So you want to read… Canadian Mythology
Canadian mythology typically refers to the mythology and legends of the indigenous folklore and mythology of Canada, often accompanied by later French and English Canadian traditions. Of these, the legends of a few particular groups and tribes remain more explored by outsiders and easier to access for the beginner: in particular Kwakiutl, Cree, and Inuit mythology and religion.
A great collection of British Columbian folklore is archived by the British Columbia Folklore Society on their website. For a dated but more complete introduction to a specific tradition, try this collection of Inuit mythology available from sacred-texts (warning for racist language).
Translations, Editions, and other Originals
Good collections of Canadian mythology and folklore include Edith Fowke’s Folklore of Canada, Ella Clark’s Indian Legends of Canada, Whittaker and Wallas’ Kwakiutl Legends, Norman Howard’s Northern Tales, and Evelyn Wolfson’s Inuit Mythology. A note– I’ve included several older collections which will be easier to get a hold of, but do read these with the consideration that they are for the most part collected from a significant colonialist perspective.
Inuit Art Zone has a great range of reading and art from Inuit mythology.
This article covers modern lake monsters and similar cryptids in Canada, which is a great starting point for recent Canadian folklore and myth. A wider collection of Canadian urban legends and similar stories are available on American Folklore.
To learn about modern indigenous mythological traditions, try McKenzie’s Before the Country.
Those interested in geomythology would probably enjoy Meyer’s Fossil Legends of the First Americans, which covers a number of Canadian myths and legends.
An interesting (but quite racist) look at Kwakiutl mythology can be found in Locher’s The Serpent in Kwakiutl Religion. A somewhat less openly colonialist view could be read in the 1975 article The Mouth of Heaven.
Good background on the influence on the French tradition on this would be Parent and Olivier’s Of Kings and Fools.
For an artistic context on many of these traditions, Jonaitis’ From the Land of the Totem Poles covers a range of indigenous Canadian art on display in the American Museum of Natural History.
The 1914 silent film In the Land of the Headhunters was the first feature-length film with an entirely Native American cast, and focuses on the lifestyle of the Kwakwaka'wakw people, including their mythological tradition and religious life. The Nunavut Animation Lab also has some gorgeous shorts rooted in Inuit mythology, and I would hugely recommend the darker full-length Skin for Skin.
Chris D’Lacey’s The Last Dragon Chronicles feature a range of Inuit myths and legendary figures. Stories inspired by Canadian mythology from indigenous Canadian authors include Joseph Boyden’s Wenjack, Edith Robinson’s Monkey Beach, Tomson Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen, Lee Maracle’s Celia’s Song, and Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.
