Native Indian nations
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This is our index of Beaver folktales and traditional stories that can be read online. We have organized our Native American tales section by tribe to make them easier to locate; however, variants on the same legend are often told by American Indians from different tribes, especially if those tribes are kinfolk or neighbors to each other. In particular, though these legends come from the Beaver tribe (also known as the Dane-zaa, Dunne-za, or Danezaa,) the traditional stories of related tribes like the Sekani and Chipewyan are very similar.
Saya (or Tsááyaa): This is
the benevolent culture hero of the Beaver tribe (sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists.) He is generally portrayed as a
heroic monster-slayer and friend to mankind, though there are some Beaver stories about him that are humorous in nature.
Wechuge: This is a kind of cannibal monster
common to Northern Athabaskan mythology, similar to the
Wendigo of the northern Algonquian tribes.
In some legends the wechuge is portrayed as an ancient ice being that comes from the wilderness to
prey upon humans, but in Beaver mythology it is more often said to be a person who has been possessed or overwhelmed by the power of
one of the ancient spirit animals.
The World Will Listen To My Voice:Flood Tale of the Beaver Indians:Dane-zaa Stories and Songs: Dreamers and the Land:The Story of Tumaxale:Hair Scrapings Man (Agait'osdunne):Atceco Kills a Bad Man:The Revenge of Wonyoni:When You Sing It Now, Just Like New: Beaver Texts:Trail to Heaven: Knowledge And Narrative In A Northern Native Community:
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