00:06The Eskimo people tell the story of Sedna, a tale which in some ways resembles beauty
00:11and the beast. But while beauty falls in love with a beast who turns out to be a man, Sedna
00:17falls for a man who turns out to be a beast. As you will see, she is not very happy
00:22with
00:23what happens. Long ago, there lived a beautiful Inuit girl named Sedna. She and her father
00:34lived at the edge of the world, where there was only snow and ice and the sea. This happened
00:41so long ago that the sea contained no seals or walruses or whales, so the people never
00:49had enough to eat. One day, a stranger paddled his boat toward the girl. He was a handsome
00:56young hunter. He came out onto the shore and asked Sedna to go away with him. Come with
01:03me to the land of birds, and I will keep you warm and bring you meat so you are never
01:10hungry.
01:11He was the most handsome of all the young men who had come to propose marriage to Sedna,
01:17so she agreed. The young hunter took Sedna into his boat and paddled away. Sedna's father
01:25saw them leaving. He wondered when he would ever see his daughter again. After the young
01:31hunter had paddled out beyond sight of land, he began to change. Sedna saw the truth. He
01:41was really a giant bird spirit. The bird spirit carried Sedna away to the land of birds. There,
01:51the bird spirit built her a nest in the rocks. He lined it with down to keep her warm, and
01:57he brought her meat so she was never hungry. Sedna grew lonesome and unhappy. She missed the
02:04land of her people. But most of all, she missed her father. Sedna's father missed her as well. He
02:12paddled out into the open sea in search of her. After a long journey, he came to the island where
02:20the birds
02:20lived. There, he found Sedna alone in her nest. Oh, father, take me back home. I am sad and lonely.
02:30Take me home.
02:32He took her into his kayak and raced for home. But the bird spirit saw them. He flew overhead,
02:41calling, Come back, Sedna. I love you. But her father paddled onward. When the bird spirit realized that
02:50Sedna would not come back, he caused an angry storm to rise up. Huge waves lashed out against the kayak.
02:59Sedna's
02:59father was terrified. To save himself, he pushed Sedna overboard. Sedna sank into the deep, dark ocean.
03:08But she did not drown. Instead, something wonderful happened. Out of Sedna's fingers, seals began to emerge.
03:19For the first time, there were seals in the ocean. Then, big, fat walruses came out from her fingers.
03:28Then whales. Whales big enough to feed an entire village. Above on the surface, the storm blew over,
03:36and Sedna's father arrived home. He was filled with sadness for his poor daughter.
03:42Meanwhile, beneath the ice, an army of Sedna's animals gathered. They churned up the water and
03:51caused the ice to break. Sedna's father was swept down into the deep ocean.
03:58There, the sea animals guided him to his daughter, Sedna, goddess of the seas. He lives there now and keeps
04:08her
04:08company while she commands all the seals, walruses, and whales. Sedna still remembers how hungry she was
04:18as a girl. Now, when the Inuit are hungry, they pray to Sedna, and she gives them one of her
04:25animals to hunt.
04:26Inuit.
04:30Inuit.
04:38Inuit.
04:47Inuit.
04:49Inuit.
04:55Inuit.
