The following story of the wolf is told by Dan George* of the Tsleil-Waututh:
“When the Chief [of Tum-ta-mayh-tun] died, his wife — knowing she was doomed — wrapped her little boy in a cedar blanket and took him as far as she could from the death-place and placed him in the bush. A mother wolf roaming with her cubs picked up the little bundle and took it to her lair. She dropped it down and went to nurse her cubs and the little boy wiggled out and crawled over to feed with them. From then on, he grew-up as a wolf.
As he grew, he learned by instinct to make a bow and arrow and the wolves had great respect for him. So they became companions in the hunt.
When he was sixteen, he sought a mate of his own kind. Traveling up the Indian River, over the mountains to the canyon of the Fraser River, he found a bride among the people there. They came back to the Inlet and started to build a tribe. Our people have respected the wolves always. My great-great-grandfather Watsukl always walked with a wolf.”
Natives felt close to the animal world and had many beliefs and legends about all creatures:
“After the great flood, a bald eagle appeared and gave fish to the only survivor... Indians had a strong bond with the eagle and it was never harmed. Loons, with their haunting sounds, were considered magical and ravens were also seen as legendary birds. Wolves were never killed because of the Legend of the Wolf and beaver were believed to be like people and so were not hunted.”
*Chief Dan George, OC (July 24, 1899 – September 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band located on Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an author, poet, and an Academy Award-nominated actor.
“When the Chief [of Tum-ta-mayh-tun] died, his wife — knowing she was doomed — wrapped her little boy in a cedar blanket and took him as far as she could from the death-place and placed him in the bush. A mother wolf roaming with her cubs picked up the little bundle and took it to her lair. She dropped it down and went to nurse her cubs and the little boy wiggled out and crawled over to feed with them. From then on, he grew-up as a wolf.
As he grew, he learned by instinct to make a bow and arrow and the wolves had great respect for him. So they became companions in the hunt.
When he was sixteen, he sought a mate of his own kind. Traveling up the Indian River, over the mountains to the canyon of the Fraser River, he found a bride among the people there. They came back to the Inlet and started to build a tribe. Our people have respected the wolves always. My great-great-grandfather Watsukl always walked with a wolf.”
Natives felt close to the animal world and had many beliefs and legends about all creatures:
“After the great flood, a bald eagle appeared and gave fish to the only survivor... Indians had a strong bond with the eagle and it was never harmed. Loons, with their haunting sounds, were considered magical and ravens were also seen as legendary birds. Wolves were never killed because of the Legend of the Wolf and beaver were believed to be like people and so were not hunted.”
*Chief Dan George, OC (July 24, 1899 – September 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band located on Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an author, poet, and an Academy Award-nominated actor.
I love the legends- thank you so much for posting, and your pics are always a pleasure to see.
Beautiful...
i love it
Respect all nature <3
beautiful story, if we can shut out the noise in this world and listen to out deepest inner instincts, we know these stories already.............
I spent last Sunday with 9 wolves and feel so blessed to have been accepted so completely by them and will always do what I can to help protect them as a species. Dan George was a special human and I also had the honor of being around him when he worked on the film Little Big Man. We can learn so much about humanity by looking to the wolf and their wisdom!
its been found at Yellowstone that both the beaver and wolf are needed to keep life in balance. a lot to be said for the older ways.
Wolves are a beautiful species and we should always respect them and all nature.
I have always felt strong connection with wolf, my two prayer warriors partners, Little Bear (who is a wolf elder in The Dreamtime, and the puppy I now have named Little Wolf (aussie shepherd mix-- literally walked with wolf and brought me my now companion as a puppy in a dream 3 days after he passed over...).
Wolves are amazing! I always felt close to wolves. When I was a child I was able to spend a whole day with a pack. That was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had! So I. Looked up my Native American spirit like astrology, my spirit is the wolf! Wolf kills feed alot of other animals like the fox. They keep the balance. Protect these beautiful creatures.
That was amazing I have always loved wolves and eagles
so cool!!! I love thinking about the Earth in these spiritual ways - it makes sense to me ...
amazing story wolves are my favorite species and even though I have hard many stories of the wolf each one still brings new meaning of the importance of the wolf.
My name is James chief Sitting Bull is eather my forth great grandfrathet or uncle an I have had my very owne white wolf for 8 yes now his name is lobo because he is my brother
That, my friends, is what you call real beauty. This story is so simple, yet so lovely. I am in love with the story.