Indian Legends of Canada

Ella Elizabeth Clark

McClelland & Stewart, Oct 5, 2011 - Social Science - 192 pages

The role of storyteller was always a very special one among Native Americans, combining the functions of philosopher, historian, and entertainer. Winter was the time for the stories around the fire, when the hunt was over and people longed to be “lifted to the fairyland of pure imagination,” as an early twentieth-century Native American has said. This book contains the magic created around the Indian fireside, for readers of all ages. It includes myths of creation, culture myths, nature myths, and beast fables, as well as the legends, personal narratives and historical traditions of thirty North American Indian tribes.

Contents

• WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG: 1
• CULTURE MYTHSTHE BEGINNING: 37
• The guardian spirit questSARCEE: 43
• The lover starCHIPEWYAN: 78
• Sunrise on Lake LouiseASSINIBOINE: 96
• Lake MinnewankaASSINIBOINE: 97
• Coyote and Shuswap FallsOKANAGAN SHUSWAP: 98
• The creation of the northern Rocky MountainsDOGRIB: 99
• ΙΟΙ The meaning of the Northern LightsDOGRIB 104 The origin of the Mackenzie RiverSLAVEY: 104
• The smoking mountains of Horton RiverESKIMO: 105
• The great rock in the Fraser RiverLILLOOET: 106
• A legend of Siwash RockSQUAMISH: 107
• A MEDLEY OF STORIES 110 A story of the eagle crestHAIDA: 110
• The origin of mountain goatscoWICHAN: 112
• The spirit sacrificeCHIPPEWA: 113
• The Little PeopleMICMAC: 115
• The Little People and the greedy huntersSENECA: 117
• The water fairiesMICMAC: 118
• The cannibal giantCHIPPEWA: 120
• The punishment of the witchesIROQUOIS: 122
• The story of Lone Bird the woman in the moonCHIPPEWA: 123
• PERSONAL NARRATIVES AND HISTORICAL TRADITIONS 127 Blessed by a serpentCHIPPEWA: 127
• The dream of Little RavenCHIPPEWA: 128
• The vision of Chief Walking BuffaloASSINIBOINE Stoney: 132
• Let us bury the hatchetMALECITE: 134
• An eclipse of the sunSENECA: 136
• Hiawatha and the wizardONONDAGA: 138
• The Iroquois League of NationsONONDAGA: 142
• The Wabanaki League for PeacePASSAMAQUODDY: 145
• The Seneca peacemakerSENECA: 147
• A Chippewa dream of peaceCHIPPEWA: 149
• The first EuropeansCHIPPEWA: 150
• The Dream of the white robe and the floating islandMICMAC: 151
• A chapel built without handsMICMAC: 153
• Children of the moonCOWICHAN: 154
• 37: 170

About the author

Ella Elizabeth Clark was born in Summertown, Tennessee and educated in Illinois, at Northwestern University. She was on the English staff of Washington State University from 1927 to 1961. Her interest in Indian folktales began when she was a forest lookout for the United States Forest Service in the mountains of Western Washington during the Second World War. In her life, she visited many Indian reserves, where she was fortunate enough to sit at the feet of some of the last of the old generation of Indian storytellers.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Indian Legends of Canada
• Author: Ella Elizabeth Clark
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart, 2011
• ISBN: 1551995123, 9781551995120
• Length: 192 pages
• Subjects: Literary Collections / Canadian; Social Science / Folklore & Mythology; Social Science / Indigenous Studies