Yamozha and his Beaver Wife

A long time ago, before Dogrib country looks as it does today, there lived two brothers, Sazea (Little Bear) and Yamozha (Walks Around the World). In childhood, the two brothers played many superhuman but cruel tricks on each other. Eventually, Sazea went down to the Arctic coast. Yamozha remained in the bush country of the Mackenzie River drainage, creating many of the natural features of the region.

After Sazea left, Yamozha was very lonely. To take his mind off his brother, he walked for many days. As he was walking, he came to a girl who was all alone. She had lost all of her family and was now alone. Yamozha asked her to marry him.

The young woman agreed, but only if Yamozha could keep one promise; that she would never get her feet wet. She said, “Don't ever step in grassy water or go over a little creek. Just walk in places that are dry.” Yamozha laughed, “That is an easy promise to keep. You don't need to worry about getting wet. I will take very good care of you.”

In the beginning, Yamozha kept his promise. The two walked for many years across the country. Yamozha took good care of his wife. When she was tired, they rested. When they came to rivers and streams, Yamozha cut down trees and made them into bridges so his wife could cross.

One day in late summer, they came to a tiny creek with only a small trickle of water. Yamozha thought that his wife would be alright so he did not cut down a tree. “She can step over it without any problem,” he said to himself.

In one stride, he crossed the water and kept on going. But, Yamozha had a lot on his mind and walked a long way before he realized that his wife was not behind him. When he turned around, she was gone. “Now, what has happened to that girl?” he wondered. “I had better wait for her to catch up.“

Yamozha waited for a long time, but still his wife did not appear. At last, he began to feel uneasy and he began retracing his steps through the forest.

When he reached the place where he had last seen his wife, he was astonished to find that the small trickle of water had turned into a big lake. In the middle of the lake was a big beaver house.

A beaver swam out of the lodge. Yamozha asked, “Have you seen my wife?”

The beaver answered, “I was your wife until you forgot your promise and let my feet get wet. Because you did not take good care of me I changed into a beaver. I can't follow you anymore.”

Yamozha became furious. “My magic is powerful,” he answered the beaver. “I will catch you and turn you into a woman again,” and he began to chase the beaver.

When he arrived at Marian River, he had lost her. He looked for her everywhere, digging into the bush. Around Shoti Lake today, there are all kinds of little creeks, made when Yamozha hopelessly dug in the Earth, but he did not find his beaver wife.

Yamozha was tired from all of this work, but he kept looking until he got to Marion Lake. Still, there was no sign of Beaver. Yamozha needed to rest, so he sat down on Shiagu, a mountain on Murphy's Point. On top of this mountain is a flat rock where Yamozha sat when he looked for his wife.

As he sat on top of the mountain, Yamozha listened carefully. He heard the sound of a beaver chewing somewhere near Neeshi or Old Fort, which is on the North Arm of Great Leave Lake. Old Fort is on a long, long, point. This long point is the dam Beaver was trying to make.

Just before Yamozha got there, Beaver saw him and she dove and hid. Yamozha followed her around the south shore of Great Slave Lake right around to the west side. Finally he came to the end of a point which is called Tsaken, ‘Beaver House’, where Beaver had made a house and had a baby.

Yamozha dug into the top of the beaver house. You can see the hill where he dug this hole. He took the baby and killed it. The mother fled down the Mackenzie River and Yamozha followed her, carrying the baby's body.

There is a burning place down the Mackenzie, the smoldering beds of lignite coal above Fort Norman. That's where Yamozha cooked the young beaver. As he was cooking, the beaver grease melted down and started to burn. And Yamozha said, “This smoke will last forever.” You can still see the smoke there today in the winter and summer.

When Yamozha finished eating, he walked further inland to stretch the hide on the ground. He carried large boulders and set them around the edge of the hide. In the Barren Lands behind Norman Wells, there is a flat land in the shape of a beaver pelt.

Yamozha was still angry at Beaver. He went back to her lodge, but she saw him coming so she swam down the big river. When she reached the Arctic Ocean, she kept on going without looking back. Yamozha knew he would never catch her, so he used power and turned her into an island.