Elizabeth Fabowale

A wooden canoe flying across the moonlit sky with lumberjacks inside from French-Canadian folklore

La Chasse-Galerie (The Flying Canoe)

October 27, 2025

Long ago, in the deep frozen forests of Quebec, a group of lumberjacks worked through a bitterly cold winter. They lived far from home, surrounded by endless pines and the silence of snow. Their days were filled with hard labor, cutting trees from dawn to dusk. At night, they sat around the fire in their cabin, drinking and singing to

Northern Lights shaped like spirits playing across the heavens from Inuit folklore

Canadian Folktales

The Spirit of the Northern Lights (Aurora Spirits)

On long winter nights in the Arctic, when the air is still and the stars shine like diamonds, the sky sometimes comes alive with colors that move and shimmer like living fire. Curtains of green, pink, and violet light ripple above the frozen land, twisting and turning as if unseen

A boy and a jaguar cub in the rainforest under golden light, inspired by a Yanomami folktale from the Amazon.

The Boy Who Spoke to Jaguars

In the depths of the great Amazon forest, where the rivers twist

A glowing serpent bringing fire from a volcano to humans, inspired by an Arawak folktale from the Amazon.

The Fire Brought by the Snake

In the earliest days of the world, before the first smoke ever

A shadowed figure tending a sacred fire, face unseen, representing selfless devotion and community service

The fire keeper without a face

January 7, 2026

Indigenous American Folktales

In the heart of the northern forests of Central Canada, within the community of the Cree people, there stood a lodge known for its sacred fire. This fire was unlike any other; it was a living flame, a source of warmth and spiritual energy, connecting the people to their ancestors.

Villagers around a snow-covered food cache, showing humility and respect as the cache mysteriously shrinks

The winter store that emptied at pride

January 7, 2026

Indigenous American Folktales

In the frozen lands of the north, where the sun hovers low above the horizon during winter months, the people of an Athabaskan village depended on the winter store. This store was not simply a cache of food. It was a sacred trust, maintained by the elders and caretakers who

A ceremonial Haida council bench with multiple people sitting together, emphasizing shared leadership

The council bench no one could sit on alone

January 7, 2026

Indigenous American Folktales

In the village of Haida Gwaii, long ago before the wooden council houses were covered with cedar shingles, there was a bench unlike any other. Crafted from a single, massive log, carved with figures of ravens, bears, and killer whales, the bench was placed at the heart of the council

A canoe drifting on a river as passengers argue, illustrating Wolastoqiyik folklore about cooperation.

The canoe that drifted from quarrels

January 7, 2026

Indigenous American Folktales

Along the winding banks of the Wolastoq (Saint John River), long before bridges spanned the waters and steamboats plied their course, travelers depended on canoes for communication, trade, and survival. Among the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) people, every journey on the river was more than a mere passage from one point to

A silent canoe crossing a sacred river in Anishinaabe folktale.

The River Crossing That Demanded Silence

January 7, 2026

Indigenous American Folktales

Long before marked maps and timber bridges shaped the Great Lakes region, there was a river known among the Anishinaabe as a place of decision. It was not the widest river nor the deepest, yet travelers spoke of it with care. Its waters moved with a steady, quiet force, darkened

A forest trail disappearing into shadow at sunset among tall cedar trees in Gitxsan territory.

The Trail That Closed After Sunset

January 7, 2026

Indigenous American Folktales

Long before boundaries were marked on paper and time was measured by clocks instead of shadows, a narrow forest trail wound through the lands of the Gitxsan people. It followed the curves of rivers, passed through stands of cedar and spruce, and crossed feeding grounds used by deer, elk, and

A vast Andean lake at dawn with calm waters covering a vanished island, mist rising, sacred and solemn atmosphere

The lake that swallowed its own island

January 7, 2026

South American Folktales

Long before the waters of the great Andean lake stretched wide and uninterrupted, an island sat at its center like a resting stone. It was not large, but it was fertile, ringed with reeds and fed by gentle currents. From a distance, smoke from cooking fires could be seen rising

Two towering twin mountains rising side by side over an Andean valley, symbolizing transformed sisters guarding the land

The sisters who became twin mountains

January 7, 2026

South American Folktales

Long before roads cut through stone and before villages marked borders on maps, there lay a fertile valley high in the Andes where the Aymara people lived in quiet balance. Snow-fed streams crossed the land like silver threads, and the mountains that surrounded the valley stood watch like elders who

A young Andean boy standing on a mountain ridge as swirling wind surrounds him, symbolizing humility and growth

The boy who outran the wind

January 7, 2026

South American Folktales

In a high valley of the Andes, where the mountains rose like guardians and the wind moved freely between them, there lived a boy named Illari. From the moment he learned to walk, it was clear that he was different. His feet touched the earth lightly, and he ran faster

A Quechua farmer silently watching abundant maize grow after trading his voice to a mountain spirit

The man who traded his voice for maize

January 6, 2026

South American Folktales

Long ago, in the fertile valleys of the Andes, a great drought came upon the land. The rivers shrank, the maize fields withered, and the villagers faced starvation. The elders prayed to the mountain spirits for relief, but the skies remained clear and the sun relentless. Among the villagers was

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Elizabeth Fabowale

La Chasse-Galerie (The Flying Canoe)

The Spirit of the Northern Lights (Aurora Spirits)

The Boy Who Spoke to Jaguars

The Fire Brought by the Snake

The fire keeper without a face

The winter store that emptied at pride

The council bench no one could sit on alone

The canoe that drifted from quarrels

The River Crossing That Demanded Silence

The Trail That Closed After Sunset

The lake that swallowed its own island

The sisters who became twin mountains

The boy who outran the wind

The man who traded his voice for maize

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