Telling Our Stories

Louis Bird is a widely known storyteller and historian of his Omushkego (Swampy Cree) people. A member of Winisk First Nation, he resides in Peawanuck near the shore of Hudson Bay. He has devoted the last three decades to preserving Omushkego stories, language, and history on audiotape. More than 80 of the stories he has gathered, along with overviews of his life story and the Winisk region, are presented on the website www.ourvoices.ca, produced by the Omushkego Oral History Project at the University of Winnipeg.Jennifer S.H. Brown is a Professor in the Department of History at the University of Winnipeg, Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Peoples in an Urban and Regional Context, and Director of the Centre for Rupert's Land Studies at the University of Winnipeg. She is the author of Strangers in Blood: Fur Trade Company Families in Indian Country (University of Oklahoma Press, 1996).

• List of Maps and IllustrationsPreface and Acknowledgements, The EditorsGlossary of Cree TermsWords and Personal NamesPlace NamesSuggested Language ResourcesMapsChapter 1: An Omushkego Storyteller and his BookA Quotation Story: "It Must Be Your Thigh Bone that You Hear" Chapter 2: "Now, the Question of Creation": Stories About Beginnings and the World before We CameIntroduction, Paul W. DePasqualeGiant AnimalsMi-she-shek-kak (The Giant Skunk)Creator Talks to the Animals About the Emergence of the HumansE-hep Chapter 3: Mi-te-wi-win: Stories of Shamanism and SurvivalIntroduction, Mark F. RumlThe Dream Quest and Mi-te-wi-winGuidance and Instruction From an Older RelativeDream QuestExtra Senses - Mind PowerMi-te-wak FightsIntroduction to the Shaking Tent, Mark F. RumlThe Shaking Tent Chapter 4: Mi-tew Power: Stories of Shamanic ShowdownsIntroduction, Mark F. Ruml  The Legend of We-mis-shooshThe Young Orphan Boy Defeats a Powerful and Feared Mi-tew Chapter 5: Omens, Mysteries, and First EncountersIntroduction, Jennifer S.H. BrownThe Omushkego Captive and the Na-to-way-wak: A Remarkable EscapeOmens, Mysteries, and First Encounters with Europeans"I Cannot Have Anything from these We-mis-ti-go-si-wak""In the Memory of the Wikeson I-skwe-o"Cha-ka-pesh and the SailorsStrangers on Akimiski Island: Helping a Grounded ShipWa-pa-mo-win, the Mirror Chapter 6: "The Wailing Clouds" (Pa-so-way-yan-nask Chi-pe-ta-so-win)Introduction, Anne LindsayThe Wailing Clouds Chapter 7: Arrows and Thunder Sticks: Technologies Old and NewIntroduction, Roland BohrOn Firearms and Archery Chapter 8: Mi-te-wi-win versus Christianity: Grand Sophia's Story Introduction, Donna G. SutherlandGrand Sophia's Near-Death Experience Chapter 9: Conclusion: Problems and HopesReferencesNotes on ContributorsIndex