The following are taken from the Trail of Talking Trees (MITIK'MO in Algonquin) in Omega Park, Montebello Quebec.
The Huron-WendatLegend: The People of the island - Creation Story
After days and days of rain, storm and wind, Mother-Earth was about to drown with all her children. Kitche-Manito took pity on her and made a huge Turtle appear (Mekinac). She offered her shell as a raft for all the survivors, human and animal, who took refuge on her, but the land had disappeared. Following the sage advice of Mekinac the turtle, the best animal divers tried one after the other to reach the bottom of the water to fetch a little bit of soil, but they failed. Finally a little toad* succeeded and brought back in his mouth a few grains of this precious matter which he deposited on the back of the great turtle. Very quickly this handful of soil become a verdant island...
During this time, the Huron-Wendat people were living on the other side of the sky. One day a young pregnant woman named Aataensic, who was looking for medicinal plants to heal her husband, accidently fell into a hole in the sky. A goose, who saw her fallling, flew to help her and brought her gently to land on the green island where she gave birth to her baby. The island was then named Wendake and since that time has been home to the 4 clans of the Huron - Wendat Nation.
*I read in one story that it was an Otter that found the soil.
The TurtleThe Turtle is the living smbol of tranquility and silence and it is in tranquility and silence that the universe reveals itself to mankind.
The NaskapisLegend:
The People Beyond the HorizonThe caribou plays a vital role in the life of the Naskapis. It is at the heart of the economic cultural and spiritual life of this Nation. Caribou is the principal foo of their diet and all parts of the animal are used - nothing is wasted.
One day, a Naskapi hunter dreamed that he arrived in a place where thousands of caribou were grazing, a female left the group and began speaking to him. The next day, the man went hunting and his dream came true. The female caribou asked him to come and live with her and the other members of the herd. The man abandoned his snow shoes and followed her. Her father gave the man some of his hair so that he could live more easily. The legend also tells of the existence of a caribou Heaven where the beasts go after death. There they regain their strength before being reborn with more sturdiness and returning to join their herd once again.
The AlgonquinLegend:
of Little BearFor the Anishnabeg, the real name of the Algonquin, the bear is very important to their religious worship. They call the bear "Grandfather" and honour him as their ancestor.
Many of their legends are associated with the bear. There is on ethat tells how a young boy named "Little Bear" was tat the origin of the stars in the sky. This young boy was living with his grandfather in the celestial world where there were 2 moons and 1 sun but no stars. One night, he had a dream telling him to climb a hill near his village and to bring his bow and arrow. The next day he did so and, arriving at the tp of the hill, he took his bow and shot an arrow as far as he could toward the brighter of the two moons. It made the moon burst in thousands of little sparks which became the stars. After this exploit, Little Bear said farewell to his village and felt his spirit rising to the sky. He took his place beside his father Big Bear. Thus these two shining constellations were born. We can still admire them in the Northern Sky.
The Mohawk(People of the country of flint)
Legend:
How the eagle first came into this world.At the beginning of time, in a Mohawk village, a young boy was born to whom the Elders gave the name of "He Who Walks a Different Path"
Ka Bay she goe sayd. This child was indeed very different from the others, often he would go alone in the forest and an Elder once told that he had seen him surrounded by animals and with a falcon and a hawk on each shoulder. While he was growing up, everybody tried to interest him in the different activities of the village, but he would always answer, "it is not for me". The Elders decided that the village was not a place for him and that he had to leave. All the villagers watched in sadness as he took a few clotes and left. After a while, whenever the hunters went to the forest, "He who walks a different path" would frighten away the animals so that they could not be hunted. Famine came to the village and so the people decided that they should chase
Ka Bay she goe sayd away. They chased him further and further until he was at the summit of the mountains where ony birds kept him company. One morning Ka Bay she goe sayd awoke and saw that he had talons instead of fingernails and feathers on the back of his hands and on his shoulders. He was afraid and decided to fast. On the fourth day of fasting, the Great Spirit appeared before him as a huge bird that no one had ever seen before and told him; `My child, you stayed faithful to the vision and wisdom that I had placed on you. From today on, you will re-enter the physical world in the form of a Golden Eagle (Kinew) and you and all your descendants will carry the prayers from the earthly world to the Great Spirit.
This is why the eagle now flies so high in the sky.
The BearThe bear is one of the most powerful spirits and possesses many powers. He is both feared and honoured because of his impressive powers. In order to show him their respect, the hunters perform many rituals before killing him, eating his flesh,or grease or wearing his fur. He is the animal protector of the Mohawk, members of the Bear CLan. Symbol of healing and leadership, he teaches the people who possess those powers that they should not feel superior to others but should, instead, help them to realize their dreams.
The AtikamekThe People of the Whit FishThe moose plays a big role in Atikamedw legends. In one, he becomes a winged animal able to fly over white-water rapids to escape the hunters tryiung to kill him. He also appears in a story where Wenebojo, a lengendary hero was caught in a moose skull. He absolutely wanted to eat the meat that was inside this skull, so he transformed himself into a snake so as to gain access. Once back to his normal size Wenebojo could see nothing because his head was wedged inside the moose skull. He then left but bumped into on tree after another until he tumbled to the base of a mountain where the moose skull broke into pieces, setting his head free. Wenebojo then understood that sometimes it is better to leave things to Fate rather than to try to satisfy desires immediately.
Cree*What I have doesn't have much detail but speaks of a hero named AYAS and a Old Woman Fox Spirit who helps him.
After a bit of searching I found that Ayas saves people and kills monsters then resurrects them as animals. In the end, He burns the world in order to bring about a better one. It sounded cool, and my searching
lead me to this website. It looks like it has lots of good stuff but I haven`t had time to peruse it myself.
