Table Of ContentTHE SPIRIT LIVES IN THE MIND
rupert’s land record society series
Jennifer S.H. Brown, Editor
1 The English River Book
A North West Company Journal and Account Book of 1786
Edited by Harry W. Duckworth
2 A Country So Interesting
The Hudson’s Bay Company and Two Centuries of Mapping,
1670–1870
Richard I. Ruggles
3 Arctic Artist
The Journal and Paintings of George Back, Midshipman with
Franklin, 1819–1822
Edited by C. Stuart Houston
Commentary by I.S. MacLaren
4 Ellen Smallboy
Glimpses of a Cree Woman’s Life
Regina Flannery
5 Voices from Hudson Bay
Cree Stories from York Factory
Compiled and edited by Flora Beardy and Robert Coutts
6 North of Athabasca
Slave Lake and Mackenzie River Documents of the North West
Company, 1800–1821
Edited with an Introduction by Lloyd Keith
7 From Barrow to Boothia
The Arctic Journal of Chief Factor Peter Warren Dease, 1836–1839
Edited and annotated by William Barr
8 My First Years in the Fur Trade
The Journals of 1802–1804
George Nelson
Edited by Laura Peers and Theresa Schenck
9 The Spirit Lives in the Mind:
Omushkego Stories, Lives, and Dreams
Louis Bird
Compiled and edited by Susan Elaine Gray
The Spirit
Lives in the Mind
Omushkego Stories, Lives,
and Dreams
LOUIS BIRD
Compiled and Edited by
SUSAN ELAINE GRAY
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Montreal & Kingston · London · Ithaca
© McGill-Queen’s University Press 2007
isbn 978-0-7735-3209-0 (cloth)
isbn 978-0-7735-3210-6 (paper)
Legal deposit first quarter 2007
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
McGill-Queen’s University Press acknowledges the
support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our
publishing program. We also acknowledge the finan-
cial support of the Government of Canada through
the Book Publishing Industry Development Program
(bpidp) for our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Bird, Louis
The spirit lives in the mind : Omushkego stories, lives and
dreams / Louis Bird ; compiled and edited by Susan Elaine Gray.
(Rupert’s Land Record Society series ; 9)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-7735-3209-0 (bnd)
isbn 978-0-7735-3210-6 (pbk)
1. Cree Philosophy—James Bay Region. 2. Cree Indians—
James Bay Region—Folklore. 3. Cree Indians—James Bay
Region—Religion. I. Gray, Susan Elaine, 1960– II. Title.
III. Series.
e99.c88b527 2007 398.2′09714111 c2006-905865-2
Typeset in 10½/13 Sabon by True to Type
We each wish to pay special tributes:
Louis would like to dedicate this book to his children and
grandchildren. Susan would like to dedicate this book to David
McCrady, for letting in all the light; to her parents, Al and Elaine
Gray, for their support and imagination; and to her aunt, author
Barbara Rodman.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface Susan Elaine Gray xi
Acknowledgments xxiii
Illustrations xxv
Map xxxii
Introduction 3
1 water, earth and skies 6
The Land and the Spirit 6
Mooshawow and Wabagamushusagagan 8
The Shaman and the Narwhal Whisker 10
Rocks and their Stories 12
Places in the Skies 15
Giant Spider and the First People 15
Astronomy 17
Moshegiishik (The Universe) 19
Chakapesh 23
Chakapesh Gets Swallowed by a Fish 23
Chakapesh Snares the Sun 29
Chakapesh in the Moon 36
Mysteries in the Sky 37
2 intruders and defenders 39
Encounters on Mooshawow 39
viii Contents
Ostigwan Nowakow (The Place of Skulls) 43
A Mitew Attack with a Lightning Gun 45
Ships, Mysterious and Real 48
3 pakaaskokan, an ancient legend and
mystery 51
4 values for life and survival 59
Dreams and Gifts 59
Christianity and Our Ways: Fear and Denial 60
Conversions to Christianity 62
Life after Death 64
The Power of the Orphan – a Resurrection Story 64
Healing and Faith 66
A Mitew Healer 66
Omushkego Individualism 68
Condemnation by Christianity 70
5 relations with animals 71
Animal Powers 71
Caribou Awareness 72
Caribou Messages 73
Code of Ethics: Dreams, Gifts, and Knowledge 74
Sinning Against Animals 76
Respect and Thanks for Animals 77
Violations and Consequences: The Hunters and the White
Fox 78
6 mitewiwin heroes and villains 81
Mitewiwin: The Power of Dreams and the Mind 82
Science and Mystery 84
Dream Helpers 86
Becoming a Mitew 90
Dreaming the Elements 92
Mind Power through Dreams 94
Seasons and Places to Dream 95
Mitew Fasting and Self-Discipline 97
Healing 99
Animals and Power 102
Contents ix
Mitew Competitions 103
Defence and Warfare: Mitew Powers and Their Limitations 103
Mitew Duels and Insults 104
Protection through Non-Belief 106
Stories of Powerful Mitewak 107
Enduring Practice and Belief 108
Mitew Magical Travel – Not So Long Ago 109
Mitew or Christian, One or the Other? 111
7 wihtigos and cannibal hearts 112
Becoming a Wihtigo 115
Burning Wihtigos 115
Anway and the Cannibals 116
The Mitew and the Cannibal Hearts 122
Ice Hearts 124
Ketastotinewan 125
8 women and men 127
Women 127
Our Grandmothers’ Powers 128
Wilderness Woman 129
Morning Star, a Love Story, and the Spread of the Cree
Language 132
Wife of Ketastotinewan 140
A Woman, Her Dream Father, and a Wihtigo Duel 141
Wihtigo, or the Consequences of Not Listening 146
Story of a Woman Helping a Captive Man 148
Story of a Captive Woman Conquering her Guard 151
9 personages 153
The Defeat of the Giant Skunk 153
The Legless Man and the Boys Who Disobeyed 161
John Sakeny and Bernard Gull 165
Amoe and Sheweephan 167
10 wisakaychak 175
Wisakaychak the Rock Mover 175
Wisakaychak and the Woman Who Played Dead 178
Wisakaychak Pursues Women 180
