| Many North American native tribes are familiar with the cougar. It is known as the puma, panther, mountain lion, and various native names. Some tribes referred to the cougar as Nibish Kikesmanito, the "underwater god". It is not known whether the cats were recognized for their swimming abilities or more noted for their mysterious behaviors. Dennis Fajalkowski, Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, explains, "Cougars are solitary animals, known to appear and disappear. They were a mystery to Native Americans, just as the underwater environments were a mystery to them." Potawatomis wove the image of the Underwater Panther, master of the underworld forces, into one side of the fiber bags that held medicine objects, and the Thunderbird, master of the powers above, into the other. In the Navajo nation, the cougar was in the same sacred category as the bear, and their name should not even be whispered, lest his spirit be called and potential evil be released. Bolgiano's "Unnatural History of Pumas and People" |
Bay Mills Indian Community Gnoozhekaaning
