Before I even started painting my pony, I knew I wanted it to represent something about where I live because I am one of the few Canadians on the board and a proud resident of beautiful British Columbia, which is well known for the rich native history of the tribes of her coastal people. The first thing that stood out as inspiration were the totem poles, perhaps the most famous symbol of the Northwest people , but as I was researching the totem poles I began to read more and more about the creature which often resides at the top of the poles, the raven.

Raven has always been an important figure in west-coast Native American folklore, particularly to the Coast-Salish people. Many legends have revolved around him casting him in many different lights, from the creator of all people to the cunning trickster. One of the most famous legends, however, is “Raven Steals the Light”. There are many different versions of this ancient tale, some of which say that Raven stole the light form an old man who was selfishly keeping it all to himself, while others say he stole it from an evil magician. My favorite version of the story is as follows:

“Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water.

Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter, and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as a such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse.

When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and stars, and fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them, and a brand of fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen.

He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out.

Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.”

To best represent this great tale my pony was painted depicting a raven with designs based on many Native American artworks and using the traditional colors of black, white and red. The scenes of night on the right side and day on the left side show raven flying over the world, keeping watch over the light which he hung there.