which they lived for some time.

► Continue reading…

“Make snowshoes for me,” the boy said one day to his grandmother. She made him small round snowshoes. Then he asked her to make him some arrows. When she made them he wanted her to dress him. As soon as she had done so, he said, “Put on my snowshoes. I am going outside a little way to play.” When he had been gone some time his grandmother went out to look for him. She followed his tracks for some distance and then came where his snowshoes, his arrows, and his poor little clothes were lying. From that place there was only a line of caribou tracks. His grandmother turned back, crying, and saying to herself, “My little grandson has left me and become a caribou.” When she got back to her camp, she sat far into the night waiting for him and crying. She heard something outside and later heard a noise again. “What can it be,” she thought. It was Raised-by-his-grandmother who came into the house and said, “Take off my belt.” As his grandmother loosened it, many caribou tongues fell out. “We will go after them tomorrow,” he said. “Where I went, there were many caribou.”

The next day, as his grandmother was carrying him along, the boy pointed the way saying, “It is over there.” When they came to the top of a hill near a large lake she saw something lying on the ice. “There they are,” the boy said. As they were walking along together on the lake, he said, “That young caribou, the farthest one that lies dead over there, laughed too much at me. Roast its head for me.” She saw that he had killed many caribou. While he was playing with them, he bit their tongues and killed them all. They camped there by the shore of the lake, where the old woman dressed the caribou and brought them into the camp. “I am going to play with the head you roasted for me, grandmother,” the boy said. He took it out-of-doors to play with, and the magpies ate it up.

After a while, without his grandmother’s knowledge, the boy went to the place where those who had left them had camped. He found where they had scraped the snow from the ice to fish. All the people had frozen except his uncles who had found a bear. The uncles found the tracks of a young caribou on the ice and the spruce with which he had cleared it of snow. “Perhaps it was not just a caribou that did it,” the uncles said to each other. “May be it was the small child we left behind which mother was carrying.” They followed the tracks of the caribou until they came to a big lake. There they found where he had walked along with small round snowshoes. These tracks led them to the place where Raised-by-his-grandmother was living with her. They had much meat there.