mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The tradition & historical record

The Indigenous peoples of the Americas comprise numerous different cultures. Each has its own mythologies, many of which share certain themes across cultural boundaries. In North American mythologies, common themes include a close relation to nature and animals as well as belief in a Great Spirit that is conceived of in various ways. As anthropologists note, their great creation myths and sacred oral tradition in whole are comparable to the Christian Bible and scriptures of other major religions. ¹

There is no single mythology of the Native Americans in the United States, the Indigenous peoples in Canada and other peoples, but numerous different canons of traditional narratives associated with religion, ethics and beliefs. Such stories are deeply based in Nature and are rich with the symbolism of seasons, weather, plants, animals, earth, water, fire, sky, and the heavenly bodies. Common elements are the principle of an all-embracing, universal and omniscient Great Spirit, a connection to the Earth and its landscapes, a belief in a parallel world in the sky (sometimes also underground and/or below the water), diverse creation narratives, visits to the 'land of the dead', and collective memories of ancient sacred ancestors. A characteristic of many of the myths is the close relationship between human beings and animals (including birds and reptiles). They often feature shape-shifting between animal and the human form. Marriage between people and different species (particularly bears) is a common theme. In some stories, animals foster human children. Although most Native North American myths are profound and serious, some use light-hearted humor – often in the form of tricksters – to entertain, as they subtly convey important spiritual and moral messages. The use of allegory is common, exploring issues ranging from love and friendship to domestic violence and mental illness. Some myths are connected to traditional religious rituals involving dance, music, songs, and trance (e.g. the Sun Dance). Most of the myths from this region were first transcribed by ethnologists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These sources were collected from Native American elders who still had strong connections to the traditions of their ancestors. ¹

Myths from this region feature female deities, such as the creator, Big Turtle; and First Mother, from whose body grew the first corn and tobacco. The two great divine culture heroes are Glooskap and Manabus. Other stories explore the complex relationships between animals and human beings. Some myths were originally recited as verse narratives. ¹

Anishinaabe traditional beliefs - The Anishinaabeg peoples (Algonquin/Nipissing, Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas, Odawa, Potawatomi and Oji-Cree) Ho-Chunk mythology - A North American tribe located in now eastern Wisconsin. Iroquois mythology - A confederacy of tribes located in the New York state area. Lenape mythology Seneca mythology - A North American tribe located south of Lake Ontario. Wyandot religion - A North American tribe located around the northern shore of Lake Ontario. ¹

Stories unique to the Great Plains feature buffalo, which provided the Plains peoples with food, clothing, housing and utensils. In some myths they are benign, in others fearsome and malevolent. The Sun is an important deity; other supernatural characters include Morning Star and the Thunderbirds. A common theme is the making of a journey, often to a supernatural place across the landscape or up to the parallel world in the sky. One of the most dominant trickster stories of the Plains is Old Man, about whom numerous humorous stories are told. The Old Man, known as Waziya, lived beneath the earth with his wife, and they had a daughter. Their daughter married the wind and had four sons: North, East, South, and West. The sun, moon and winds then ruled the universe together. An important supernatural hero is the Blood Clot Boy, transformed from a clot of blood. ¹

Ho-Chunk mythology Lakota mythology Pawnee mythology ¹

Important myths of this region deal with the origin of hunting and farming, and the origin of sickness and medicine. An important practice of this region was animism, the belief that all objects, places, and creatures have a soul. Most death, disease, or misfortune would be associated with the failure to put the soul of a slain animal to rest. When this happens, the animal could get vengeance through their "species chief". Large amounts of rare materials found with this regions dead suggest strong evidence that they believed in a sort of afterlife. It is thought that when a member of a tribe died, their soul would hover over their communities, trying to get their friends and relatives to join them, so their funeral ceremonies were not just to commemorate the dead, but to protect the living. The Green Corn ceremony, also known as Busk, was an annual celebration of a successful corn crop. Their fires were put out and rekindled, grudges are forgiven, and materials are thrown out or broken to then be replaced, acting as a renewal of life and community for these tribes. ¹

There was a time when there was no earth, and all creatures lived in a place above the sky called Galvlo’i. Everything below was only water, but when Galvlo’i got too crowded, the creatures decided to send down Water Beetle to see if he could find them a new place to live. He obliged and dove down into the water, all the way to the bottom of the sea, where he picked up a bit of mud and brought it to the surface. Once above the water, the mud spread out in all directions and became an island. The Great Spirit secured the island by attaching cords to it and tying it to the vault in the sky. Though the land was now stable, the ground was too soft for any of the animals to stand on, so they sent down Buzzard to scope it out. He flew around for some time until he could find a dry enough spot to land, and when he did the flapping of his wings caused the mud to shift. It went down in some places and up in others, creating the peaks, valleys, hills, and mountains of the earth. The rest of the creatures were now able to come down, but they soon realized it was very dark, so they invited the sun to come with them. Everyone was happy except Crawfish, who said his shell turned a bright red because the sun was too close, so they raised the sun seven different times until Crawfish was satisfied. The Great Spirit then created plants for this new land, after which he told the animals to stay awake for seven days. Only Owl was able to do so, and as a reward, the Great Spirit gave him the gift of sight in the dark. The plants tried as well, but only the pines, firs, holly, and a select few others were able to stay awake, so he gave them the gift of keeping their leaves year-round. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas is recorded in open cultural data. The structured record cited below does not describe the practice, and this entry has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 15 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²