these aboriginal inhabitants of the area tell a less than positive story about Ogopogo's past. One Native American legend has it that the monster was originally a demon-possessed man who had murdered a well-known local man who was named "Old Kan-He-Kan", after whom the lake was later named "Okanagan". As punishment for his crime, "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."⁴

This sacred creature of the water was more truly a lake demon, carrying on the same murderous exploits that it had carried on in life. In order to avoid the wrath of the creature, Native Americans devised methods of placating the creature, including making animal sacrifices.

According to both the Shushwap and Okanekane Indians, Ogopogo was originally a violent and unpredictable creature. The monster was known to these peoples as N'ha-a-itk, or "the lake demon," because they believed that it was an evil supernatural entity with great power and ill intent. To appease this horrible monster, they would carry sacrifices with them whenever they crossed the lake. Such gifts to N'ha-a-itk included lumps of deer meat or live puppies, chickens, and ducks. The sacrifices could be thrown to the monster when it neared or placed in a separate canoe to be floated several feet ahead of the humans.⁵

Rattlesnake Island, also called "Monster Island" by the locals. Ogopogo's lair is believed to be in the many unexplored caves located between the island and the mainland. Copyright © 2002 Can Pro Productions. All Rights Reserved.

Several Native American legends exist regarding attacks by the monster on humans. One of the most prominent involves one local chief who scoffed at his Medicine Man's superstitious fear of the semi-legendary creature, and proceeded to canoe past Squally Point without making the appropriate sacrifices:

Chief Timbasket and family who, many years ago were visiting the Tisn-stip-ep-tinsub tribe of south Kelowna, were very sceptical of N'ha-a-itk as they watched a village shaman (medicine man) prepare for the trip down the lake. The canoes that were to accompany the honoured guest were marked with a special symbol and a live dog was to be sacrificed at Squally Point. The canoes also had to travel at a certain distance from the shore and every precaution was to be taken to avoid rousing the fearsome beast. But the chief was not to be frightened by myth nor would he steer a round-about course simply to keep away from the rocky point. As he paddled along close to shore, waves suddenly arose and in a flurry of lashing water, the chief and family disappeared. The Indians knew well it was the action of the lake monster which had whipped up the engulfing waves by lashing his tail.⁷

As settlers moved into the area in the 1860s, reports of Naitaka predictably increased, as more sets of eyes came to bear on the lake and its environs. Early on, settlers had kept a sharp eye on the lake, keeping armed patrols on the shore, and even occasionally making sacrifices as had been prescribed by the Okanekane Indians. However, attacks on humans decreased over time, to the point where, by 1924, attacks on humans had ceased altogether.

The very first sighting of Naitaka by a settler was in 1852 by a woman by the name of Mrs. John Allison. Mrs. Allison, who had seen the creature basking on the surface of the lake, had taken upon herself the task of systematically collecting all of the available sightings of the creature, both from the Native Americans and from other settlers. Over time, the increasing quantity and quality of sightings has created a picture of Naitaka that has some fairly specific characteristics:

In virtually every account, Ogopogo is described as a long, sinuous creature almost seventy feet long. Its head is usually described as being "sheeplike" or "horselike", due to the general shape of its skull, its large eyes, and its blunt nose. Two large horns erupt from this odd head, and a jagged fin begins at the creature's skull and continues down the length of its body. Adorning the monster's chin are thick whiskers resembling a beard. The rest of Ogopogo's skin is composed of sizable scales, ranging from dark green to pitch-black in color. Four flippers sprout from the monster's slender body, which is roughly two feet thick. The serpent ends in a long, forked tail capable of propelling the beast at speeds surpassing forty miles per hour. While Ogopogo is largely aquatic, it can also venture onto land. Six-inch "flipper-prints" have been discovered near the lake, and at least one witness spotted the monster lying on a beach.⁸

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