I never really paid attention to ravens until I worked for the International Wolf Center, Ely, Minnesota and learned about the symbiotic relationships among the moose, wolf and raven. When I started watching Northern Exposure, an Emmy-winning television drama-comedy from the 1990s, about some interesting characters living in a remote town in Alaska, the Native stories stirred my interest in their mythology. Like the Tlingit, who played a prominent role in the show, other tribes of the Pacific Northwest hold ravens in high esteem. Ravens are credited with creation, the bringers of light, the stocking of salmon in rivers and much more. Marilyn Whirlwind, Dr. Fleischman’s secretary on Northern Exposure, was a quiet, but wise, Tlingit tribal member who loved to tell stories about her culture. The Christmas episode, in season five, featured the raven in all of their holiday celebrations — including raven ornaments and all types of raven decorations. The reason? According to Tinglit mythology and Marilyn, it was the raven who brought light to the world. 

In my search to find more information about Native stories that include ravens, in particular the story of Raven’s bringing light, I came across a book whose forward was written by Joseph Campbell. I studied Campbell in college and have many of his books on myths. He was a driving force in the popularization of myth study in the 1990s, even influencing popular culture, including George Lucas’s Star Wars series of movies.”So, when I saw that Campbell had endorsed this book, so I bought it. 

Ironically, the book I found is written by the same person, John Smelcer, that Northern Exposure used to obtain the Christmas story in the show. The name of the book is The Raven and the Totem; Alaska Native Myths and Legends. Smelcer is the son of an Alaska Native, and he interviewed Native elders across Alaska for his book. When he started collecting the stories, there were 20 Native Alaskan languages — there are fewer now. Smelcer’s language is Ahtna and he is the only tribal member left who can read and write it fluently. In 1998, he edited and published the Ahtna Noun Dictionary and Pronunciation Guide in an attempt to ensure future generations with Alaskan Native cultural heritage that included their language.

 

Smelcer befriended James Michener, who was doing research for his book, Alaska, at the same college and same time Smelcer was attending. It was Michener who suggested that Smelcer put these stories together in a book, which he did. Then in 1991, Alaska Magazine named it one of the best books about Alaska. Soon after, Smelcer was contacted by the Northern Exposure producers to adapt one of his stories for their Christmas episode. It was the traditional myth about the raven who brought light to the world. Smelcer flew down to Washington to meet the cast and remembers how he developed a crush on Janine Turner, who played the bush pilot, Maggie O’Connell. 

Many of the stories in his book come from a study of comparative mythology, defined as the comparison of previously recorded narratives in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. In other words, some of the stories are told differently by different tribes. The story of how the raven brought light to the world told on Northern Exposure is considerably condensed compared to the story in Smelcer’s book. On the television show, the raven tricked the chief into giving him the ball of light by pretending to be a boy. Once he got the ball of light, he turned back into a raven and flew up into the sky and gave light to the world. Smelcer’s story was much more complex and included the moon and the stars. The Chief kept the stars, the moon and the sun in cedar boxes. The raven turned himself into a hemlock needle and fell into the Chief’s daughter’s drinking cup. She drank the needle and the raven became a baby and eventually the Chief’s grandson. The grandson, who was really the raven, wanted to play with the cedar box. Once he got the box with the moon and the stars, he threw them up into the sky. Since he was the grandson, the Chief couldn’t be angry with him. Then, the boy wanted the box which held the sun; once he got the box, he turned back into the raven, flew up into the sky and gave the world light.

Myths about ravens are pretty interesting, and in reality, ravens are pretty smart birds. By the time they are four months old, they have full cognitive skills. They can plan for their future, and make tools out of sticks and stones to help find food. They have extensive memories: during studies they have remembered the faces of the researchers. They remembered which researcher gave them food and which ones took food away from them. 

“Ravens are highly regarded for their social skills, a complicated communication system, and excellent visual recognition. These vocal birds make lots of noise when they find a dead animal, drawing attention to the carcass so that larger, more “tooled” scavengers can open up the hide and eventually provide food for the ravens. Some scientists have theorized, through research, that individual ravens may even develop special bonds with individual wolves within a pack — especially pups and yearlings.” (https://www.yellowstone.org/naturalist-notes-wolves-and-ravens/)

They haven’t always gotten a good rap, however. In Europe, they have been considered a dark omen, especially when they showed up on medieval battlegrounds. In the ravens’ defense, however, people weren’t really sure which side the ravens were on. Still, they have been considered such bad luck that a group of ravens has been dubbed an “unkindness.” Similarly, a group of crows (also of the genus Corvus) is called “a murder.” They are also the subject of the famous and dark poem written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1845 titled, “The Raven.” However, in a twist, it is believed that King Arthur of Cornwall, a British legendary hero, didn’t really die, but was magically transformed into a raven. 

There are many stories about why ravens are black, too. In Greek and Roman mythology, they started out white, but were turned black because they were telling tales that weren’t true. The North Pacific Natives tell a different story, The peacock and the raven were best friends. One day they decided to paint each other’s feathers. The raven did a “splendid job,” and created the vibrantly colored peacock. However, the peacock was jealous and didn’t want to share his magnificence with anyone, so he painted the raven black. (https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/birds/raven/)

Ravens have lived to be about 45-years-of-age, but in the wild they average about 30. That’s a pretty long life, for a bird, even a clever one. They are playful and smart: I have watched them in my front yard trying to fit their large, sleek, purple-black bodies under the spruce bows to get to the suet I leave for woodpeckers. Sometimes they will help themselves to an overflowing garbage can. I think of them as full of character to match their size. They sit outside my window and make funny clucking sounds, and according to scientific studies, they have about 33 different categories of sound. (www.bbearth.com)

So, if you are ever “pondering, weak and weary, upon a midnight dreary,” and you hear “a tap, tap tapping on your chamber door,” it just might be a raven…and nothing more.