Raven and Clam Northwest Myth
A Wood Sculpture by Bill Reid, 1970
qwaxwqx ?astaw s?axu tas?
asutelciba cicaxw tebixw
The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam
An Amazing New World then Began
By Michael Peter Garofalo
In the Time Before Everything Changed
the Transformers and Changers
lived in the Ocean's Womb
before the Waters receded.
Then They Came, and Everything Changed.
The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam.
An Amazing New World then Began.
Both inside and outside the Magical Clam
Coming Forth, Coming From, Coming, coming—
Then They Came, and Everything Changed.
People and new plants were created.
New mosses, mushrooms, camas bulbs,
and huckleberries appeared.
New cedars, spruces, firs,
and salal berries appeared.
The San Juan Islands, Hood Fjord,
Salish Seas and King Salmon appeared.
Enemies, diseases, and famine appeared.
People learned from the Transformers/Changers/Teachers:
Raven, Coyote, Honne, Xwane, Turtle,
Bear and Thunderbird.
How to become Human Beings
in a dangerous World.
How to become heartless at times.
How to gather, hunt, and fish for food.
How to weave and keep a fire.
What plants to eat, what not.
What to Believe and Do
in order for their tribe to survive.
How to deal with surprise.
All kinds of beings emerged-created.
People lived, worked, Spoke and mated.
Coyote howled and cheered!
Thunderbird ordered the rain and thunder.
Shape-Shifters played and plundered.
Xwane saved two girls from blunders.
Xonne stopped a flood.
The Magical Clam: A Singularity Opening,
Beginnings Beyond the Understanding
Of Ordinary Times and Minds.
From Something New Came Something New.
The Raven cawed, gurred, mmmured, croaked
then hid in trees away from folks.
Then They Came, and Everything Changed.
The English speaking people came to Reign.
The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam
An amazing New World then Began
qwaxwqx ?astaw s?axu tas?
asutelciba cicaxw tebixw
Raven and Clam Northwest Myth
A Wood Sculpture by Bill Reid, 1970
Miscellaneous Additions
Native American Myths and Lore
Coyote lied, then he angrily sat outside
Coyote
bit our leg as we passed outside
Coyote rained piss on us
when we came outside
Coyote stole our dried salmon then snuck outside
Coyote howled at us as we cried outside
Five Times, Five More Times,
Trickster Troublemaker Coyote's Crimes.
At Potlaches hosted by Chiefs,
couples made matches,
villagers ate,
men played games and gambled,
people laughed, enjoyed easy days,
drummers and dancers rested,
babies smiled, people mingled,
they
talked about someone who died.
The Makah Peoples at Neah Bay
For 3,000 years their Ancestors stayed
in cedar planked houses warm and dry.
They fished and gathered and stayed alive,
Carved cedar canoes,
stitched clothing
from hides,
made tools, harpoons, and art with pride,
and totem poles to salute their lives.
They rowed round Cape Flattery
many times.
On the cliffside forest at Patrick's Point
The Yurok Peoples made Sue-meng home.
I sat on the dirt in a Yurok cedar plank house,
and contemplated the Days of Old,
When a campfire was the only
night
light to behold.
At the Edges of the West: Highway 101
25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works
Northwest Native American Lore, Myths
Olympic Peninsula Native American Lore
Mike Garofalo lives in Vancouver, Washington.
He is
80 years of age and retired. He worked
for 50 years in city and county public
libraries,
and in elementary
schools, colleges, and
bookstores. He graduated with
degrees in
philosophy, library science, and education.
February 8, 2025