Le terme Ojibwé vient de Outchibou, nom donné au XVIIe siècle à un groupe qui vivait au nord de ce qui est aujourd’hui Sault Ste. Marie, en Ontario.Voici un de leur conte : How the bat came to be (en anglais).
Les Ojibwés faisaient partie d’une série de groupes très proches, mais distincts, occupant un territoire situé entre le nord-est de la baie Géorgienne et l’est du lac Supérieur. Ces peuplades qui se rassemblent près de la ville actuelle de Sault Ste. Marie sont aussi appelées Saulteaux, un terme qui désigne aujourd’hui principalement les peuples ojibwés du nord-ouest de l’Ontario et du sud-est du Manitoba.
Long ago, as the sun began to rise one morning, he came to close
to Earth and got tangled up in the top branches of a very tall tree.
The harder Sun tried to escape, the more he became caught. So,
the dawn did not come.
At first, all of the birds and animals did not notice. Some of
them woke up, then went back to sleep, thinking that they had made
a mistake, and it was not time to get up.
Other animals, who loved the night, like the panther and the owl,
were really glad that it stayed dark, so they continued to hunt.
But, after a while, so much time had passed that the birds and
animals knew that something was wrong.
They gathered together, in the dark, to hold a council.
« Sun has gotten lost, » said the eagle.
« We must look for him, » said the bear.
So, all of the birds and animals went out to look for Sun.
They looked in caves and in the deep forest and on the mountains
and in the swamps.
But, Sun was not there. None of the birds and animals could find him.
Then, one of the animals, a small brown squirrel had an idea. « Maybe
Sun is caught in a tall tree, » he said.
Then, the small brown squirrel began to go from tree to tree, going
further and further toward the east. At last, in the top of a very
tall tree, he saw a glow of light.
He climbed up and saw that it was Sun. Sun’s light was pale and he looked weak.
« Help me, Little Brother, » Sun said.
The small brown squirrel came close and began to chew at the branches
in which the Sun was caught. The closer he came to Sun, the hotter
it got. The more branches that he chewed free, the brighter Sun’s light became.
« I must stop now, » said the small brown squirrel. « My
fur is burning. It’s all turning black. »
« Help me, » said Sun. « Don’t stop now. »
The small brown squirrel continued to work, but the heat of Sun
was very hot now and it was even brighter. « My tail is burning
away, » said the small brown squirrel. « I can do no more. »
« Help me, » said Sun. « Soon I will be free. »
So, the small brown squirrel continued to chew. But, the light
of Sun was very bright now.
« I am growing blind, » said the small brown squirrel.
« I must stop. »
« Just a little more, » said Sun. « I am almost free. »
Finally, the small brown squirrel chewed the last of the branches free.
As soon as he did, Sun broke free and rose up into the sky.
Dawn spread across the land and it was day again. All over the
world the birds and animals rejoiced.
But, the small brown squirrel was not happy. He was blinded by
the brightness of Sun. His long tail had been burned away and what
fur he had left was now all black.
His skin had stretched from the heat and he clung there to the
top branches of that tall tree, unable to move.
Up in the sky, Sun looked down and felt sorry for the small brown
squirrel. It had suffered so much to save him.
« Little Brother, » Sun said. « You have helped me.
Now, I will give you something. Is there anything that you have
always wanted? »
« I have always wanted to fly, » said the small brown squirrel.
« But I am blinded now, and my tail is all burned away. »
Sun smiled « Little Brother, » he said, « from now
on you will be an even better flyer than the birds. Because you
came to close to me, my light will always be too bright for you,
but you will see in the dark and you will hear everything around
you as you fly.
From this time on, you will sleep when I rise into the sky and
when I say goodbye to the world each evening, you will wake. »
Then the small animal which had once been a squirrel dropped from
the branch, spread its leathery wings and began to fly.
He no longer missed his tail and his brown fur and he knew that
when night came again, it would be his time. He could not look at
Sun, but he held the joy of Sun in his heart.
And so it was, long ago, that Sun showed his thanks to the small
brown squirrel, who was a squirrel no longer, but the first of the Bats.
FR 
EN 
ES