Legends of the Northern Paiute shares and preserves twenty-one
original and previously unpublished Northern Paiute legends, as told by
Wilson Wewa, a spiritual leader and oral historian of the Warm Springs
Paiute. These legends were originally told around the fires of Paiute
camps and villages during the "story-telling season" of winter in the
Great Basin of the American West. They were shared with Paiute
communities as a way to pass on tribal visions of the "animal people"
and the "human people," their origins and values, their spiritual and
natural environment, and their culture and daily lives.
The legends in this volume were recorded, transcribed, reviewed, and
edited by Wilson Wewa and James Gardner. Each legend was recorded, then
read and edited out loud, to respect the creativity, warmth, and flow of
Paiute storytelling. The stories selected for inclusion include familiar
characters from native legends, such as Coyote, as well as intriguing
characters unique to the Northern Paiute, such as the creature embodied
in the Smith Rock pinnacle, now known as Monkey Face, but known to the
Paiutes in Central Oregon as Nuwuzoho the Cannibal.
Wewa's apprenticeship to Northern Paiute culture began when he was about
six years old. These legends were passed on to him by his grandmother
and other tribal elders. They are now made available to future
generations of tribal members, and to students, scholars, and readers
interested in Wewa's fresh and authentic voice. These legends are best
read and appreciated as they were told--out loud, shared with others,
and delivered with all of the verve, cadence, creativity, and humor of
original Paiute storytellers on those clear, cold winter nights in the
high desert.
