The Kokogiak is legendary, and many stories exist about it. Some depict the Kokogiak as a friendly spirit, who would bring good luck to any who spotted him. Others tell of a deadly frightening beast with a head as wide as a man is tall. I spent 5 years living in Alaska, and though I am no native, I fell in love with the rich storytelling aspects of the various northern native cultures. Here is the legend that I originally heard about the Kokogiak:

"Many years ago, there was a man in this village who was no good. He was lazy, fearful and his wife could hardly stand to be near him. He was often left out of Village events, and soon became the butt of many jokes. After a long time, the man started to become angry about the situation and would speak up for himself when others would poke fun at him. He would claim he was not lazy, but the others would say "Where is your spear then? Buried in the snow?". They would ask him what food he had found lately, or when he last hunted an animal. Embarrassed to say, he would leave for home again, quiet and sad. The man had not hunted in years, and had been living off the village and the disappearing good will of his wife. One day, he decided that enough was enough, and that he would go hunting and make himself right with the world once again. His wife threatened him when he left the house. "Do not come back empty-handed!" As he left the village, some other men saw him with his hunting gear and laughed. "Are you hunting for mice today?" They asked. "Be careful, they may bite you!". The man ignored them, and set off to a place his father used to hunt many years before. When he arrived, he sat down - the hunting site was a small flat area between two large stones. A natural path formed between the stones, and many animals would pass through it, making it a good place to sit and wait for a catch. The man set himself up, and became very still and waited. He waited a long time. A very long time. Much much later, he ached from being still for so long, and decided to give it up. "I am no hunter" he thought to himself, "why am I out here?" He began to pack up his gear, ready to head home in shame. Just then, he heard a sound - a strange shuffling noise from the other side of the stones. He crouched down quickly to wait and see what was coming. Around the side of a large bush, he saw a white shape move - was it an Arctic fox? A Polar Bear? The shape moved quickly again and the man could see that it was a bear, a giant bear like he had never seen before. He made a noise as he shifted to see the bear better, and then it saw him. Their eyes met, and the man saw the full size of the beast - it was over 20 feet long, and had ten legs - Kokogiak! The bear-creature started to run toward him, head lowered. The man ran fearfully toward the two large stones, afraid for his life. He could hear the Kokogiak gaining on him, and he ran between the two stones, hoping to slow it down. The giant creature barrelled after him, not paying attention to the stones, and just as it snapped its jaws at him, the bear became stuck, wedged between the two stones. It roared like nothing the man had ever heard before, thrashing and trying to get free. The man thought he had one chance to survive, and that was to strike the bear now, while it was trapped. Even though he was afraid, he climbed on top of the stones, above the furious bear, and lifted his spear to strike. He paused, seeing the huge size of the animal, like a small hill of white fur below him. The bear, made a short move, as if it were struggling free, and that set the man to task: he jumped down and plunged his spear into its neck, killing the Kokogiak quickly. He returned to the village later that day pulling the massive hide of the bear creature behind him, and he earned the pride and adoration of everyone in the village. He was not afraid anymore, and found it easier to go out and do the things he had to do. He was sad that the Kokogiak gave its life, but gave thanks that he got his life back because of its sacrifice."

At right is an ancient carving found at the Commission on Iñupiaq History Language & Culture site with a "resemblance to one of the fabulous animals which figure in the Greenland legends. It is 4 inches long and represents a long-necked bear with ten legs, an animal which the maker gave us to understand had once been seen at Point Barrow. The resemblance of this animal to the 'kiliopak' or 'kilifvak' of the Greenland stories, which is described as 'an animal with six or even ten feet' is quite striking."

At left is the model I made a few years ago of the Kokogiak, which I later used as the logo for my website and business, Kokogiak Media. The model was made in Rhino3d (I highly recommend it!), then processed in Photoshop.

This logo (at right) is a reject. I thought it would be cool for a while, but later decided it was trite and a little silly. I was going for that "natural/digital convergence" vibe with a pawprint times ten (even though this would actually be pawprint times pawprint ten times over). But I never did use it, and I think this is the only place it'll see the light of day.

If you've read this whole thing, thanks for your time, I hope you enjoyed the explanation, and will enjoy the rest of the site.

-Alan Taylor 03.08.01