Sgoe’të, the sky-reaching tree of Galiano

Overview

Boas’s Cowichan section labels Sgoe’të with Galiano Island and describes it first as an upright tree whose crown reaches the sky. People descend along it, as do deer with white backs, black legs and antlers curving forward over the sides of their faces. After reaching earth, the people seek to fell the tree. Two men summon animals that the German text calls rats with an explicit question mark. They gnaw for twenty days on one side, then work on the opposite side while the people sing encouragement. The uncertain animal identification should remain uncertain rather than being replaced with a more familiar wood-cutting creature.

The people want the tree to fall without breaking so that deer can live on the trunk and they can build houses there. Once the gnawers finish, it falls, but its tip breaks off and becomes the island called A’wik’sen in Boas’s transcription. Deer subsequently inhabit the islands. The title and ending frame a landscape-origin account; the source does not describe a wandering tree monster or establish a universal world-tree identity. A final note attributes the telling to an unnamed old man at S’ämenos who claimed to have seen one of the unusual deer but did not dare shoot it. That claimed encounter belongs to the narrator, whereas the descent and felling remain the narrated origin sequence; neither is presented here as zoological verification.

Origins & earliest records

Boas prints this Galiano Island account in his Cowitchin section. Its closing note identifies an unnamed old narrator at S’ämenos, including his separate claim to have seen one of its unusual deer. The 1895 edition supplies an attestation, not the beginning of the oral tradition.

Records & interpretation

Complete IV.7, pp.53–54 read in German, including its ending, and checked against original printed-page images. The collection’s oral and translation mediation does not establish physical existence. Historical spellings identify this witness without imposing a standardized modern name.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas

   Franz Boas · 1895

   Cowitchin section IV.7, pp.53–54, complete German narrative and notes; original printed pages checked. Collection-level translation mediation is described in the preface; no unrecorded individual interview date is inferred.

Family & connections

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References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. PrimaryBoas 1895, Cowitchin IV.7, pp.53–54Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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