Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest

Ella Elizabeth Clark

University of California Press, 2003 - Social Science - 225 pages

This collection of more than one hundred tribal tales, culled from the oral tradition of the Indians of Washington and Oregon, presents the Indians' own stories, told for generations around their fires, of the mountains, lakes, and rivers, and of the creation of the world and the heavens above. Each group of stories is prefaced by a brief factual account of Indian beliefs and of storytelling customs. Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest is a treasure, still in print after fifty years.

What people are saying

Review: Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest

User Review  - Coho Cabin - Goodreads

This book is packed with wonderful cultural stories from the tribes of our region.

Review: Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest

User Review  - J. Wootton - Goodreads

The book took itself a touch too seriously for a semi-scholarly work, but the stories are quite good.

Contents

• From Mountain Peaks to Indian Legends: 1
• The Spirits in Nature: 7
• Mount Jefferson and the Great Flood: 14
• The Bridge of the Gods KLICKITAT: 20
• Indian Names for Mount Rainier: 26
• The Lake on Mount Rainier PUYALLUP: 32
• The Origin of Mount Si and the Forests SNOQUALMEE: 38
• Other Traditions of the Great Flood SEVERAL TRIBES: 44
• Spirits and Animals in the Lakes: 51
• Crater Lake and the Two Hunters KLAMATH: 58
• Kwatee and the Monster in Lake Quinault QUILLAYUTE: 64
• The Monster and Lake Chelan CHELAN: 70
• TALES OF THE RIVERS ROCKS AND WATERFALLS: 79
• Why Rivers Flow but One Way SNOHOMISH QUINAULT: 86
• How Coyote Helped the People SEVERAL TRIBES: 96
• A Legend of Multnomal1 Falls: 102
• Horsetail Falls and Beacon Rock: 105
• The Origin of the Petrified Forest COLVILLE: 112
• Beaver and the Grande Ronde River NEZ PERCE: 118
• A Potlatch on the Oregon Coast COQUILLE: 124
• The Creation of the Klamath World KLAMATH: 132
• The Beginning of the Skagit World SKAGIT: 138
• The Changer Comes to the Lummi LUMMI: 147
• The Seven Sisters of the Sky NEZ PERCE: 155
• The Earth People Visit the Sky People QUEETS: 158
• Thunder and Lightning KISQUALLY: 164
• How Coyote Made the Indian Tribes COLUMBIA RIVER TRIBES: 172
• Guardian Spirits: 179
• Coyote and Crow YAKIMA: 186
• Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead: 193
• The Maiden of Deception Pass SAMISH: 199
• The First Ship CHINOOK: 205
• Bibliography: 213
• Glossary: 219

About the author

Ella E. Clark, who died in 1998, was Professor Emerita of English at Washington State University. She heard her first fragments of Indian myths while serving as a fire lookout for the U.S. Forest Service in the Cascade Mountains. She collected tribal tales in libraries and archives in the U.S. and Canada for many years.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest
• Author: Ella Elizabeth Clark
• Illustrated by: Robert B. Inverarity
• Edition: 50, illustrated, reprint, annotated
• Publisher: University of California Press, 2003
• ISBN: 0520239261, 9780520239265
• Length: 225 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / State & Local / General; Social Science / Anthropology / General; Social Science / Folklore & Mythology