Native American legends and oral stories record tribal histories. Here we have collected legends from over 300 tribes, along with native American tribal prophecies and the meanings of native American symbols in lore and art. Most tribes have legends for their creation and origin stories about where and how they arrived on the surface of planet Earth.
Every aspect of life, death, and existence has its own story to explain why things are the way they are. Often, different Native American tribes had very similar beliefs, but most tribes have their own unique variations in the details of these legends. Most native American societies have some sort of trickster figure, who embodies both mischeviousness and foolish acts that teach a valuable lesson, along with acts of bravery and wisdom. In many tribes, the trickster figure is either a coyote or a raven.
Most Native American mythology has some roots in fact.
KEYWORDS: Indian legend rabbit legend oral story Unidentified oral legend The Rabbit nation were very much depressed in spirits on account of being run over by all other nations. They, being very obedient to their chief, obeyed all his orders to the letter. One of his orders was, that upon the approach of any other […]
In the Old Time, Ableegumooch the rabbit was the forest guide, and helped wayfarers lost in the woods. However, as time went on, the people and animals learned to find their own way in the forest and didn’t need the rabbit’s services as much.
KEYWORDS: thunderbird legend ojibwe legend ojibwa legend ojibway legend Anishinaubeg legend Indian legend oral story oral history myth firefly legend limited edition art prints art print Indian art print AUTHOR: Ojibwe Oral Story Thunderbirds are not like other birds. Oh, to be sure, they have feathers-but they are feathers that shine with many, many colors […]
Nanabush was very tired. He had walked all day and could no farther. On the other shore of the bay he stopped to drink and splash water on his face. Then he sat down on a large stone beneath a tree to rest his aching bones. Near the shore on the far side of the […]
KEYWORDS: Ojibwe legend ojibwa legend ojibway legend ojibwe legends Indian legend myth children’s story for kids oral story oral history oral tradition Indian art prints Indian poster limited edition fine art print AUTHOR: Ojibwe Oral Story One day two fishermen were paddling home along the shore when a violent wind came up and blew them […]
KEYWORDS: bat origin story creation of bats bat myth Indian legend ojibwe legends ojibwa legend ojibway legend Indian Oral Story oral story art prints buy Indian art print children’s story for kids AUTHOR: Ojibwa Oral Story Early one morning while he was on his way to his home in the sky, Father Sun got caught […]
KEYWORDS: ojibwe legend ojibwa legends ojibway legend chippewa legends oral story oral tradition Indian legend myth children’s story for kids buy art posters Indian art prints art print AUTHOR: Ojibwe Oral Legend Long ago there was only summer. The days were always warm and sunny. Winter and snow were unknown. For the young it was […]
KEYWORDS: butterfly legend butterflies ojibwe legend ojibwa legend ojibway legend oral story Indian legend myth children’s story for kids buy art prints Salvador Dali art print butterfly print butterfly poster AUTHOR: Ojibway Oral Story Long ago, when human twins were born to Spirit Woman, she relied on the animals to help her take care of […]
KEYWORDS: ojibewe legend ojibwa legends ojibway legend chippewa legend oral story oral tradition Indian story Indian myth children’s story poster posters art print art prints AUTHOR: Ojibwe Oral Story After the earth was made, there were only trees, grasses, and flowers upon it. There were no birds, no animals, no insects. On the whole earth […]
KEYWORDS: Pima legend Arizona Indian legend native american legends creation story creation stories american indian legend Arizona Indian tribe oral story buy nature art prints nature art print Southwestern Art Print SOURCE: Pima Oral Story (Arizona Indian tribe) n the beginning there was nothing at all except darkness. All was darkness and emptiness. For a […]
KEYWORDS: Pima legend Arizona Indian legend native american legends creation story creation stories american indian legend Arizona Indian tribe oral story buy art prints art print SOURCE: Pima Oral Story (Arizona Indian tribe) In the beginning there was nothing at all except darkness. All was darkness and emptiness. For a long, long while, the darkness […]
KEYWORDS: creation legend coyote legend eagle legend fox legend american Indian legends indian oral story oral traditions oral history native american creation story creation stories coyote eagle fox Achomawi Pit River, California eagle art prints coyote poster fox art print SOURCE: Achomawi Oral History Coyote began the creation of the earth, but Eagle completed it. […]
Eight years was but four days and four nights when the world was new. It was while such days and nights continued that men were led out, in the night-shine of the World of Seeing.
For even when they saw the great star, they thought it the Sun-father himself, it so burned their eye-balls.
Men and creatures were more alike then than now…
KEYWORDS: Ojibwa legend ojibwe legend ojibway legends chippewa legend Indian corn legend Wunzh corn art print corn woman limited edition fine art print SOURCE: Ojibwa (Ojibwe, Ojibway) Legend Indian Corn of the Americas-Blk Buy this corn art print This is how Wunzh became known as the father of Indian corn by the Chippewa and Ojibwa […]
This Paiute legend tells how the Paiute and Shoshones became allies.
