The people realized that the caribou and the wolf were one…

The Wolf and the Caribou-myth and legend has more truth to it today than ever before! In this time of mass extinction we must heed the wisdom of the indigenous people. The Inuit, the people of the North, take a different view of the wolf than western cultures. The Inuit have their own idea of why the wolf was created.

In the beginning, the Inuit creation story tell, there was a man and a woman, nothing else on the Earth walked or swam or flew. So the woman dug a big hole in the ground and she started fishing in it. She pulled out all of the animals. The last animal she pulled out was the caribou. The woman set the caribou free and ordered it to multiply. Soon the land was full of caribou, and the people lived well and they were happy. But the hunters only killed those caribou that were big and strong. Soon all that was left were the weak and the sick, and the people began to starve. The woman had to make magic again, and this time she called Amorak, the spirit of the wolf, to winnow out the weak and the sick, so that the herd would once again be strong. The people realized that the caribou and the wolf were one, for although the caribou feeds the wolf, it is the wolf that keeps the caribou strong.” ~Inuit Creation Story

Photograph credit John E Marriott

The people realized that the caribou and the wolf were one, for although the caribou feeds the wolf, it is the wolf that keeps the caribou strong.”

Photograph credit John E Marriott

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By Rachel Tilseth

Rachel Tilseth owns Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin Films and is the producer & director of the film "People & Wolves" A Story of Coexistence and More than a Wolf: Wolf 813. Rachel is a retired art teacher and fine artist. Art impacts culture, whether it is in a drawing, a dance, a musical composition, or a documentary. Rachel Tilseth, a passionate filmmaker and documentarian, has established herself as a formidable voice. Her work, particularly focused on the intricate relationship between humans and wolves, is not only educational but also profoundly moving. Through her short films, ‘People & Wolves’ and ‘More than a Wolf: Wolf 813’, Tilseth demonstrates a rare ability to intertwine emotional depth with cultural and environmental education.

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