There once was a fisherman, who couldn’t fish for many days. Walking along the beach, he saw a magnificent salmon. As he was about to take it home, Salmon spoke up. He promised the fisherman calm seas if he just threw him back into the ocean. The man did so, and he prospered. The next day, the storm picked up again, and the man couldn’t fish. He walked along the beach again, and this time, he found another salmon. As he was about to throw this one back in the ocean, it spoke up and demanded that the fisherman talk him home, eat him, and put the bones under the pillow. The man and his wife, who had no children, ate the salmon and put the bones under their pillow. They woke up in the middle of the night, and under their pillow was two boys. The boys grew in strength and honor. When they came of age, one demanded to go out in the world. Eventually, the fisherman relented, and the boy traveled out into the world. He met a grandmother, who offered him a meal. The ate together, and talked a while until they heard some drumming. The people of the village were sacrificing the daughter of the chief to a multi-headed monster. When the villagers left, the boy followed. He fought the monster, who was too slow for the boy’s darting obsidian blade. After slaying the monster, he wed the chief’s daughter and returned home.
Why is this story significant? It's not one of the most common of stories. Nor is it considered particularly important. However, the history and speculations behind the story itself is fascinating.
In 1879, Captain Pratt created the first Industrial Indian School; within a few years, children were forcibly removed from their families and into these institutions. The slogan was to “Kill the Indian to Save the Man.” Three decades later, the noted linguist and anthropologist John R Swanton was fighting against this cultural genocide, attempting to save and collect as many First Nation languages and tales as he could.
Living with the Haida and Tlingit Nations, John R Swanton learned their languages and recorded their stories. One of the stories that he picked up was “The Salmon Chief”, a story of a man who was rewarded for his actions by the Salmon Chief with two sons. And how one of those sons went off to slay a multi-headed monster. In the Smithsonian publication, Swanton noted that this appeared to be a newer story: there were fewer versions of it. In addition, the scene where the chief’s daughter was sacrificed to the monster was alien to the Tlingit culture, but closely mimicked the Greek stories of “Perseus and Andromeda” and “Hercules and the Hydra.”
Was this a new story, told by the first generation of Indian School Survivors? Swanton didn’t specify. But I am fascinated by the idea that a story can go back and forth and be shared and valued. For additional reading, please look at:
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