Wolf Animal-Spirit of Navajo
The wolf, ma'iitsoh in Navajo, has two faces in Diné tradition. Gray Wolf is a protector given by Changing Woman to guard the Bitter Water Clan and San Francisco Peaks, and a wolf's howl warns warriors to turn back from a raid. Yet mai-coh, the word for wolf, also means 'witch': skinwalkers are said to wear wolf skins to work evil, so the wolf embodies both protection and misused power.