The raven is a trickster, a protector, a teacher and a bringer of great magic to the tribes of the Northwest. They trick us into seeing the things we are missing in our lives. The raven is also a provider. The sun, the stars and moon and even fire were supplied by a raven. And so was the land on which we stand.

It seems that the raven had become bored with the spirit-land in which he lived and flew away carrying a stone. When he became tired of carrying the stone, he dropped it into the ocean. It expanded, becoming the ground upon which we humans came to live. It was a raven who found men hidden in a clam and released them in the world. According to the legend, he literally coaxed us out of our shell. - CK