Indigenous Legends

It’s 1880 in the North Island town of Otaki, where Aroha lives contentedly with her mother, Linda - until a fateful tragedy leaves Aroha traumatized and plagued by a cursed guilt. For the long recovery ahead, Aroha is sent to Rata Station, a thriving sheep farm that Aroha’s mother and grandmother once called home. Linda knows it’s the perfect place for her daughter to heal, find hope, and start a life she can call her own.

Below the mist-shrouded mountains of the West Coast lie the stories of how we came to be. It is through the myths of the people who have lived with this spirit of place for thousands of years that we uncover the mystery of our homeland. The mythical creatures Raven, Thunderbird, Bear, and the Great Spirit become a path to rediscovering the spiritual landscape of culture. These are the stories of the Pacific Coast that tell of gods and demons, good and evil; things unimaginable brought to life.

Insightful, telling, ironic, and moving, 14 Native-American legends reflect a nomadic non-property-owning culture, with a reverence for all things natural.