Native American Legends!

Enjoy this sample legend written by one of our very own third graders.  Please note his use of knowledge about the Chumash tribe, the legend structure, the elements of nature, and the way his legend offers an explanation for one of the Chumash traditions.  Well done!  We will collect all the legends and use them for our published class book!

How the Chumash Made Canoes

Once a long time ago, the Chumash didn’t have canoes to sail across the ocean of the southern coast.  The problem was that to spread their population, they had to build on a stranded island.  The Chumash people tried to swim to the stranded island, but they couldn’t swim that far.  The Chumash people wanted to ride the crocodiles to the island but the chief said, “That’s a really bad idea.  We’re not even crocodile riders.”  The chief stared at the crocodiles for a moment and then got an idea of constructing boat,s called canoes.  The chief asked his people to build canoes, big and small.  So the Chumash people tried weaving grass together, but it wasn’t strong.  Then the Chumash had an idea of using rocks but they sank into the water.  Then, the Chumash used wood for the canoes and it worked perfectly.  Now that the Chumash had canoes, they could do many things.  They could spread their population, they could explore other islands, and hopefully not get attacked by the Gabrielino.  The Chumash would now have explorers to explore islands of the southern coast.  And that’s how the Chumash made canoes.