The Indians believed the Aurora Borealis was caused by a tribe of little people who built great fires in the sky.

Aurora Borealis
The little people live in a world of ice.
In the always night country
Up north
Great fires are built to dry the blubber
of the whale
The fires light up the entire sky
Like spirits climbing
Up to the next existence
The brilliant lights reach down
Down to what seems like another world
Covered in greens and blues
And rich in soil
--Jane Lewis

The First People
In the summer they camped in bark or reed huts.
They caught salmon in the cold Northwest waters.
And they gathered berries in the deep Northwest woods,
Teaching their sons and daughters.
In the winter they lived in cedar houses.
They had slaves from rival tribes.
And they had totem poles telling ancient stories.
They ran in and out with the tides.
--Barrie Lyons

Raven
Raven black, sleek, cold, dark, will power weak.
Temptations thriving in its twisted soul, crying.
Shouting, wailing, against the night sky and purple mountains.
Scaling.
And the people who the raven worship as they go whaling.
Ocean craft, waves, and wind.
Sailing.
As they return and wives set to fish scaling
Raven crying, living, dying within the midnight
And moonlight a-shining.
--Ola Mork