Canadian History for Kids: Ogopogo

This Canadian History for Kids exclusive, looks at Ogopogo, truly, a Canadian thing!!

Ogopopo got his name from the following ditty: His mother was an earwig, his father was a whale, a little bit of head and hardly any tail… and Ogopogo was his name.

Ogopogo or Naitaka (“lake demon”) is the name given to a cryptic lake monster reported to live in Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia, Canada. Ogopogo has been allegedly seen by First Nations people since the 19th century. The most common description of Ogopogo is a 40 to 50-foot-long (12 to 15 m) sea serpent.

Before European settlers came to the Okanagan Valley, the First Nations spoke of “N’ha-a-itk”, a vicious lake monster that resided at Squally Point, 20 kilometres south of the city of Kelowna. In 1924, a little song was composed about the lake monster who was given the name, “Ogopogo”.

Over the generations, the legend gained credibility as more and more sightings were reported.

Canadian History for Kids has learned descriptions of the beast vary, but certain features have been repeated through the decades: Ogopogo is green with a snakelike body about 25 meters long. Some say its head looks like a horse, while others say that it’s reptilian or goat-like. Many even claim to have photographed Ogopogo.

Native legend has it that the large lake creature, Ogopogo, was originally a demon possessed man who had murdered a well known and respected local man named “Old Kan-He-Kan.” In memory of this man, his people named the beautiful lake “Okanagan.”

To pay for his sins, the Indian gods changed the murderer into a lake serpent so he would forever be at the scene of his crime and suffer eternal remorse. The creature’s name became “N’ha-A-Itk” which roughly translates into sacred creature of the water, water god or lake demon.

The legend of Ogopogo.

Now that’s a Canadian thing!

And that’s this week’s Canadian History for Kids, exclusive!
 

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