Avian archetypes: Native American folklore’s most fascinating birds
A celebrated Bruin honors ‘the beauty, grace, power and wisdom of those who were here before us’
As a doctoral candidate in folklore and mythology at UCLA in the 1990s, Paul Apodaca focused his dissertation on the Cahuilla bird songs, a tradition that continues today among members of Native American Cahuilla tribes. The recipient of the award for Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year, he even invited modern-day bird singers to campus at UCLA’s annual Pow Wow. Despite the name, he explains, the songs are not about birds at all. (more…)