Wolf Legends, Tales and Myths
Native Americans thought wolves to be representatives of spirits. Medicine men used the wolves' skins because they thought it had supernatural healing powers.
There is a Cherokee legend that tells of a wolf whose eyes were sealed shut with tar. A bird pecked the tar away, allowing the wolf to see again. As a thank-you, the wolf gave the bird a stone painted with red. The bird used the stone to paint itself, and this is how the red bird (cardinal?) came to be.
Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were supposedly suckled by a she-wolf as infants.
Zoroaster, the prophet of Persia, was supposedly suckled by a she-wolf as well.
The Iroquois Indians elected a person to represent the wolves at tribe meetings.
A Haida Indian legend tells that the grey wolf was once white, but he wanted to learn to fly. When the raven put feathers on his legs to teach him to fly, the wolf fell so fast he caught fire. By the time the fire went out, he was singed grey.
The Tlingit culture once carved a wolf figure on all their totem poles in honor of a wolf, who, according to legend, once helped them find food.
Another Cherokee legend states that the god Kanati had a pack of wolves that he sent out to hunt for him.