Okanagan Indians’ Myth Of A Lost Island Paradise Inhabited By White Giants – Are Their Descendants Living In British Columbia?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - The Okanagan Indians, whose traditional territory spans the U.S.-Canada boundary in Washington state and British Columbia, have an interesting myth about white giants who, before being wiped out, once lived on a mysterious land.

Who were the giants mentioned in the myth of the Okanagan Indians? Credit: Dominick - Adobe Stock

In the early 1800s, the Okanagan Indians, who are First Nations and Native Americans, came in contact with the non-indigenous people. Among their first contacts was the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but this particular myth goes much further back in time, long before the tribe encountered the first white men.

White Giants Living On A Lost Paradise Island

It was the American historian Hubert Howe Bancroft who, in 1886, brought the Okanagan myth of the lost island to light. It’s a fascinating story that tells about how some of the island’s inhabitants managed to survive a catastrophe. The story of the sinking island was passed from generation to generation, and it cannot be denied it reminds us of the fate of Atlantis.

According to the Okanagan myth, “long, long ago, when the sun was young and no bigger than a star, there was an island far off in the middle of the ocean. It was called Samah-tumi-whoo-lah, meaning White Man’s Island. On it lived a race of giants— white giants.

Their ruler was a tall white woman called Scomalt. . . . She could create whatever she wished.

The Okanagan myth tells the island was destroyed. Credit: Public Domain

For many years the white giants lived at peace, but at last, they quarreled amongst themselves. Quarreling grew into war. The noise of battle was heard, and many people were killed. Scomalt was made very, very angry . . . she drove the wicked giants to one end of the White Man’s Island.

When they were gathered together in one place, she broke off the piece of land and pushed it into the sea. For many days the floating island drifted on the water, tossed by waves and wind. All the people on it died except one man and one woman.

Seeing that their island was about to sink they built a canoe [and] . . . after paddling for many days and nights, they came to some islands. They steered their way through them and at last reached the mainland.” ¹

Are The Kutenai Related To The White Giants Mentioned By The Okanagan Tribe?

Does this mean some of the white giants survived and resettled in surrounding areas? Interestingly, the Kutenai people who live in southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho, and western Montana are physically different from other Indians.  Very little is known about the Kutenai, but they are the tallest and best built Indians of British Columbia. They are also “almost entirely free of blood taint and other consequences of dissipation so prevalent among other tribes of the region. Intellectually they are more stable and capable of mental exertion, while concurrent testimony of traders, travellers and missionaries places them in the first rank for morality, honesty, reliability, and manly qualities.”²

The Okanagan called the Kutenai Indians water people. This image of two Kutenai girls comes from The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis. Credit: Public Domain

The Kutenai Indians “often have wavy hair, light brown skin, and slight beards. Their neighbors in the plains, the Blackfoot, gave them the name Kutenai, Blackfoot for “white men.”³

Interestingly “the Kutenai’s mythology linked them with their neighbors to the west, the Okanagan. The Okanagan called the Kutenai skelsa’ulk, meaning “water people.”³

The Kutaina’s light skin, height, and the implication they emerged from the water may all be simple coincidences. Still, as the Okanagan myth tells us, it’s also possible they are somehow related to the white giants that lived on the submerged island once a long time.

When it comes to myths and legends one should be careful interpreting every word literally. The fact that Okanagan people described these beings as giants doesn't necessarily mean they were of enormous height. These people could have been much taller than those living in surrounding regions.

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Updated on November 5, 2023

Written by Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com

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