Keywords: shoshone legend paiute oral story Shoshone myth Paiute traditional story bedtime stories coyote wolf Coyote Wolf littlewolf Newe Yuma peoples California Indians Nevada indians Idaho indian tribes Utah indigenous people Oregon native americans wosa great basin legends The Coyote, like his brother Wolf, was a spiriual being. In the beginning Coyote left his home […]
Keywords: kwakiutl legend american indian legends native american oral story bedtime story indian stories origin of totem poles north american indian myth Northwest Coast tribes family crests Oral tradition oral history frog legend raven legend Source: Kwakiutl oral tradition The totem poles of Northwest Coast tribes were actually family crests rather than religious icons, denoting […]
Out of the plains of Wyoming rises Devil’s Tower. It is really a rock, visible for a hundred miles around, an immense cone of basalt which seems to touch the clouds.
In the beginning there was only blackness, and nobody could see anything. People kept bumping into each other and groping blindly.
They said: “What this world needs is light.”
Fox said he knew some people on the other side of the world who had plenty of light, but they were too greedy to share it with others.
Source: Winnebago legend
In the old days people were not the chiefs and did not hunt animals. Animals were the chiefs and hunted people.
The animals killed all the people except one girl and her little brother.
Keywords: wolf wolves shoshone legend american indian oral tradition Indian story native american myth littlewolf Source: Shoshone legend It is told that a group of young girls had to be left behind in hiding, as the tribe had to pack up and move quickly due to imminent danger. When the girls came out of hiding […]
Keywords: legend legends oral story american indian folklore native american myths raccoon and blind men Source: Unidentified American Indian LegendDo you know the source? Let us know. The following tale represents the raccoon as the mischief maker, as the animal of like propensities among other tribes is the coyote.
Keywords: Mic Mac legend northeast woodland lndian legends Mik’maq oral story american indian folklore native american myths bird whose wings made the wind Source: Mic Mac oral traditional story An Indian family resided on the seashore. They had two sons, the oldest of whom was married and had a family of small children. This Mic […]
Keywords: beaver legend otter legends shoshone indian legend SHOSHONE folklore Shoshone myths littlewolf american indian myth shoshone oral tradition Once very long ago when animals could talk together. Beaver and Otter lived very close to each other in a big river that flowed at the foot of a high rocky hill.
Source: Winnebago Oral Legend
The twins traveled all over the world and killed all the evil spirits they encountered.
Then the twins went under the earth, under the rivers, under the ocean and then above the earth, visiting the Night spirits, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Thunderbirds–all of them.
Keywords: Lakota star knowledge Indian beliefs about the stars legends Sioux star legend Big Dipper Orion’s Belt Seven Council Fires Fallen Star Lakota constellations winter sky mythology Devil’s Tower Harney Peak magpie Greek’s Betelgeuse Pleiades buffalo in the stars Black Hills legend Lakota astronomy The Lakota constellations are visible in the winter sky, and they […]
Stalking Wolf was a man in awe of Jesus Christ.” Must to the surprise of many of my white friends, Stalking Wolf was a prophet — a true prophet — the kind that 100% of his prophecies come true.
There was an old lady, from the Cree tribe, named “Eyes of Fire”, who prophesied that one day, because of the white mans’ or Yo-ne-gis’ greed, there would come a time, when the fish would die in the streams, the birds would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, and the trees would no longer be.
The Medicine Man is Glooscap, the Good-Spirit. Legend has it that the father of Glooscap is a being who lives under a great waterfall beneath the earth.
His face is half-red, and he has a single all- seeing eye. He can give to anyone coming to him the medicine he desires.
Keywords: Origin of the Medicine Man Passamaquoddy Native American Lore american indian legends origin stories oral histories passamaquoddie legend Passmaquoddy oral history Passamaquoddies The Medicine Man is Glooscap, the Good-Spirit. Legend has it that the father of Glooscap is a being who lives under a great waterfall beneath the earth. His face is half-red, and […]
Keywords: Origin of the Iroquois Nation iroquois nation six nations Iroquois legend american indian oral histories origin myth folklore five nations Tuscaroras Mohawks Oneidas Onondagas Cayugas New York Indians spirits of the sky world Pennsylvania indians southeastern Canada tribes oral creation story indigenous peoples myths legends About 1390, today’s State of New York became the […]
Keywords: Origin of the Iroquois Nation iroquois nation six nations Iroquois legend american indian oral histories origin myth folklore five nations Tuscaroras Mohawks Oneidas Onondagas Cayugas New York Indians spirits of the sky world Pennsylvania indians southeastern Canada tribes oral creation story indigenous peoples myths legends About 1390, today’s State of New York became the […]
A long time ago the Indians roamed the West like the buffalo, one family scattered and returned by change. There were no separate tribes. One of the Indians was a woman of powerful beauty. She gave birth to twin sons, but she did not know who their father was. The beautiful woman sang her sons […]
Keywords: Crow legend Hidatsa legend crow myths hidatsa myths folklore of the CROW HIDATSA origin story tobacco origin story Starboy Earthboy power of tobacco american Indian lore indian legends oral legends
A long time ago the Indians roamed the West like the buffalo, one family scattered and returned by change. There were no separate tribes.
