Native Languages of the Americas: Nanabush Stories and other Ottawa Legends
This is our collection of links to Ottawa folktales and traditional stories that can be read online.
We have indexed our Native American legends 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, so you may also want to visit our page comparing
the stories from the Anishinaabe tribes (which
include the Algonquin, Chippewa, Potawatomi, and Ottawa Indians), since the traditional stories of those
tribes are very similar.
Enjoy the stories! If you would like to recommend a Ottawa legend for this page or think one of the ones on here
should be removed, please contact us and let us know.
˜Nanabush (also spelled Nenabush, Nanabozho, Wenabozho, Manabush, and several other ways.)
Nanabush is the benevolent culture hero of the Anishinaabe tribes (sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists.)
His name is spelled so many different ways partially because the Anishinabe
languages were originally unwritten (so English speakers just spelled it however it sounded to them at the time), and partially because the Ojibway and
Algonquin languages are spoken across a huge geographical range in both Canada and the US, and the name sounds different in different dialects.
In the Ottawa dialect, it is usually pronounced nuh-nah-boash or muh-nah-boash, but sometimes the pronunciation can vary from storyteller to storyteller.
Nanabush sharessome similarities with other Algonquian heroes such as the Wabanaki
Gluskabe, Blackfoot
Napi, and Cree
Wesakaychak, and many of the same stories
are told in different Algonquian tribes with only the identity of the protagonist differing.
˜Gchi Mnidoo (also spelled
Gichi Manidoo, Kchi Mnido, Gitchi Manitou, and several other ways.)
This means "Great Spirit" in the Ottawa language, and is the Ottawa name for the Creator (God.) Gchi-Mnidoo
is a divine spirit with no human form or attributes (including gender) and is never personified in Ottawa folklore. The name is pronounced
similar to gih-chee muh-nih-doh.
˜Nookmis (also spelled Nookomis, Nokomis, Nokmis and other ways.)
Nanabush's wise old grandmother, who raised him. Pronounced noke-miss.
˜Windigo (also spelled Wiindigoo, Wendigo, and other ways.)
An evil man-eating spirit. Windigos play the roles of monsters and bogeymen in some legends; in others, Odawa people who commit sins
(especially selfishness, gluttony, or cannibalism) are turned into Windigos as punishment. It is pronounced ween-dih-goh in the
Odawa language.
Native Canadian cultures
Nanabush:
Contacts and FAQ page
