Indian languages * Native American Indian cultures * Totem art

Native American Mole Mythology

Like other burrowing animals, moles are associated with the underworld-- and thus with death, sickness, and healing-- by many Western tribes. In Northern California tribes, a mole digging near a family's home is considered an omen of illness or death. Among the Pueblo tribes, moles are considered an important medicine animal, one of the six directional guardians. Moles represent the downward direction, the color black, earth and agriculture, and sickness and health. The Zuni carve stone mole fetishes for protection, ascribing to them both healing and hunting powers.

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Moles are also used as clan animals in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Mole Clans include the Creek tribe (whose Mole Clan was named Takusalgi or Tvkusvlke) and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

Native American Mole Gods and Spirits

Mole Woman/Mound-Digger (Interior Salish)

Native American Legends About Moles

*Coyote Quarrels With Mole:
    Colville legend about Coyote fighting with his wife Mole.
*The Mole:
    Algonquin legends about the meaning of moles.
*Mole and the Sun:
    Achumawi myth about Mole stopping the Sun from burning up the earth.

Recommended Books of Mole Stories from Native American Myth and Legend
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Mole's Hill: A Woodland Tale:
    Charming picture book based on a Seneca legend about Mole refusing to yield his molehill to Fox.
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, including a chapter on moles.
Native American Animal Stories:
    Great collection of American Indian tales about animals, told by Abenaki storyteller Joseph Bruchac.



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