Parallel Myths

Subsection 1 Summary: “The Story of Two Brothers (Blackfoot Indians)”

There are two brothers, Nopatsis and Akaiyan. Nopatsis’s wife both lusts after and hates the younger Akaiyan. She tries to send him away while at the same time making sexual overtures toward him. One day, she falsely claims that Akaiyan has sexually assaulted her. Outraged, Nopatsis vows to kill his brother. As the two brothers collect feathers from a lake, Nopatsis strands his brother on an island, leaving him to die. Praying to the spirits for help, Akaiyan learns to survive on the island, building shelter and finding food. One day, the Great Beaver invites Akaiyan to his lodge and, hearing the young man’s tragic story, vows to correct the injustice. Akaiyan spends the winter in Beaver’s lodge learning all his magic and medicine. As summer returns, Beaver asks what gift Akaiyan would like to take with him. Akaiyan asks for Beaver’s youngest son as a companion. Beaver agrees on the condition that Akaiyan build a sacred beaver lodge on the mainland when he returns. Months later, Nopatsis returns to the island. As he searches for his brother’s bones, Akaiyan slips into the boat with the beaver and sails to the mainland, leaving Nopatsis stranded.