The chief’s daughter Peesunt was very vain, always brushing her long black hair and bragging about her beauty and status. One day the girls of the tribe went out berry picking and on their way through the forest they grew nervous because they thought there were bears nearby. To let the bears know they were coming they clapped their hands and sang songs. “I don’t have to, Peesunt said, they are smelly and dirty beasts.” “Be careful her friends said, they will hear you,” they said, but she paid no attention to their warning. After they began to pick berries they forgot about the bears and soon their baskets were full. As the sun was preparing for sleep they began their journey home. “I am the chief’s daughter and I will get the most berries,” Peesunt said, continuing to pick more. By the time her basket was overflowing, her friends were gone, the sun had gone to sleep and Peesunt grew afraid because the forest was dark.

Nervously she began to walk home but her basket broke and her berries fell to the ground. Just then a handsome man dressed in a bearskin cloak approached her and called her by name, helping to fix her basket and pick up the fruit. “You must come and stay with my people tonight, the forest is dark,” he offered. Peesunt accepted, and arriving in the man’s village, she noticed that all of the people there were dressed in bearskins and none of them would look her directly in the eye. Entering the long-house she was welcomed by the young man’s father, who was the chief. He wore a crown of bear claws and wore an elaborate bearskin cloak. That night the people of the village feasted and danced with Peesunt and they told each other stories.

In the morning when Peesunt said she must leave the chief said no. “You must stay and marry my son,” he said.  At that moment Peesunt heard a tiny voice calling up to her. “These are the bear-people. They heard you in the forest yesterday and they will kill you if you don’t stay and marry the chief’s son,” the voice said.  It was Nokomis, the earth-mother who often took the form of a mouse-lady.  Peesunt had no choice but to do as she was told.  She soon grew to love her husband and had two sons who were half man, half bear. She learned much from Nokomis and changed her vain ways but still she missed her human family.

One day strangers were seen nearby.  Her husband came to her with bad news. “I have dreamt of this day Peesunt. Your people found bear tracks near the place you were last seen and they are going to kill me.  I must go to them to protect you and my people.”  Peesunt wept when she heard this news and saw her husband turn into a bear as he walked into the forest to meet his death.  She also wept with joy to see her brothers again and told them how to treat the bear that they had hunted with respect and to use all of its parts and not to drag it on the ground when they carried it away. Returning to her village with her sons she asked her father, “I am not comfortable living with people anymore, may I live on the edge of the village in a small house?” That is where she lived for many years but still she missed her bear family. Her brothers came to her one day with a gift of bearskin cloaks for her and her sons. As they put them on they turned into bears and left the village of the humans to spend the rest of their days in the forest with the bear-people. Peesunt’s tribe became very successful hunters and always took her advice from that day forward.

The natives used this story as a teaching tool.  Just like in the myth, it is a good idea to make noise when you are hiking.  In case of a bear encounter, remember, making eye contact is considered an aggressive sign.

Zeus, the king of the gods had a bit of a wandering eye and was smitten by the beauty of the maiden hunter Calista. To stop him from following his fancy, his wife Hera, the goddess of marriage, turned Calista into a bear and she went off to live in the deep forest. Years later  Calista’s son Arcas became a hunter like his mother. Calista found herself face to face with this brave hunter and immediately recognizing him, raised up on her hind legs to embrace him. Thinking the bear was going to attack, he readied his spear and prepared to kill his mother. Zeus, watching from the heavens could not ‘bear’ to see any further damage to Calista so he stopped the weapon mid-flght and turned Arcas into a bear like his mother.

To further prevent them from danger he grabbed them by the tails and swung them up into the heavens where they could live peacefully among the stars. Calista and Arcas can still be seen today. The handles of the Big Dipper and Little Dipperr are actually the tails of the Great Bear or Ursa Major and lesser bear or Ursa Minor. When Zeuss swung them into the sky their tails stretched and  these celestial bears have long tails unlike their earhy counterparts.

Every bear is not a star, but they do need our respect. Keep them away from town by managing bear  attractants properly. Bears are curious, intelligent animals who will always go for an easy meal like garbage left outside. If they find a food reward once, they will return.

In ancient times when the animals could speak, Bear had a long tail and was very proud of it. He would vainly brag and ask all the forest creatures if his tail was the nicest. Wary of his sharp claws and teeth they would agree with him but were annoyed at his vanity. One winter day as he was traveling past the frozen lake he saw Fox who was returning from the village of the humans with a pile of fish that he had stolen. “Where did you get those tasty looking fish?” he asked, his mouth watering. “I caught them with my tail,” Fox lied. Bear demanded that Fox teach him how to do this. Fox has always been known as a clever trickster and seized this opportunity to teach Bear a lesson he would not forget.  “Use your claws to dig a hole in the ice and then sit with your back to the hole. Dip your tail into the water and wait very quietly, thinking about each fish that you will catch,” fox instructed. “That sounds easy, Bear replied, and since I have the loveliest tail of all, I will catch the most fish.” Snickering to himself, Fox said that he must go away so as not to scare the fish and left Bear with his tail in the icy water. As he sat there, Bear thought about all the delicious fish he would catch and soon grew tired and fell asleep. Eventually the hole froze up and Fox returned. Noticing bears’ tail he shouted enthusiastically, “wake up, I think you have caught a fish!” Bear woke with a start and could feel a pain in his frozen tail. Thinking it was a fish biting it he pulled up as hard as he could and his long tail snapped clean off. Fox the trickster ran off laughing as Bear groaned in pain. To this day all bears have a short stubby tail to remind them not to be so vain. This is also the reason you never see Bear and Fox sharing dinner and when you hear a bear groan in the wild it is remembering the days when it had a long beautiful tale.

If you would like factual information about bears call program delivery specialist Marty Cancilla at 362-0080 or check www.rosslandbearaware.org. Report bear sightings and bear encounters to conservation officers at 1-877-952-7277.