Literature Anthology: Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest By Gerald McDermott

McDermott, G. (1993). Raven a trickster tale from the pacific northwest. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt.

Summary:

Raven is a trickster tale that starts off with the world being dark and cold. The raven feels bad for the people and wants to bring them light and warmth. He finds a bit of light near the house of the Sky Chief. The raven sees the Sky Chief’s daughter and decides upon a plan to trick her. He morphs from a raven into a small pine needle and puts himself into the water she is drinking. She drinks the pine needle, and eventually gives birth to a son. The son is a raven boy, and he eventually tricks his mother into showing him the source of the light. Once he is able to, he changes back into the raven and steals the light away. He places the light high in the sky so that all people can enjoy its light and warmth. We learn the reason that people feed the raven as the story ends; it is to thank the raven for bringing them light.

The raven is a trickster commonly found in Native American folktales. There are many variations of raven tales told in traditional Native American folklore, and in most versions the raven transforms the world in some way such as creating land, bringing the light, or bringing fire. Many tribes tell raven tales. The Tlingit tribe of southwest Alaska traditionally tell the tale of the raven bringing light to the people, as is the tale retold by the author of Raven A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest.