Yéil Tl’éetl’i

North of the tallest peaks,

In land dusted with snow,

People of the Tides met

In the night with fire aglow.

Young and old, near and far,

The kwáans from all across,

Found their way to the fire

To listen to storied love and loss.

Faces around the flame danced

As embers crackled and burst.

The elders telling epic tales

To those with knowledge-thirst.

Yet all know the Beginning,

And how the world came to be.

About the Great Spirit, the Raven,

And the greedy Gull of the sea. 

For those who have not heard,

Please listen fast and listen well.

I shall speak it only once,

So that your curiosity will quell. 

Please sit down here, children,

And open up your ears,

For this story is long,

Spanning a many, many years. 

When the Great Spirit created

Everything you can see,

He stored them all apart

In boxes of cedar tree.

Now, each box was gifted

As the Great Spirit saw fit

To an animal of the Earth 

Be it lion, whale, bird, or kit. 

Fire was given to Fox, 

And snow to elder Seal.

Mouse received the mountains

While seeds were gifted to Eel.  

Once a box was opened,

The contained came to being.

(Mouse got a merry fright

When he saw what he was seeing.)

The world was almost perfect,

Only one thing had been missed. 

It was dark and gloomy,

For light did not exist. 

It had here been gifted, 

Same as all the rest.  

But, unlucky for all

Except a gull of the west. 

One thing you understand:

The Seagull was greedy,

Kept e’rything he could find

With no pity for the needy. 

And when he was given 

That square box of cedar

‘Twas swept under a wing

And wasn’t moved a meter. 

In the years that followed,

There reigned the night.

And the world in turmoil

Since chaos thrived without light. 

However, a lone bird

With onyx feathers glossed

Took the chance it gave him

In the land of the frost. 

The bird was clever Raven,

And shrewd that he was,

Blended into the darkness

Causing trouble just because.

“Trickster Raven,” they called

With much scorn in their cries.

“Stop your deceitful tricks

On all under the skies”

But sly Raven just laughed

And cackled at the thought.

But when they asked why, 

“Who is to say why not?”

He pecked the toes of Lion

And escaped a meaty maw.

He stole acorns from Squirrel

And laughed a haunting caw. 

He was crafty and cunning

With many a trick in his brain. 

‘Twas his duty, he thought,

If chaos was to reign. 

One day all the creatures

Traveled from all around

To see who locked up light

And free it from its bound.

One animal did not show 

For his beak was not clean.

The covetous Seagull

And his box were not seen. 

“Maybe he’s forgotten.”

“Or maybe it is lost.”

“Maybe it is gone now:

And into the sea, ‘twas tossed.”

They sent gentle Swallow,

As cousin of the Gull,

To clear the air between

And find the story whole. 

When Swallow had returned, 

The animals crowded ‘round.

“It’s awful,” said Swallow.

“He is truly unsound.”

She recounted her tale,

And the others were told

Of Seagull’s avarice,

His obsession with gold.

The box was underwing,

Under watch and guarded.

He would keep it forever,

And light unregarded. 

Next, they sent massive Lion

To paralyze Gull with fear.

(The greedy bird only blinked,

And he drew his wing near.)

Small Grasshopper was next

For to unseal the box

But his legs were too loud.

And next they sent Fox

On, on, and on it went. 

‘Til each animal tried

To open the small gift

And each time were denied. 

Only one animal left

With a hist’ry of cunning:

The bird of tricks, Raven,

To him they were running. 

“Trickster Raven,” they called.

(He answered with a shout.)

“Seagull hasn’t opened his box

Won’t you please help us out?”

And good Raven replied 

—as all the ravens do—

With an imitative squawk 

And great hullabaloo:

“Tricky, tricky Raven,

Oh, stop your tricks, please!

Oh, now we want your help!

Go say it to the breeze!”

But the animals wept

And pleaded for his aid.

Day after day they asked 

Until Raven was swayed.

So with hope in their hearts

The animals watched him go,

Their own trickster Raven,

Off to let the light flow. 

Sly Raven found the Gull

In a cave by the sea

Surrounded by treasures 

Piled tall as can be.

“Lovely Seagull,” he called.

“Won’t you come greet your guest?

He has come to admire 

Your most opulent nest.”

So Seagull flew down fast

—As prideful birds will do—

To show off his riches

In their noble debut.

“Look here, my good bird,

At the gold in my grove,

For nothing will compare

To my grand treasure trove!

Over here a necklace

And there some green emerald

And a few statuettes.

(What do they resemble?) 

And this may be the last,

But may be the finest!

Here is Great Spirit’s gift

Of which I am biased!”

Raven cawed and flattered

The great covetous bird.

“What a fine collection;

Much better than I’ve heard!

Lovely Seagull,” he asked.

“If I may be indulged,

Could I hold this here box

To have beauty divulged?”

Seagull’s eyes stormed malice.

He knew he was deceived.

Raven-tales had traveled,

And gossip was believed.

“Tricky, sly trickster,

Raven, you shan’t fool me!

Mind sharp, and claws sharper!

Now, I bid you to flee!”

Raven was not deterred

On his quest to find light;

He did not bat an eye,

And he did not take flight. 

“Just listen, great Seagull,

It is not what you think.

All I want is a touch

Then I’ll leave in a blink.”

But Seagull still refused 

To give the box away.

Despite Raven’s begging,

Seagull’s will would not sway.

He pleaded and flattered

And demanded the gift,

Yet his tricks would not work;

Seagull’s will would not shift.

He grew in his anger; 

His temper was soaring,

And since he was outraged,

Raven soon was roaring. 

In his wild frustration,

Raven now grabbed a thorn

Sharpened like a dagger

And all his tact torn.

He stabbed into Seagull

All the way to the bone

With a cry and a shout

So to render foot prone.

Seagull hopped on one leg,

Almost fell to the ground,

But used wing to steady,

Dropping box from his bound.

And when that cedar box

Cracked hard on the floor,

It split fully open— 

The darkness, light tore!

The great Sun, and bright moon

And some billions of stars

From the box they now flew,

And the light was now ours.

So that is the story

Of how the first day came,

And when you look around,

You will know who to blame.

Our dear clever Raven

Who loves always his tricks

Gave the animals light

Because that he could fix.

Sooner or later,

The humans came along,

Thriving under the sun

And flooding night with song.