 |
| The Legend Of The Crow Saskatchewan Indian March 1979 Illustraions by: Larry Okanee Sask. Indian Cutural College |
| In Assiniboine Legends, the stars represent immortals. Long, long ago, one of these beings fell in love with the wife of a hunter. Each morning, as soon as the hunter would leave his home, the star would come to visit the hunter's wife. |
 |
| One Evening, the hunter arrived home to find his little son alone and frightened, crying for his mother. He tried to put the boy to sleep, certain that his wife was nearby, otherwise, she would have taken the boy with her. He waited until dark, but she did not return. |
 |
| He got up at daylight to search for his wife. He saw a crow and asked if he had seen his wife. "Yes," the crow told him, "I saw her yesterday. She left with a strange man." |
 |
| The hunter asked where they had gone, and the crow said they had left for the land of the stars. |
 |
| "Brother Crow, would you look after my child while I look for my wife?" asked the hunter. |
| The crow promised to do his best. The hunter gathered alot of wood for the crow to use while he was gone. He showed the crow where the pemmican pouches were kept and instructed him to keep the fires burning. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| After many misfortunes and difficulties, the hunter finally found his wife and together they began the trip home. When they arrived, they found the crow still carefully minding the child and tending the fire, but at first glance the hunter was barely able to recognize the crow. When he had left, the crow had been white as snow, now he was black as coal! |
| As the crow, faithfully fanned the fire with his wings, the smoke and sparks had blackened his feathers. |
| Today, the crow proudly wears his blackened coat as a sign of service and devotion to Man, his brother. |
| Other Legends: |