The Origin of the Wolf Ritual: The Whaling Indians, West Coast Legends and Stories, Part 12 of the Sapir-Thomas Nootka Texts

This last segment of the Sapir-Thomas Nootka texts includes three first-hand accounts of the Tlo: kwa: na, or Wolf Ritual, principal ceremonial of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations of the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The ritual, which takes several days to enact, is described in detail, from the howling of the Wolves in human form, to the abduction of children to their forest lair and the return of these initiates to perform newly learned dances. Also included are Sapir’s field record of a Tlo: kwa: na of 1910, his correspondence with his chief interpreters Alex Thomas and Frank Williams, and autobiographical stories by Alex Thomas.