Native American nations
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Native American nations
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This is our collection of links to Deg Hit'an folktales and traditional stories that can be read online. We have indexed our Native Indian lore 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 Deg Hit'an tribe, the mythology of related tribes like the Tanana and Koyukon tribes are very similar.
Raven (Yixgitsiy or Yuxgitsiy):
Raven (or Crow) is the creator god of the Deg Hit'an and other Alaskan Athabaskan tribes.
He is a revered and benevolent transformer figure who helps the people and shapes their world for them,
but at the same time, he is also a trickster character and many Raven stories have to do with
his frivolous or poorly thought out behavior getting him into trouble.
His Deg Xinag name, Yixgitsiy, literally means "your grandfather" (referring to the audience
listening to the story as Raven's descendants.)
Beaver:
Also known as the Transformer or Wanderer, Beaver is a heroic monster-slayer in Deg Hit'an folklore.
Frequently he uses his cleverness rather than his strength to defeat his enemies,
at which point he either kills them or transforms them into something harmless.
Deloy Ges:The Stories of Long Ago:Our Voices: Native Stories of Alaska and the Yukon:
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