When you grow up Anishinaabe, you hear lots of Nanabush stories. Nanabush is a trickster figure who's responsible for the creation of many things in our world. Many of the stories are funny, and most teach vital life lessons. One of the most important is Nanabush and the crow.

I won't write the whole story out here because I believe it's something that should be heard and not read. But the gist is the crow was once a beautiful bird with a beautiful song who needed to learn to be humble. It had vibrant, colourful feathers and was adored by all.

The crow's song was widely loved, and all the other birds respected and revered it. But all the attention eventually got to the crow's head, and it began mistreating other creatures around it. It believed it was greater and more attractive than everything else in the forest.

Nanabush caught wind of the crow's abusive behaviour, and tracked it down to teach it a lesson in humility. He grabbed the crow and dragged it through the mud to turn its feathers black. Then he cut the crow's tongue in half so it could no longer sing its song.

Today, the crow is black, and can only say "kaa", which is the Ojibwe word for "no". Seeing it is a reminder to stay humble and be respectful of others.