Native Indian languages * Native Indian culture * Indian ancestry

Native American Legends: First Creator (First Maker)

Name: First Creator
Tribal affiliation: Hidatsa, Mandan
Also known as: First Maker, First-Maker, Coyote, First Coyote, Elder Brother, He Becomes Chief
Native names: Itsikamahidis, Itsikamahidish, Itakatetas, Itakatetash, Iicihgadetaash, Itsikawahiric, Ki-numakshi
Type: Creator, coyote god
Related figures in other tribes: Old Man Coyote (Crow), Earth Maker (Hochunk), Kitchie Manitou (Ojibway)

 Unlike most Siouan tribes, the Mandans and Hidatsas did not consider Coyote as a buffoon or trickster character, but as a powerful creator god. So although there are still a few humorous Hidatsa and Mandan coyote stories to be told, the majority of them are considered sacred just as the stories about Lone Man are.

First Creator Stories

*A Hidatsa Creation Story:
    Hidatsa myths about Only Man and First Creator.
*First Creator and Lone Man * Creation of the World:
    Mandan myths about First Creator, Lone Man, and the origin of the world.
*Charred Body and First Creator:
    Hidatsa myth about First Creator's friendship with the hero Charred Body.
*The Bird That Turned The Meat Bitter:
    Mandan legend about First Coyote saving the people from a malevolent raven that spoiled meat.

Recommended Books of Related Native American Legends
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Indian Legends from the Northern Rockies:
    Anthology of folklore from the Mandan, Hidatsa, and other Northern Plains tribes.

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Additional Resources

 Hidatsa gods
 Mandan language
 Hidatsa Indians
 Mandan Indians
 Native Americans in North Dakota
 Plains Native American
 Siouan linguistics



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