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Native American Indian Animals of Myth and Legend

Native Animal Mythology and Meaning In Various Tribes

*Animal stories about alligators
*Animal stories about ants
*Animal stories about antelopes
*Animal stories about badgers
*Animal stories about bats
*Animal stories about bears
*Animal stories about beavers
*Animal stories about bees
*Animal stories about beetles
*Animal stories about birds
*Animal stories about bitterns
*Animal stories about blackbirds
*Animal stories about blowflies
*Animal stories about bluebirds
*Animal stories about bluejays
*Animal stories about bobcats
*Animal stories about buffalo
*Animal stories about butterflies
*Animal stories about buzzards
*Animal stories about cardinals
*Animal stories about caribou
*Animal stories about carp
*Animal stories about caterpillars
*Animal stories about catfish
*Animal stories about chickadees
*Animal stories about chipmunks
*Animal stories about cockroaches
*Animal stories about codfish
*Animal stories about condors
*Animal stories about coots
*Animal stories about cougars
*Animal stories about coyotes
*Animal stories about cranes
*Animal stories about crayfish
*Animal stories about crickets
*Animal stories about crows
*Animal stories about deer
*Animal stories about dogs
*Animal stories about dolphins
*Animal stories about doves
*Animal stories about dragonfly
*Animal stories about ducks
*Animal stories about eagles
*Animal stories about eel
*Animal stories about egret
*Animal stories about elk
*Animal stories about fish
*Animal stories about fishers
*Animal stories about flickers
 *Animal stories about flies
*Animal stories about flying squirrels
*Animal stories about foxes
*Animal stories about frogs
*Animal stories about garter snakes
*Animal stories about giant animals
*Animal stories about gophers
*Animal stories about grasshoppers
*Animal stories about grebes
*Animal stories about groundhogs
*Animal stories about grouses
*Animal stories about halibut
*Animal stories about hawks
*Animal stories about herons
*Animal stories about horses
*Animal stories about hummingbirds
*Animal stories about inchworms
*Animal stories about insects
*Animal stories about jaguars
*Animal stories about katydids
*Animal stories about killer whales
*Animal stories about kingfishers
*Animal stories about kit foxes
*Animal stories about lizards
*Animal stories about loons
*Animal stories about lynx
*Animal stories about macaws
*Animal stories about magpies
*Animal stories about martens
*Animal stories about meadowlarks
*Animal stories about minks
*Animal stories about mockingbirds
*Animal stories about moles
*Animal stories about monkeys
*Animal stories about monsters
*Animal stories about moose
*Animal stories about mosquitos
*Animal stories about moths
*Animal stories about mountain goats
*Animal stories about mice
*Animal stories about muskrats
*Animal stories about nuthatches
*Animal stories about octopi
*Animal stories about opossums
*Animal stories about orioles
*Animal stories about ospreys
*Animal stories about otters
*Animal stories about owls
*Animal stories about panthers
 *Animal stories about parrots
*Animal stories about partridge
*Animal stories about pelicans
*Animal stories about pike
*Animal stories about polar bears
*Animal stories about prairie dogs
*Animal stories about puffins
*Animal stories about porcupines
*Animal stories about porpoises
*Animal stories about quails
*Animal stories about rabbits
*Animal stories about raccoons
*Animal stories about rattlesnakes
*Animal stories about ravens
*Animal stories about roadrunners
*Animal stories about robins
*Animal stories about salmon
*Animal stories about seagulls
*Animal stories about seals
*Animal stories about sea lions
*Animal stories about sea turtles
*Animal stories about serpents
*Animal stories about sharks
*Animal stories about shrews
*Animal stories about skates
*Animal stories about skunks
*Animal stories about snakes
*Animal stories about spiders
*Animal stories about squirrels
*Animal stories about starfish
*Animal stories about sturgeons
*Animal stories about swallows
*Animal stories about swans
*Animal stories about tapirs
*Animal stories about ticks
*Animal stories about titmice
*Animal stories about toads
*Animal stories about turkeys
*Animal stories about turtles
*Animal stories about vultures
*Animal stories about weasels
*Animal stories about whales
*Animal stories about whippoorwills
*Animal stories about wildcats
*Animal stories about wolves
*Animal stories about wolverines
*Animal stories about woodchucks
*Animal stories about woodpeckers
*Animal stories about woodworms
*Animal stories about wrens

