Around smoky longhouse fires, they spoke of a massive eagle endowed with the ability to create storms. Lightning shot from its eyes when it blinked, and thunder boomed when it flapped its wings. From Haida Gwaii to the Fraser Delta, the image of a great eagle with curved horns serves as testament to an ancient legend shared by the First Peoples of the Pacific Northwest.įor centuries, Bella Coola, Nootka, and Tlingit medicine men regaled their fellow tribesmen with tales of a winged monstrosity which once dominated the western skies. The Thunderbird is a common motif in the indigenous artwork of Canada’s West Coast. The Thunderbird of the Pacific Northwest A Thunder Bird totem pole in Victoria, British Columbia. Its upper half- the half relevant to this article- is dominated by an aquiline figure with outstretched wings- a mysterious character from First Nations mythology known as the Thunderbird. The lower half of the Thunderbird House Post features a grizzly bear holding a human being. It is called the ‘Thunderbird House Post.’ The Thunderbird House Post in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. One of these carvings- a striking replica of a Kwakwaka’wakw longhouse post- stands in conspicuous prominence. Yet for a short time, thousands of years ago, that bird shared territory with early Native Americans.On the eastern shore of Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, at a place known as Brockton Point, stands a cluster of ten totem poles carved and painted by First Nations artists. Teratornis merriami, possibly the largest bird ever to fly, known only by its Latin name, died out following the last ice age. One intriguing theory suggests the memory of a much larger vulture may be the basis for the myth. But the condor was well known to many native groups. Researchers looking for Thunderbird's identity turned to the California Condor, the largest bird in the West.
According to the myth, Thunderbird was so large and flew so high, it carried the rain on its back and created lightning and thunder. Thunderbird was revered by many tribes throughout the West. But there is one myth ndash that of a huge bird called the "Thunderbird" whose origins remain a mystery. In most, the species, or at least the family, of birds can be identified. Bird myths are common in Native American folklore and history.
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