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  • Vast Native American tribe
  • Populated Rocky Mountains, Atlantic Coast, Quebec, and Great Lakes region
  • Over 135 bands of Cree Indians within Canada
  • Estimated 200,000 Cree Indians today
  • Support own political system, schools, government, etc. on reservations

Wisakedjak and His Scabs

One day Wisakecahk was looking for food. He was getting upset with his bum because every time he was about to shoot his arrow he would fart and scare off the game. In order to punish his bum, he built a large fire and put a big rock on it. When the fire was hot, he sat on it. Wisakecahk was really in pain. He ran to the river to cool off his bum. "That should teach my bum," he said.

Scabs formed on his sore bum. As he walked, the scabs cracked and fell off. Later, he walked back the same way and saw the scabs on the path. "Hey, that looks like grandmother's dried meat! I sure am hungry," he thought. He picked up the scabs and ate them. Some animals that had been watching started laughing so loudly that they startled Wisakecahk. "What are you laughing at?" he asked. "Oh, silly Wisakecahk, you have been eating the scabs from your own bum!" they told him. Wisakecahk was so embarrassed he ran off.

Wisakedjak

Samantha Hilburn

Wisakedjak Stories

Who was Wisakedjak?

Legend has it...

  • Told only in winter for entertainment
  • Meant to be narrated in language of origin, not read - "Much is lost in the written word."
  • Usually begin with hungry Wisakedjak, too lazy to find his own, attempting to trick animals into providing him food; he is often tricked himself
  • Teach morals and provide examples of what not to do

Cultural Background

  • Trickster, joker, transformer
  • Ability to change shape to be anything he wants
  • Speaks languages of the plants and animals
  • Often called "Whiskey Jack"
  • Believed by the Cree to have created the world

"The Beginning of the Cree World"

  • Wisakedjak attempts to capture beavers who, enraged, flood the earth
  • He creates a raft for himself and all the other animals
  • Wisakedjak uses his powers to expand a piece of old earth retrieved from the waters by Muskrat to create the world as the Cree knew it
  • Native American god
  • Cultural hero of the Cree tribe, the Algonquins and the Menominees

Cree Indians

Works Cited

  • "Cree Indians." Indians.org. American Indian Heritage Foundation. Web. 4 Sept 2013.
  • “Legendary Native American Figures: Wisakedjak.” NativeLanguages.org. Native Languages of the Americas, 1998. Web. 4 Sept 2013.
  • “Wisagatcak.” Pantheon.org. Encyclopedia Mythica, 20 June 1999. Web. 5 Sept 2013.
  • “Wisakecahk.” Civilization.ca. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, 12 Sept 1997. Web. 4 Sept 2013.

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