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Native Languages of the Americas:
O'odham Legends and Traditional Stories

This is our collection of links to Akimel O'odham (Pima) and Tohono O'odham (Papago) folktales and traditional stories that can be read online. We have indexed our Native American folklore section by tribe to make them easier to locate; however, variants on the same legend are often told by American Indians from different tribes, especially if those tribes are kinfolk or neighbors to each other. In particular, though these legends come from the O'odham tribes, the traditional stories of the Yaqui and other Southwestern tribes are very similar.

Enjoy the stories! If you would like to recommend a O'odham legend for this page or think one of the ones on here should be removed, please contact us and let us know.

O'odham Indian Folklore

*Aw-aw-tam Indian Nights:
    Collection of O'odham Indian stories.
*Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest:
    Online book about Southwest and California Indian mythology.
*Chuhwuht: the Song of the World * Papago Creation Story * Creation Of Man-Kind And The Flood * The Creation Of The World:
    Creation myths of the Akimel and Tohono O'odham.
*The Seer Who Would Not See * Montezuma and the Great Flood * The Flood On Superstition Mountain:
    Pima legends about the flooding of the earth.
*The Transformed Grandmother:
    O'odham story about two children who escape from their grandmother's skeleton.
*Tale of Elder Brother:
    Pima legends about the epic life of their great hero, Elder Brother.
*Bluebird and the Coyote * How the Bluebird Got Its Color:
    O'odham tales about Bluebird and Coyote trying to become blue.
*How The Butterflies Came To Be * Butterflies:
    Tohono O'odham stories about the origin of butterflies.
*Coyote in the Moon:
    Pima legend about a theft by Coyote gone awry.
*How The Rattlesnake Learned To Bite:
    Pima legends about the animal spirits in the old days.
*Origin Of The Saguaro And Palo Verde Cacti:
    Pima tale about two boys who turned into plants.
*Coyote And The Quails:
    Pima tale about Coyote being tricked by a group of quails.
*Coyote's Eyes:
    Pima legend of how Coyote got yellow eyes.
*The Legend of Eagleman:
    Pima myth about a young man turned into a monster.
*The Well-Baked Man:
    Amusing Pima legend about the creation of dogs and men.
*Why The Apaches Are Fierce:
    Pima legend about the Apache tribe.

Additional Resources

 Books of Native American legends
 Native American religions
 Pima-Papago religion and expressive culture



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