When Grizzlies Walked Upright

The story When Grizzlies Walked Upright is from the Native American Modoc tribe. Like The Earth on Turtle's Back from the Onondaga tribe, it is also a theory of how life on earth began. This story also begins in the Skyland, and this time The Chief of the Sky Spirits is unhappy with living in the Skyland because the air was always cold and brittle. So he cuts out a hole in the sky and pushed all the snow and ice down below forming a mound that goes from the sky to earth. This is known as Mount Shasta today. I think that this was a way for the Modoc tribe to determine where Mount Shasta came from, because they probably lived near there. He made everything on earth with the touch of his finger and his giant stick. He made grizzly bears and back then, when they were created, they could walk upright. After he made earth and was pleased with it, he brought his family down to earth to live with him. He made a fire in the center of the mountain and put a hole in the top so smoke and sparks could fly out, and the earth would tremble. This was their explanation of volcanos. One night when the chief and his family were sitiing around the fire, and the Wind Spirit brought a big storm. So the chief asked his youngest daughter to go ask the Wind Spirit to blow more gently, because he was afraid the mountain would blow over. He told her to not stick her head out at the top because the wind might catch her hair and blow her away. So she went to the top of the mountain and spoke to the Wind Spirit, and as she was climbing down she remembered her father say you could see the ocean from the top of their ledge. So she stuck her head out, and the wind caught her hair, and blew her out of the mountain, landing her in the snow and ice. A grizzly bear found her and took her into their family. They raised her and taught her well. When she got older, she and the eldest grizzly bear son were married and had many children. The mother girzzly bear knew that she would die soon after that, and she wanted the Chief of the Sky Spirits to forgive her for keeping his child. So when he found her, he was very happy to see her, but when he saw the chuldren he was outraged. They were not as hairy as the grizzlies but didn't look exactly like their mother. He was mad because a new race was created that was not of his making, and he then banished the grizzly bears to walking on four legs and took away their ability to talk. This was their theory of how life on earth began.