Winged Messenger Nations: Birds in American Indian Oral Tradition

Animals have a place in the Native view of the symbiotic relationships of life, i.e. insects were created so birds could eat. Indigenous peoples have long understood that survival in the animal kingdom is an interwoven affair, with different species dependent on one another. An example of this is found in the oral tradition of the Tlingit and Inuit tribes of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, who have several tales about hunting interactions between raven, wolf, and human. Many Native peoples believe that different animals have been designated with different powers and responsibilities. In the Tlingit and Inuit stories, ravens are often portrayed as shape-shifters, wise guys, and tricksters, who take advantage of both people and wolves. Long before modern science had confirmed it, these Tribes knew that ravens are one of the most intelligent bird species. They had also observed that ravens will often follow wolves as they hunt and scavenge prey. Ravens will often steal up to one third of a carcass by carrying away meat and caching it in a hiding place. One study even suggests that the reason wolves hunt in packs is to minimize their carcass loss to ravens. Although the advantage may go to ravens, even this relationship is symbiotic, as ravens will sometimes lead upwind wolves to potential prey and wolves and ravens have been observed playing together, with ravens pulling on wolf tails and wolf pups chasing after ravens. Another facet of this symbiotic relationship includes human needs being being met by animals. Some oral tradition describes circumstances in which animals sacrifice themselves for the life of man. According to Burt Medicine Bull, many times animals will offer themselves when such sacrifice is requested by and prayed for by humans. Native teachings indicate that one should give thanks to those animals that give their lives.