List of Native American Animal Gods and Spirits

Ableegumooch (Micmac)
Akwulabemu (Wabanaki)
Aniwye (Chippewa)
Apistanewj (Micmac)
Azaban (Abenaki)
Blue-Jay (Chinook)
Bootup (Wabanaki)
Caribou Man (Innu)
Chipiapoos (Potawatomi)
Chirich (Arikara)
Coyote (Western tribes)
Deer Woman (various tribes)
Fox Woman (Cree)
 Grandmother Woodchuck (Abenaki)
The Great Hare (Algonquin)
Great Fisher (Chippewa)
Issa (Shoshone)
Iwarika (Akawaio)
Jamul (Achumawi)
Jistu (Cherokee)
Kiwnik (Micmac)
Kollu (Wabanaki)
Kuekuatsheu (Innu)
Kwimu (Micmac)
Loks (Wabanaki)
Lucivee (Wabanaki)
 Mahtoqehs (Wabanaki)
Malsom (Wabanaki)
Matgwas (Abenaki)
Medawisla (Abenaki)
Mikcheech (Micmac)
Mikew (Wabanaki)
Mahwaew (Menominee)
Monkey People (Ahtna)
Mooin (Wabanaki)
Moshking (Lenape)
Musquash (Abenaki)
 Night Panther (Algonquian tribes)
Old Man Coyote (Plains tribes)
Plawej (Micmac)
Pogumk (Black Cat)
Raven (Northwest Coast tribes)
Sasquatch (Coast Salish)
Silver-Fox (California tribes)
Spider Woman (Navajo)
Stiff-Legged Bear (Eastern tribes)
Tie-Snake (Southeastern tribes)
Tolba (Abenaki)
Trickster Coyote (Southwestern tribes)
*Yeilis (Coos)

Native American Animal Legends

*Mooin, the Bear's Child * Legend of the Bear Clan * The Boy That Almost Turned Into A Bear:
    Native American legends about human children who are rescued or adopted by animals.
How Bear Became Keeper of the Medicines * The Alligator and the Hunter:
    American Indian legends about spirit animals bringing medicine or sacred songs to the people.
*When Squirrels Were Huge * Klouskap and the Squirrel * Glooscap Shrinks the Animals * The Monster Animals * The Giant Squirrel:
    Algonquian legends about giant animal monsters being reduced to their modern size.
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes * Why the Crow Is Black * How Deer Got His Horns:
    "Pourquoi" stories about how animals acquired the appearance or behaviors they show today.
Tale of the Eagle's Revenge:
    Native American folktales about humans who are punished for their disrespect of animals.
Release of the Wild Animals:
    Native American folklore about the origin of game animals and hunting.
When the Animals and Plants Were Created * Origin of the Tribes:
    Northwest Coast Indian legends about a Transformer god turning people into animals and animals into people.
*The Origin of Animals:
    Caddo legend about how some of the first people were turned into animals.
Race With Buffalo * How The Buffalo Hunt Began:
    Cheyenne Indian story about how man became chief of all the animals.
Why Blackfeet Never Kill Mice:
    Another Native American animal legend explaining how humans gained leadership over all the animals.
*Nukumi and Fire: * The Coming of Nukumi:
    Native American stories about animals sacrificing themselves to feed the people.
The Animal Ballgame:
    Cherokee Indian legend about a competition between the animals and the birds.
*Abenaki Creation Story:
    Native stories about the earth being placed on the back of a turtle.
The Spider and the People:
    Osage Indian animal story about the importance of the spider.
*When the Animals Left Lenapé Land:
    Leni Lenape myth about treating animals with the proper respect.
*Grandmother's Creation Story:
    Cree legend about the relationship between the first animals and the first people.
Hunts Game:
    Audio files of a Cree storyteller narrating about the relationship between Native hunters and prey animals.
* Iroquois Creation Myth:
    Cayuga legend about how the animals helped the mother goddess Sky Woman.

Sponsored Links

Recommended Books of Native American Animal Myths
Our organization earns a commission from any book bought through these links

Native American Animal Stories:
    An excellent collection of American Indian legends about animals, told by Abenaki storyteller Joseph Bruchac.
Nihancan's Feast of Beaver: Animal Tales of the North American Indians:
    Another good collection of American Indian animal stories from many tribes.
White Wolf Woman: Native American Transformation Myths:
    Collection of Native American legends from different tribes about humans transforming into animals and animals transforming into humans.
How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet: Native American Animal Origin Stories:
    Collection of short stories based on Native legends about the origins of various animals of North America.
Spirits of the Earth: A Guide to Native American Nature Symbols, Stories, and Ceremonies:
    Book by a Karuk elder about the meanings of Indian animal spirits, illustrated by traditional tales from different tribes.
Shared Spirit: Wildlife and Native Americans:
    Story book highlighting the connections between native animals and people.
The Wolf and the Raven: Totem Animals of Southeastern Alaska:
    A good book of stories explaining the meaning behind Northwest Coast Native animal totems.
Meditations with Animals: A Native American Bestiary:
    Encyclopedia of information about Native American animal spirits and their symbolism.
The Animals Came Dancing: Native American Sacred Ecology and Animal Kinship:
    Interesting book on the importance of human relationships with animals to Native American religious traditions.
Thanks To The Animals:
    Charming picture book telling a Passamaquoddy story about a lost child protected by the animals of the forest.



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