Indian Legends of Canada

by Ella Elizabeth Clark

Book by Ella Elizabeth Clark

Genres: Native Americans, Mythology, Indigenous, Cultural, Nonfiction, History, Canada

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Ella Elizabeth Clark was born at Summertown, Tennessee in 1896. After attending high school in Peoria, Illinois in 1917 she became a high school teacher though she did not receive her B.A. from Northwestern University until 1921. Miss Clark continued to teach high school English and dramatics until 1927 when she received her M.A. from Northwestern and began teaching at Washington State University. From 1927 to 1961, when she retired from the English faculty as professor emeritus, she taught both beginning and advanced writing and literature courses and wrote on such diverse subjects as Indian mythology, botany, and firefighting in our national forests.

In 1933, in collaboration with fellow faculty member Paul P. Kies, she wrote a writer's manual and workbook which was soon followed by an annotated anthology of poetry which she authored alone. It was also in the 1930's that Miss Clark began her travels in Canada, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest in search of the varied myths and legends of the North American Indian which were dying in the wake of the new urbantechnological age. She continued this work into the next decade while continuing to be an active teacher and member of several professional, campus, and local history associations. The Second World War involved Miss Clark as a fire lookout for the United States Forest Service in the Cascades for several summers. This new experience provided her with rich materials for publication on the varied flora of the Cascades and attempts to prevent fire from destroying this natural heritage.

However, the major core of Miss Clark's work continued to be the diverse legends of the Indian. Her findings were published in Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest (1953), Indian Legends of Canada (1960), and Indian Legends From the Northern Rockies (1966). This scholarly interest in mythology flowed over into a general concern for the well-being and future of the American Indian which is apparent not only in her published works but in her personal correspondence.

(from http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu/masc...)

Reviews

[Re-Read Alcobendas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sabiduría ancestral de las tribus nativas americanas, fábulas con las que inculcar valores y respeto por la naturaleza y el ciclo de la vida con mucho simbolismo.

[James Thunder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Indian Legends of Canada, acknowledging that it was a book written in 1960 as the title suggests.
It was great to read the stories that were tied to lakes, landscapes and landmarks which gave me a greater appreciation of the geological diversity throughout Turtle Island and a greater respect for the knowledge of the Indigenous Peoples who shared these sacred stories.
As Chelsea Vowell writes in her book Indigenous Writes, it is important to 'check the tag' on each story purported to come from Indigenous Peoples. I get a sense that some of the stories in Clark's book may have been altered from their original form.

[Gabriel Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breve pero muy interesante librito que recopila 18 de las 80 leyendas recogidas por Ella Elizabeth Clark sobre los indios Chippewa, los Séneca, los Iroqueses y el resto de los otros grupos asentados en el territorio que hoy es Canadá.
Es interesante observar las similitudes entre el mundo feérico de los indios y el de los Europeos. Aquí, a las criaturas mágicas les llaman los "pigmeos" y en Europa son conocidos como "la gente pequeña". También hay leyendas sobre los espíritus de los animales, un relato muy impactante sobre el Diluvio (otro más, lo que nos induce a pensar si en verdad ocurrió este fenómeno, y es muy posible que si, a finales de hace 12 mil años) y otras leyendas que parecen recordatorios de la Gran Glaciación.
Muy buen libro.

[Ian MacIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and strangely tantalizing stories. You can see the effect of the Catholic Church in some legends.

This book needs an update with modernized names, nomenclature and a pronunciation guide before students could use it in a classroom.