Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: Myth-Folklore Unit: British North America

Overview. This selection of legends told by First Nations people of Canada is drawn from Judson's Myths and Legends of British North America, featuring stories of the Haida, Shuswap, and Inuit peoples, along with many more. There are creation stories about the beginnings of the world and about the origins of light, the stars, and the wind, and how the seals and the salmon came to be. In fact, from the Dakelh legend about the creation of light, you will finally learn what the fox says: "Fox kept singing, 'Khain, khain, khain' because he thought in that way he would gain light." In these stories you will meet the formidable Nuxalk goddess Qamaits, "Afraid of Nothing," and the hero Manabozho with his grandmother, plus the animal tricksters Raven, Coyote and, last but not least, Wolverine.

Language. Judson's book is an anthology of stories takes from various anthropological sources, written in a variety of styles. Some of the stories are told in a more traditional oral style, while other stories are edited in a style more like literary prose.

Story Length. Most of the stories here are quite short, and all of them are single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: British North America. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

(free audiobook at LibriVox)

READING A:

READING B:

(illustration in the book)

Pages

Myth-Folklore Unit: British North America