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Biography & Autobiography Native Americans

Children of the Thunderbird

Legends and Myths from the West Coast

by (author) Ted Meyers

Publisher
Hancock House
Initial publish date
Feb 2019
Category
Native Americans, 19th Century, Native American
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780888392640
    Publish Date
    Feb 2019
    List Price
    $17.95

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Description

Collection of legends and myths from the West Coast. Everything owes its existence to Great Spirit. With his supernatural helpers Great Spirit maintains order over all of his creations. This belief is at the core of the stories Pacific Coast natives told their children to explain the world. Artisans carved images and painted pictures telling great stores such as how Coyote stopped the great flood, why raccoons have masked eyes, and how lightning was created when Thunderbird lit his way in the night. As well as being wonderfully imaginative, the stories carried great meaning that conveyed the wisdom of the elders. Unfortunately, when the missionaries arrived they wrongly denounced the totems as pagan idols and the stores as heathen tales. They did not hear the messages within. This book relates and analyses several of these repressed stories. The author was young when he first heard them from native elders. The tales so captivated him that he wrote them down. Now that they are published, he hopes readers will see them not only as entertainment, but also as teachings for those who will listen.

About the author

Ted Meyers researches the First Nations Legends behind many of nature's wonders. He has uncovered many hitherto unknown facts pertaining to North American Indigenous legends. A Graduate of RCAF Survival School, Ted Meyers has assisted on RCAF Search and Rescue teams in Labrador. He also spent many days in Saskatchewan under the watchful, and critical eye of his grandfather Fred Henderson, a well known woodsman and master of woodlore. He currently resides in Victoria.

Ted Meyers' profile page