Quileute Legends | Folklore | Myths | Stories

Quileute (pronounced Quill-yoot) legends are stories passed down from the Quileute tribe of American Indian. The Quileute myths are complete with characters that conjure up spectral images to the one who reads or hears these stories. Of the characters belonging to the Quileute myths, there is Q’waiti, Raven, Thunderbird, and Dask’ija.

In the Twilight book series, written by Stephenie Meyer, she writes of a Quileute myth of The Cold Ones. The Cold Ones are mythical vampires made up by the author. The Cold Ones are not actually part of Quileute Legends. The author of Twilight incorporates all true Quileute legends in her story, except for the part she made up about the vampires, called The Cold Ones.

As told in Quileute folklore, the Quileute Indians descended from wolves. Quileute legends suggest that a mythical being known to have 3 interchangeable titles as The Trickster, The Transformer, and The Changer. Quileute myths proclaim that the two sided mythical character known as Dokibatt and K’wa’iti was responsible for creating the first ever person of the Quileute tribe. This creation story takes on a life of its own. In the beginning there were 6 tribal societies that represented the elk hunter, the whale hunter, the fisherman, the weather predictor, and the medicine man. The medicine man honored the creator with the wolf dance.

In the Twilight book series: Breaking Dawn, Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse the author is true to Quileute folklore, with the exception to the inclusion of the vampires called The Cold Ones. Since the writing of the book, the movie Twilight came out featuring vampires known as The Cold Ones. The Twilight books are based on a dream that the author had about young couple. The boy was a vampire and the girl was just a regular girl. The girl’s name is Bella. She leaves her old life with her mom and stepdad, and goes to live with her father. At school she meets some really good looking vampire boys.
The books bring the relationship between The Cold Ones and Bella alive. In the Twilight books the story of The Cold Ones are told as one of the Quileute legends.

Quileute folklore is still very much alive in the area of the Quileute Nation near La Push near the Pacific coast of Washington. Today this area is still very rich in history. In the past the Quileute people fished and hunted salmon, seals, and whales. During the summer and fall months you can go to the Quileute Nation and fish the rivers and ocean for salmon, halibut and tuna. When you visit La Push you will see that the Quileute legends are still a large part of the Quileute Nation.

Today the Quileute Nation is inhabited by many of the very decedents of the original tribe. The Quileute folklore is kept alive with stories such as those about the birth of their tribe through the transforming of a wolf into the first member. If you want to read a good story about The Cold Ones, read the Twilight series. If you want to meet the descendents of a people rich in Quileute folklore, visit the Quileute Nation near La Push, Washington.