American Indian languages * American Indian cultures * American Indian craft

Native American Stories About Cruelty

Here is our collection of Native American legends and traditional stories about cruelty.

Legends About Cruelty

*The Legend of Oochigeas * The Rough-Faced Girl * The Invisible One:
    Maliseet and Micmac variants of the French Cinderella story, in which the good-natured heroine is rewarded
    while her cruel sisters are punished.
*Arrowhead Finger:
    Penobscot Indian story about a girl's escape from cruel captors with the help of a medicine child.
*The Deserted Children:
    Gros Ventre legend about two abandoned children who gained magical powers and took revenge on their cruel relatives.
*The Ghost Stallion:
    Cree legend about a man who was punished for his cruelty to animals.
*The Revenge of the Mountain Goats:
    Cree legend about a group of hunters punished for their cruelty.
*Hope:
    Dene oral history about a woman abandoned in the wilderness by her cruel husband and mother-in-law.
*Coyote, the Deer, and the Wind:
    Caddo legend about the Wind punishing Coyote for his cruelty.
*Evening-Star and Orphan-Star:
    Caddo legend about a cruelly treated boy becoming a star.

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

A Man Called Raven:
    Beautiful book by a Native author and artist illustrating a Northwest Coast legend warning against cruelty to animals.
Soft Child:
    Children's book illustrating a Southwest Indian legend about Rattlesnake learning to defend himself against cruel neighbors.
The Rough-Face Girl:
    Beautiful picture book based on Mi'kmaq and Maliseet stories about a cruelly treated girl finding a new life for herself.



Back to Indian folktales



Native American genealogy links * Cherokee Indians * Shawnee schools * Indian clothing * Indian tattoo

Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages?

Native Languages of the Americas website © 1998-2020 * Contacts and FAQ page