Bear Woman Tlingit

animal-spirit · United States · North America

Bear Woman is the heart of the Bear Mother story told by the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. A girl who mocked bears was taken by a bear and married the bear chief, discovering that bears live like people in a great house; her children became the ancestors of bear clans, and the tale explains why bears and humans are kin and why the bear is honored.

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