Copper Moon Travels

The Pacific Northwest Coast is home to legends & stories that rival the Sagas of Scandinavia, and Mythologies of Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece. While the legend of Medusa speaks of a woman so ugly she could turn a man to stone, indigenous legends from this coast recount the story of three brothers who traveled to the end of the world, and defeated the cannibal BakbakwalanuksiwE who had blood-suck

ing mouths all over his body.
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The Ancestor story of the Namgis, who live in Alert Bay today, involves a giant sea monster named Namxeyaliguwe who transformed the ancestor into a salmon so he could breathe underwater on the journey to Gwa'ni, located at the mouth of the Nimpkish River near Port McNeil. Unlike so many well known fables, these fabulous and magical legends originate right here on the Pacific Northwest Coast, and are the corner-stone of a rich cultural connection to the local environment, resources, and history.