Quileute Legends | Folklore | Myths | Stories

There are around 750 members of the Quileute tribe, currently located in Washington State. The population centers around an area called La Push. They live on the Quileute Indian Reservation due to the Treaty of Olympia in 1856. This particular tribe was always known to make time for the enjoyable things in life. These things included playing games, gambling, and the reading of legends.

Thankfully, the Quileute Legends have been passed down, over generations. Some of the most important characters in the legends are the Raven, and the Wolves. In the legends, the Raven is always a trickster, and the Wolves are what the Quileutes descended from. Those tales were often told to children with the intentions of both amusing them for hours, and more importantly, teaching them important lessons on what behaviors were okay, and which ones weren’t.

One such tale, in English, translates to “Raven and Bear,” and it is the story of how the Raven got curly, black talons. The story begins when the Bear and the Raven are making food. The Bear brings down some fish, and begins roasting his feet in the fire, in order to make oil to cook the fish in. The legend says that the Bear had so much fat in his body that it would drip out through his feet and into the pan when his paws were heated. After eating the fish, the Raven decided to invite the Bear over to his house, and try to do the same thing. However, when the Raven attempted to copy the Bear, he just ended up burning his feet, and the legend claims that Raven’s have black claws because of this. This story was often told to children to help them understand that copying others will not lead to success.

Another Quileute myth tells of how the tribe descended from wolves. It is said that Q’waeti’, a hero to the Quileute tribe, went through the area transforming different creatures into tribes. He gave them characteristics, such as horns, and tails. When Q’waeti’ came to an area with no people, he rubbed dead skin off of his hands, and people appeared. Finally, when he came to the Quileute area, he didn’t find people, but instead, wolves. He then turned them into people, and told them that only a chief could have more than one wife. From those two people, an entire tribe was formed, and those who followed were the descendents of wolves.

This Quileute piece of folklore was brought up in Twilight, a novel by Stephenie Meyer. The main character, Bella Swan had a good friend who was of the Quileute tribe. Later in the saga, her friend, Jacob Black, gains the ability to transform into a wolf, along with his friends. Jacob said that this ability was to protect the area from vampires, even though they were never actually part of the legends.

Quileute legends are readily available through the internet, books, and talking to a direct source, such as somebody who lives on the reservations. There are many more tales available, and all of them are interesting. Some of them are amusing, and many of them are applicable to today’s children. The amount of lessons that can be learned through talking animals is certainly impressive.

Quileute Legends are amazing and fascinating tales of many tribes. These legends date back as far as time goes. These legends are passed down from generation to generation. Each time gathering more drama and excitement. In these tails are truths and fictions that many native people live by. They follow the guidance of their ancestors and the rules of the legends for their paths in life.

There are many different aspects to the Quileute tribe legends. Each creature of nature plays a role in the legend. Usually in the Quileute legends there is a hero, a villain, and mostly a lesson to be learned and an experience to be gained by sharing these tales. Often there is a raven in the legends. Raven is the trickster figure in Quileute Indian culture. Raven is a clever and generally benign figure who sometimes helps humankind, but he also has many character traits that are viewed negatively. The raven is usually misbehaving and getting into some form of trouble due to his character traits. Such as being lazy or rude.

A Q’wati (also spelled K’wati, Kwatee, Q’waeti, K’wa’iti, Qati, Kwati, Qwati, and several other ways.) Q’wati is the benevolent culture hero of the Quileute tribe, frequently referred to in English as the Transformer. The same character is called Dukwibal or Dokibatt in the Puget Sound Salish tribes, Xelas or Haylas in the Coast Salish tribes, and Misp’ or Musp in the Quinault tribe. Q’wati is usually credited with creating the Quileute tribe and their neighbors, teaching them right behavior and cultural skills, and protecting them by changing the environment and getting rid of monsters.

Since the creation of the Twilight book series there is now a renewed sense of wonderment of the Quileute tribe and the legends that surround them. Many people now flock to the town of Forks, Washington to see things from the Quileute tribe of Indians. It is said that these people never age and that they suck the blood of humans to survive.

The Quileute tribe is well known among the Native American study. Quileute’s are believed to have dwelled along the Quileute River near Washington on the Pacific coast of North America. books written on American tribal history describe the Quileute’s as a spiritual people who believed in the existence of supernatural forces. they were believed to be a tribe of highly possessive people. while most other tubes shared land and food and other resources, the Quileute’s were thought to keep everything to a single family claim.

Quileute legends will continue to pass from generation to generation helping carry on the history and existence of this tribe and its ancestors. These legends are ones that our children’s children will one day inquire about. And that is how the history will remain.

Tribal life has always been a fascinating subject to historians around the world. There are and have been thousands of different tribes around the world, each tribe with its own legends and folklore that they live by. Their reputation precedes them. They live by these stories, they are judged and remembered by these legends.