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Native American Legends: Lodge Boy (By-The-Door)

Name: Lodge Boy
Tribal affiliation: Assiniboine, Hidatsa, Sauk, Menominee
Also known as: Lodge-Boy, Lodge-Lining, By-The-Door, Found-By-The-Door
Native names: Atutish (Hidatsa, also spelled A-tu-tish), Haw'atukuk or Wahi (Menominee)
Type: Heroes, magical twins
Related figures in other tribes: Village Boy (Caddo), Curtain Boy (Crow), Dore (Ho-Chunk)

 Lodge Boy is a young hero from the legends of the Midwestern and Plains people. Lodge Boy and his brother Thrown Away were twins (considered a powerful and dangerous occurrence in many cultures of this region) and were also ripped from their mother's womb, another portentous event. Consequently, Lodge Boy and his brother have strong magical powers. In most versions of the story, a Two-Face or other vicious monster (or sometimes a violent relative) kills Lodge Boy's pregnant mother while her husband is out hunting and throws one of her unborn children out the door into the yard, leaving the other behind in the lodge. Because of their magic, both children survive, but Lodge Boy (who was thrown inside the lodge) is found by his father and raised in civilization, while Thrown Away (who was thrown outside the lodge) is not found and grows up in the wilderness. Eventually the two brothers are reunited, avenge their mother's death, and go on to have monster-slaying adventures. In some versions of the epic Lodge Boy is a moral person while Thrown Away is wicked; in others, both are generally benevolent heroes.

Lodge Boy Stories

*Lodge-Boy and Spring-Boy:
    Hidatsa legend about the two mythical brothers.

Recommended Books of Related Native American Stories
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Hidatsa Texts:
    Collection of Hidatsa legends and folktales.
Mandan-Hidatsa Myths and Ceremonies:
    Anthropology text on the religious beliefs and traditions of the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes.
Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden:
    Interesting book about Native American farming traditions narrated by a Hidatsa woman.

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Additional Resources

 Menomini legends
 Menominee tribe
 Assiniboine Indians
 Sauk language
 Montana Indians
 Plains Native American
 Sioux Indians



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