Ursa Major (Alkaid) hauls a pile of firewood to light a fire beneath the pot. The Wampanoag people (Algonquian) Native Americans referred to Ursa Major as "maske", meaning "bear" according to Thomas Morton in The New England Canaan. The Wasco-Wishram Native Americans interpreted the constellation as 5 wolves and 2 bears that were left in the sky by Coyote. In Hinduism, Ursa Major is known as Saptarshi, each of the stars representing one of the Saptarshis or Seven Sages viz. Bhrigu, Atri, Angirasa, Vasishta, Pulastya, Pulalaha and Kratu. The fact that the two front stars of the constellations point to the pole
Ursa Major Wain" or "the Plough" (among others), with its stellar configuration mimicking the shape of the "Little Dipper". The general constellation outline often significantly features in numerous world cultures, and frequently is used as a symbol of the north. e.g. as the flag of Alaska. Also the asterism's two brightest stars, named Dubhe and Merak (α Ursae Majoris and β Ursae Majoris), can be used as the navigational pointer towards the place of the current northern pole star, Polaris in Ursa Minor. Ursa Major is visible throughout the year from most of the northern hemisphere, and appears circumpolar above the mid-northern