Gorabe (Manitou Island) is a long, narrow island located off the south shore of the Keith Arm on Great Bear Lake. With its sweeping tapered shape and two prominent red rock outcrops, Gorabe is a sacred site for the Dene.

George Kodakin served for many years as Chief of Deline. He was also a hunter and trapper, and lived and worked in Port Radium for over twenty years with his family. He passed away in 1992 at the age of 64. Permission to reprint this story was obtained from the storyteller’s daughter, Irene Betsidea.

How Gorabe Came About
By George Kodakin

I don't know the time this story took place, but the story has been passed on by our ancestors for many generations. A long time ago there used to be tipis all along the shoreline, from the mouth of Great Bear River, which is near Deline, all the way to the point which is called Kweweæõhdá in Slavey. If my grandfather was telling the truth you can imagine there must have been about two to three thousand tipis along the shoreline. In the springtime, just after the ice was gone from the lake, people came from all over to meet their families and friends.

My grandfather told me that in order to keep warm, they had to keep a fire going constantly during the cold winter weather. He also told me that on the calm cold days there was so much smoke in the air that sometimes ravens flying over would fall dead to the ground because of smoke inhalation.

In those days, only birch bark canoes were used for transportation, for fishing and hunting. When people organised a hunting trip, or went to a bush camp somewhere on the lake, they would often travel along the south shore of Sahtú and head towards Saoyúé. There were some places on the lake which were very mysterious to them. Places where they believed giant mother animals kept guard over the land. One such place was about forty miles from Deline. It is known today as Manitou Island. Before the people became aware of this place, many canoes were lost in a large whirlpool in that vicinity of the lake.

One time the people from Deline organised a caribou hunt which would take them past this area. Among the people that were travelling was one old man and his grandson, each using one canoe. The grandson was raised by his grandparents because he was an orphan. The grandson knew his grandfather was going with the hunting party, so he asked his grandmother if he could go along.

His grandmother told him "You are our only grandchild and we love you. Who will take care of us if something happens to you?” But the grandson insisted, so finally his grandmother told him he could go as long as he stayed with his grandfather. So he got his gear ready and followed his grandfather.

After travelling a while, they arrived at the place near where the whirlpool was located, but they landed on shore a safe distance away from it. It was a place called Whaláwelî, which was used as a place of overland portaging. Most of the people had already begun portaging their gear overland when the old man and his grandson arrived.
As the old man began to prepare his gear for portaging, his grandson told him "I'm not going to make the portage. Instead I'm going to try to go through the whirlpool." His grandfather reminded him of the danger he would face when he got to the place where the whirlpool started. But the grandson Insisted on going through with his idea. His grandfather thought to himself, "If he is that sure of himself then he must possess some very strong medicine." So finally he told his grandson he could go through with the idea if he would be very careful.

The grandson told him he wouldn't have to make the portage either, but to watch his canoe as it approached the whirlpool. If nothing happened, he would signal his grandfather for him to follow. The grandfather was afraid. But sensing his grandson's power, he agreed to the idea. Some of the other people were unaware of the boy's idea, so the old man told everyone about it and they waited to see what would happen.

The wind was calm and the water like glass as the grandson started off with his small canoe towards the area where the whirlpool started. As the boy arrived at the area where the whirlpool usually started, the old man and the other hunters watched closely to see what would happen. As they watched, they beard the boy singing his medicine song. The anxious people on shore could see him slowly turn his canoe to signal them as he passed through the danger zone.

As soon as he saw him signal, the old man got in his canoe and told the others to follow. Everyone was still afraid but they got into their canoes and started to follow. They were all very nervous as they paddled along, but nothing happened. They knew that if the whirlpool started at any time, there would be no way out of it. Finally they passed through the danger zone and decided to set up camp on the other side of the portage to wait for the other hunters. When the other hunters arrived they were amazed to see them already waiting there. The place where they camped is called Kwítúriht’ea.

From that time on the people started to show great respect for the grandson, and the people obeyed him all through the hunting trip.

Following that trip, people started to travel through that area without ever making the portage, and no problems ever occurred. But apparently the animal guarding this area was annoyed with all this increased travel. This animal had created the whirlpool in order to have a good supply of fish and humans to feed on. He probably got very hungry, and decided to move someplace else where there was more food. But he failed in this attempt, and turned into a stone.

At the beginning of the story, I said that people gathered in the spring to meet their families and friends. There were so many people in the area that tipis extended as far as the little lake about a mile behind Kw’átáratô. One calm morning when everybody was asleep, a woman who was sewing heard something in the water in the direction of Saoyúé. She went outside to see what it was and saw a big animal going into the water where the whirlpool used to be. But just as soon as she saw it, the animal turned into a large rock.

This animal, which was a giant mother wolf, turned into the island that today in English is called Manitou Island. Today you can clearly see the outline of a wolf when you are a distance away from that island, as well as the cave where the wolf once lived.

That is why our elders before us taught us to show respect by making an offering when we are in the area. Our elders also taught us that if you are curious as to how long you will live, you can test that out by entering the cave and by running from the end of the cave to the opening without falling down.

George Kodakin told the following story from his own experience. It happened this way: Francis Baton, Moise Bayha, Jimmy Tutcho Sr, Arídághôné, and I went into the cave to see what it looked like. When we went inside we could see everything, because the opening was big and let in a lot of light. The floor of the cave was covered with nice smooth moss and in the far corner we saw the outline of things that looked like bones and waste.

After exploring the cave, we decided to test out what our elders had taught us about how long we will live. So we began running out of the cave one after another. It wasn't long before Jimmy Tutcho Sr fell to the ground, even though there was nothing to trip on. Close to the opening, Arídághôné also tripped and fell down.

Today, I am an elder, and so are the others I mentioned. But my friend Jimmy Tutcho Sr died shortly after the incident, and my friend Arídághôné passed away just recently. Based on my experience, I feel our elders long before our time were always telling the truth.

Before I end my story, I would like to point out some of the danger the island still has. In the springtime, it is not wise to be near what we believe to be the two pointed wolf ears because it will give a person snow-blindness. It also is not wise to pass the island right in front of the nose of the wolf, because we believe the nose is guarded by unseen powers. These last words of warning are for the younger people and for future generations.