Bison Stories

During the summer of 1913, Beaver people at Paddle River, Fort St. John, Vermilion, and Dunvegan told a number of stories to American ethnologist and linguist, Pliny Earle Goddard. The stories were told in the Beaver language and recorded, translated, and published by Goddard (1916). Many of these stories feature buffalo (bison). They offer a window into the connection between Beaver people and buffalo, as well as life during the fur-trade era. The English translation of each story (as recorded by Goddard 1916) is reproduced below. Some stories include a discussion and space for community comments.