American Native
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This is our collection of links to Nisga'a stories and folktales that can be read online. We have indexed our Native American myth 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 Nisga'a tribe, the traditional stories of related tribes like the Gitxsan and Tsimshian are very similar.
Raven (Txeemsim or Wegyet):
Raven is the culture hero of the Nisga'a legends.
He is a revered and benevolent transformer figure who helps the people and shapes their world for them,
but at the same time, he is also a trickster character and many Nisga'a stories about Raven have to do with
his frivolous or poorly thought out behavior getting him into trouble.
Txeemsim is the hero's personal name and is pronounced similar to chaim-sim (sometimes also
spelled Txeemism, Txemsim, or other ways) Wegyet is pronounced similar to we-gyet
(sometimes also spelled Weget, Wigyet, or Wii Gyet) and is an eponym meaning "big man" or
"giant." Occasionally younger people may also refer to him by the name Gaak, which is the
literal Nisga'a word for "raven," but this is not done in traditional stories.
The Art of Knowledge: Nisga'a:We-Gyet Wanders On:
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