DRS Friesen

Aboriginal legends have a unique place in history. They are truly Aboriginal stories, and as such they constitute the oral literature of each particular tribal cultural configuration. Aboriginal stories are pictures of Indigenous life drawn by Native artists, showing life from their point of view. Legends deal with religion, the origins of things and acts of bravery performed by stout-hearted warriors. They convey a vast range of cultural knowledge, including folkways, values and beliefs, and, in fact, often outline the very basis of a cultural pattern. Legends of the Elders encompasses three varieties of Native legends: entertainment legends, instructional legends, and moral legends. In respect to their nature as a form of worship, sacred or spiritual legends are not reproduced here, but much insight is to be garnered from the collection to be found herein.  

Legends Books Series:

Each book, authored by southern Alberta writers, John and Virginia Friesen, retells many interesting stories form the Aboriginal community and in doing so offers readers a privileged look into the past, to a time when the stories of the Elders were accepted for what they really were, lessons about life. …an ideal gift item for any child and every adult who loves to read…thought provoking tales and legends…Although the Friesens’ books carry just about every type of legend, they don’t cross the line when it comes to Indigenous spirituality.

– John Copley, Alberta Native News, April 2006