The Whaling Indians

These Tales of Extraordinary Experience detail encounters with spirit-beings and other supernatural occurrences, as related by the Nuu-chah-nulth of Vancouver Island's west coast. The tales were recorded primarily in the area of Port Alberni between 1910 and 1923 by the famous linguist Edward Sapir, and by his chief interpreter, Alexander Thomas. Supernatural events were important to the Nuu-chah-nulth. A variety of supernatural experiences are described, from dealings with ghosts and a meeting with the Beaver people, to reviving the dead and gaining wealth from a special cormorant.The principal author of these oral accounts is Chief Sa: ya: ch'apis, High-Above. Probably born before the middle of the 19th century, he was in his 70s or 80s when he recounted these traditional narratives to his grandson, Alexander Thomas.