English
bear
Arapaho
Bears and the Arapaho
Arapaho mythology does not indicate a close sense of connection between the Arapaho and bears. When bears do appear, they seem to have typically been either somewhat dull-witted (as in a story where the trickster Nih’oo3oo kills the bears’ cubs and feeds them to the bears in a stew, then leads the adults on a wild chase that results in him burning off their tails), or vaguely malevolent (as in the widely known story of the bear who chased a girl and her six brothers, clawing his way up what is known today as Devil’s Tower (wox niiinon = ‘bear’s tepee’ in Arapaho), and leading the children to transform into the seven stars known as the Pleiades (beenoku3i’ = ‘they sit clustered together’ in Arapaho).
The bear’s paw and bear’s claws were an important symbolic and mythological motif. The bear-paw icon was associated with Whirlwind Woman, an important figure involved in the creation of the world. An area of Rocky Mountain National Park (Stones Peak, Mt. Julian, and the intervening Hayden Gorge) was known as ‘Bear’s Paw’ in Arapaho (wox se’eihtoo). Bear’s paws and claws were an important source of power, and were used in various tribal and private ritual objects.
The Arapaho were no doubt intimately familiar with the habits of bears. Kroeber describes one decorated bag which is virtually an ecology of bears: (116-17)... Other places associated with bears included two ‘Bear Rivers’ (woxuu-niicie): Billings, Montana and the Colorado River in Middle Park. There was a ‘Bear’s Ears’ (wox-onotonouu) as well - Strawberry Peak southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park.
See also: Bear, Black and Bear, Grizzly
