Chinook

Ethel King-Shaw is a professor emeritus of curriculum and instruction at
the University of Calgary.

Two western Canadians collaborated to tell the Native legend of the warm
winds that extend about 400 kilometres east from the eastern slopes of
the Rocky Mountains.

A beautiful young girl called Chinook grew up in a village on the
gently rolling foothills of the Rockies. The warrior Red Eagle brought
buffalo and horses to the village and then felt he was worthy of asking
her to marry him. After their union, both felt the Great Spirit had
blessed them. Later, when an enemy band attacked the village, Red Eagle
led a war party into battle and never returned. The Great Spirit came to
Chinook in a dream, and she left to search in the mountains for her
beloved. By the end of the long, cold winter Chinook had not returned,
but an arch of cloud appeared in the sky and warm winds began to blow.
It is believed that as Chinook still searches for Red Eagle, she does
not forget her people—thus the chinook winds still blow.

This well-written, sad tale is told in the typical style of a legend
and embraces many Native traditions. The illustrations, with their
gentle, flowing lines, create the feeling of the movement of the wind; a
sharper contrast of the arch with the sky, however, is more
characteristic of a chinook. Recommended.