Saturday, April 21, 2012

Raven stole the Sun.....


Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water.

Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter, and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as a such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse.
When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and stars, and fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them, and a brand of fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen.
He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out.
Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Good Medicine



You can never have enough good medicine

My brother the star, my mother the earth
My father the sun, my sister the moon
To live give beauty, to my body give strenght
To my corn give goodness, to my house give peace
To my spirit give truth, to my elders give wisdom

(Native American prayer)       

Monday, April 16, 2012

Spirit of the Polar bear



The polar bears are very dear to my heart. I have always been fascinated by these magnificent creatures.
To raise awareness about the decline in their population but especially the threat to their environment I made this doll. I truly believe that somewhere out there, there really is a spirit that watches over them and protects them. We can not afford to loose these  beautiful animals to extinction.

Overkill

Overkill
When people move to Alaska, they must feel the need to wear as much fur as they possibly can.