Skaay
An important storyteller of the Haida, Skaay (born c. 1827) was an important figure in protecting the stories of Haida mythology.
The Haida are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America (now Canada and Alaska). Skaay (in church records, his name is written as "Robert McKay", "Sky", and "John Sky") was born at Qquuna and lived in the village of Ttanuu. Skaay was blind and physical disabled, and he was completely illiterate. He kept stories in their original oral tradition, but in 1900 allowed John Swanton and Henry Moody to write them down.
In particular, Skaay dictated the Qqunna Cycle, the longest known Haida epic poem, the Qquuna Qiighawaay, the history of Skaay's family, and Raven Travelling (many indigenous American religions, including Haida, had a trickster Raven as a central figure).
