According to the oral traditions of the Northwest Coast, there was once a man named Gunarh whose beautiful wife was kidnapped by a Killerwhale.  He took her to the underwater village of the powerful Killerwhale People, and planned to wed her as soon as he could create a dorsal fin and attach it to her back. However, Gunarh was determined to rescue his beloved. He undertook a series of perilous tasks, going so far as to ride on the back of a mighty Killerwhale to reach the village in the depths  of the sea. There, Gunarh successfully extracted his wife from the Chief Killerwhale’s longhouse, rescuing his love and returning with her to their own earthly village.

This is a common myth amongst the Haida people but there are many versions of this legend base on the Nation which is telling the story. In some versions, Gunarh is instead called Nanasimget.