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Native Languages of the Americas:
Choctaw Legends and Traditional Stories

This is our collection of links to Choctaw folktales and traditional stories that can be read online. We have indexed our American Indian folktales section by tribe to make them easier to locate; however, variants on the same legend are often told by American Indians from different tribes, especially if those tribes are kinfolk or neighbors to each other. In particular, though these legends come from the Choctaw tribe, the traditional stories of related tribes like the Chickasaw and Muskogee are very similar.

Enjoy the stories! If you would like to recommend a Choctaw legend for this page or think one of the ones on here should be removed, please contact us and let us know.

Choctaw Mythological Figures

Trickster Rabbit (Chukfi or Chokfi): Rabbit is the trickster figure in the folklore of the Choctaw and other Muskogean tribes. His name is pronounced similar to chook-fee, with the first syllable rhyming with "book."

Kowi Anukasha: Little People in Choctaw folklore. They have strong magic and can be very dangerous, but they sometimes also bestow powers upon people who treat them respectfully. Their name literally means "forest dwellers" and is pronounced similar to ko-wih ah-nook-ah-shah.

Unknown-Woman (Ohoyo Chishba Osh): A mythological woman who brought corn to the Choctaw people. Her name means "woman who stretches way back," in other words Long-Ago or Unknown Woman.

Choctaw Indian Folklore

*Choctaw Legends and Stories * Choctaw Legends, Customs and Life * Choctaw Origin Legends
    Extensive online collection of Choctaw legends.
*Traditional and Other Choctaw Stories:
    Four Choctaw tales.
*Chickasaw and Choctaw Creation Story:
    The legend of Chata and Chicksah, chiefs who founded the two related tribes.
*Grandmother Spider Steals the Fire:
    Choctaw myth about the origin of fire.
*Choctaw Flood Legends * Choctaw Flood Myth:
    Choctaw myth about the flooding of the earth.
*Choctaw Little People:
    Choctaw stories about the Kowi-Anukasha.
*Why Possum Has A Large Mouth:
    Choctaw legend about Opossum playing a trick on Deer.
*The Alligator and the Hunter:
    Choctaw legend about a hunter who got a gift from an alligator.
*How Poison Came Into The World:
    Choctaw story about how animals became poisonous.
*Eclipse Of The Sun Blamed On Black Squirrel:
    Choctaw beliefs about solar eclipses.
*Why The Owls Stare:
    Choctaw legend about a contest between Owl and Pigeon.
*Bishinik, The Little Chahta News Bird:
    Choctaw legends about a sacred woodpecker.
*Brothers Who Followed The Sun:
    The story of the Choctaw heroes Tashka and Walo.
*Where Ants Come From:
    Choctaw legend about the grasshoppers and the ants.
*Choctaw Corn Legend:
    Choctaw legends about the woman who brought corn to the people.
Eclipse of the Sun Blamed on Black Squirrel:
    Choctaw legend about the origin of solar eclipses.
*Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians:
    Collection of traditional stories from Muskogean tribes.

Recommended Books on Choctaw Mythology

How Thunder and Lightning Came to Be:
    Picture book based on a Choctaw legend about the origin of thunder and lightning.
Southeastern Native American Legends:
    Book comparing the traditional stories of the Choctaw and other Southeast tribes.

Additional Resources

 Choctaw religion
 Books of Native American legends
 Native American religion
 Choctaw words
 Oklahoma Indian tribes
 The Southeast Native Americans
 Muskogean languages
 Choctaw culture
 Native American culture



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