One of the Indians was a woman of powerful beauty. She gave birth to twin sons, but she did not know who their father was. The beautiful woman sang her sons to sleep with a heartbreaking lullaby, and everyone who heard it took pity on her.
Keywords: Crow legend Hidatsa legend crow myths hidatsa myths folklore of the CROW HIDATSA origin story tobacco origin story Starboy Earthboy power of tobacco american Indian lore indian legends oral legends
A long time ago the Indians roamed the West like the buffalo, one family scattered and returned by change. There were no separate tribes.
One of the Indians was a woman of powerful beauty. She gave birth to twin sons, but she did not know who their father was. The beautiful woman sang her sons to sleep with a heartbreaking lullaby, and everyone who heard it took pity on her.
This article contains a chart of commonly used symbols in modern Indian jewelry designs, along with a brief explanation of the symbol’s meaning.
Tags: Indian symbols used in jewelry meaning of indian symbols symbols used in sterling silver jewelry southwest jewelry navajo jewelry hopi pueblo Indian Jewelry culture indian symbol thunderbird kokopelli broken arrow happiness strength freedom
This article contains a chart of commonly used symbols in modern Indian jewelry designs, along with a brief explanation of the symbol’s meaning.
There are many styles of the “THUNDERBIRD.” I seek to locate the people who have depicted the Thunderbird with a triangle/pyramid in the center of the birds chest. Also the depiction of human figures with flat topped heads in their artwork. Cultural History, traditions or Myths. Assistance PLEASE. Blessings 🙂 Support Our SponsorFire Thunder Buy […]
Keywords: Sioux legend sioux oral story legends aboriginal legend indigenous peoples stories moral lessons teaching story Lakota teachings Source: Sioux legend The Creator gathered all of creation and said, “I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they create their own reality.”
Source: Ojibway Oral Teaching Boosoo (Hello). My son, wolves were referred to as the guardian of our spirits. Wolves are free spirits even though their packs are very organized. A lone wolf is rarely found in the wild. Wolves are social creatures like you and I. Just as you watch over your sister so does […]
Creation legend of the Apache Indian tribes. Origin of the Apaches as told by Geronimo.
Often upon a dark and dismal night when the pioneers were coon hunting
around about midnight in the deep and dark ravines they could hear a roaring
sound. It sounded like the hoof beats of many ponies in the distance.
Source: Mi’kmaq Legend
There was once a large Indian village situated on the border of a lake called Nameskeek’ oodun Kuspemku. At the end of this place was a lodge, in which dwelt a being who was always invisible — a mighty hunter, whose dodem (teeomul) was the Moose, Stupendous Deity of the spirit world.
He had a sister who attended to all his wants, and it was known that any girl who could see
him might marry him. There were few who did not make the trial, but it was a long time before one succeeded.Towards evening, when the Invisible One was supposed to be returning home, his sister
would walk with any girls who came down to the shore of the lake.
Source: Arikara Legend An Arikara woman was once gathering corn from the field to store away for winter use. She passed from stalk to stalk, tearing off the ears and dropping them into her folded robe. When all was gathered she started to go, when she heard a faint voice, like a child’s, weeping and […]
Source: Tsimshian Legend Back when the sky was completely dark there was a chief with two sons, a younger son, One Who Walks All Over the Sky, and an older son, Walking About Early. The younger son was sad to see the sky always so dark so he made a mask out of wood and […]
Source: Pawnee Legend A turtle went on the warpath, and as he went along, he met Coyote, who said, “And where are you going Grandson?” Turtle said, “I am on the warpath.”
Source: Navajo Legend The construction of the conical hooghan is based upon the description of the hooghan of First Man related in the Origin Myth as told in Blessing Way [Hózhójí]. In this home, the poles were made of jewels, white shell [yoogaii], abalone [diichii], turquoise [doot’izhii] and jet [bááshzhinii].
Since the Indian hunting horse had different duties than that of a war horse, a different set of symbols were used to aid the hunting horse and his rider. Designed to help the Indian hunter in finding the buffalo herd, many of these symbols also brought favor from the Great Spirit.
The Indian hunter’s wife had the privilege of painting his hunting horse, and if he was unmarried, that privilege was his mother’s.
The Indian war horse was highly regarded by its American Indian owner, who often honored and protected his war horse by painting tribal symbols upon the animal’s body.
While the symbols used and their meanings varied from tribe to tribe, there were some common symbols that were widely used on the Indian war horse. In this article, you will find explanations of some symbols which Indians used to decorate their war horses.
Source: Quinault Oral Legend
A long time ago, in a certain village there lived a young girl who had a dog of which she was very fond. She took the dog with her wherever she went; and at night, as was a common custom at that time with young girls, the dog slept at the foot of her bed.
Every night he would change into human form and lie with the girl, and in the morning, before it was light, would turn back again into his dog shape: so no one knew anything about it.