Tlingit (People of the Tide) have resided in the Pacific North West region of North America since time immemorable. According to the spoken history of the elders, this is how the world came to be... as well as a few cautionary tales on how to surviv...
Once Yeíl & Ch'áak'(Raven & Eagle) found each other, they decided to search separately for more beings that may have come out of the darkness.
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Ch'áak' flew high into the Mountains, searching amongst the cliffs and trees he found strong creatures of many types. Yanyeidí & Chookaneidí(Bears) with low deep voices and immense strength lumbered along the beaches, eating the juicy tléikw (berries) from bushes. Fierce Shangukeidí (Thunderbirds) who flew across the skies with wolf-headed snakes at their wings and lightning bolts clutched in their talons. Solum Was'eeneidí & Kaagwaantaan(Wolves) who watched silently from the treeline along the beaches. Bonded groups of Tsaagweidí(Seal & Killerwhale) cutting smoothly through the ocean's surface, hunting tactfully in its murky depths.
Yeíl took to the rocky coastlines, looking for anything of interest. All along his path, Yeíl discovered many clever beings. T'akdeintaan(Seagulls), who sang and swooped gleefully, snatched small yaaw(herring) from the just below the ocean's surface and shared the tasty morsels amongst themselves. Delicate looking Kiks.ádi(Frogs) slipping in and out of the mud as if they were changing from liquid to solid and back again. Industrious Deisheetaan(Beaver's) carving through spruce and cedar tree trunks with their teeth. Kwaashk'i Kwáan (Humpback Salmon), L'unknax.ádi ( Coho), L'ukaax.ádi (Sockeye), L'eeneidí & Sukteeneidí(Dog Salmon) swimming in their crowded groups.Each these creatures were respectful to the Yeíl and regarded him as family.
His tiresome flight through the deep black world was eventually broken. Unexpectedly, a flash of something bright & góon(gold) shot from the earth through the sky in a single glorious beam. Yeíl excitedly beat his wings harder as he neared the source of the strange light. There! He could see which island it was coming from. So close! Yes! Just up this beach and beyond that stand of Cedar trees. And as he landed on the beach the strange góon(gold) line that had ripped the sky in two... vanished.
Blinded by the darkness that enveloped him once again, Yeíl blinked quickly to regain his vision. Slowly surveying his surroundings, he noticed the smooth round boulders on this beach had begun to move. As though they were stretching and elongating. Almost as if they were untangling themselves from the very earth. Yeíl forgot his curiosity over the brilliant shiny light that drew him to this island in the first place. As the strange things grew taller they began to move. Stumbling in the dark. Of all the creatures that Yeíl encountered, he found these to be most fascinating. These beings were not heavily furred, or joyfully content in their environment. They were cold and hungry. They huddled near to one another searching the eternal night. He was distracted by both his compassion and pity for these humanoid creatures. a kwáan(people of that place). These people he found near the tide. Tlingít(People of the Tide).
