Known as "Sikuliarsiujuittuq" to the Inuit, Procyon was quite significant in their astronomy and mythology. Its eponymous name means "the one who never goes onto the newly formed sea-ice", and refers to a man who stole food from his village's hunters because he was too obese to hunt on ice. He was killed by the other hunters who convinced him to go on the sea ice. Procyon received this designation because it typically appears red (though sometimes slightly greenish) as it rises during the Arctic winter; this red color was associated with Sikuliarsiujuittuq's bloody end.