Native American Tales Myths

Everyone knows how rude and grumpy bears can be if they don't get enough sleep! When a bad-tempered bear trips over a tiny turtle, no one can foresee the consequence. When Turtle challenges Bear to a race along the lakeshore, Bear is confident about the outcome. But Turtle is smarter than Bear can imagine.

ᒪᕐᕈᐃᑦ ᓄᓇᑐᖃᐃᑦ ᐃᓄᖁᑎᖏᑦ. ᓇᐃᓈᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖓ. ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓇᒡᓕᖕᓂᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᑎᒍᐊᖅᑎᖓᑦ ᐊᓈᓇᒃᓴᑎᒃ ᐅᓇᓗ ᐊᖓᒃᑰᓪᓗᓂ. ᐊᒃᓱᕈᖅᖢᑎᒃ ᕿᒪᒃᓯᔪᒪᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᒃ. ᓵᑕᓇᓯᒥᒃ ᐃᓱᒪᖃᖅᑐᑑᓂᐊᕐᒪᑕ. ᐱᖓᓱᐃᓕᖓᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᓯᕈᖅᑕᕐᕕᖃᖅᑐᑦ.

In the 15th century, four Mahu sail from Tahiti to Hawaii and share their gifts of science and healing with the people of Waikiki. The islanders return this gift with a monument of four boulders in their honor, which the Mahu imbue with healing powers before disappearing. As time passes, foreigners inhabit the island and the once-sacred stones are forgotten until the 1960s. Though the true story of these stones was not fully recovered, the power of the Mahu still calls out to those who pass by them at Waikiki Beach today.

This book contains two short stories, inspired by my experiences thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. The first tells of the Ugalu, a Cherokee Nation spirit-beast and how it was instrumental in the creation of the balds in the Southern Appalachians. The second is a tale of Pamola, the Penobscot Nation demon-beast who inhabits the summit of Mount Katahdin, the Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail in Maine.