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Native American Stories About Grief

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

Legends About Grief

How Grief Came:
    Caddo Indian myth explaining why death is permanent and humans must grieve.
*The Spirit Bride * The Worm Pipe:
    Native American legends about grieving men who follow their wives to the afterworld.
*How the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Ottawa Became One People * A Potawatomi Story:
    A lovely Potawatomi legend about three grieving fathers who make peace between their tribes.
*How the Butterfly Came To Be:
    Lenape legend about the Creator making butterflies to cheer up the bereaved.
*The Foundling Who Was Befriended By Wolves:
    Cree legend about a man transformed into a baby by grief.
*Faith:
    Oral history from a Cree elder about a grieving mother comforted by the ghost of her deceased daughter.
*Chief Mountain:
    Legend about a Piegan chief's widow who went mad with grief.

Recommended Books of Related Native American Legends
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Northern Lights:
    Powerful and beautiful picture book for children about an Inuit girl using traditional legends to help her with the loss of her mother.



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