Kakabeka Falls

Legend of Princess Greenmantle ~

Greenmantle was the enchanting daughter of the Chief of the Ojibwa Indians who lived in what is today the Thunder Bay region. Greenmantle was captured when this territory was invaded by the Sioux. She was forced to guide them down the Kaministiquia River to the Ojibwa encampment. Pretending to betray her people, Greenmantle led the enemy canoes toward the falls. In those final moments, she bravely leapt from the canoe and swam ashore to warn her people. The Sioux warriors in the first canoes plummeted over the falls while the remaining were captured by the alerted Ojibwa. Their last battle was fought on the Welcome Islands where the Sioux were eventually defeated.

A diverging legend states that Greenmantle, too, perished over the falls when she tricked the Sioux. Her spirit, it is said, lingers in the mist as a rainbow, while the voices of the angry warriors cry continuously from the roaring waters below.