Tribes online
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Tribes online
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This is our collection of links to Pawnee folktales and traditional stories that can be read online. We have indexed our American Indian 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 Pawnee tribe, the traditional stories of the other Plains Indians like the Arikara and Lakota are very similar.
Tirawa Atius:
This means "Father Above" in the Pawnee language, and is the Pawnee name for the Creator (God.) Sometimes the
Plains Indian term "Great Spirit" is also used.
Handsome Boy and Afterbirth Boy (or Good Boy and Long Tooth Boy.)
These mythical twins whose mother was killed by a monster are common to the folklore of many Midwestern and Eastern tribes.
They are generally portrayed as heroic monster-slayers in Pawnee legends.
Coyote (Skiriki or Skidiki, in the Pawnee language.)
Coyote is the trickster figure of Pawnee mythology. As in other Plains Indian mythology, Coyote is sometimes anthropomorphized into
human form and other times depicted in the shape of a coyote (sometimes both within a single story.) Pawnee coyote stories range
from light-hearted tales of mischief and buffoonery, to more serious legends about the nature of the world, to ribald jokes.
Huhuk:
The Thunderbird, an enormous bird spirit whose beating wings cause thunder.
Burnt-Belly:
An orphan hero of Pawnee folklore.
Red Woman:
A sinister ogress who dismembers and sometimes eats people.
Scalped Man:
A warrior who returned to life after being killed and scalped in battle and now roams the world
as a fearsome spirit being.
Witch-Woman (Ctu'u):
A woman of loose morals who features in many jokes and stories told among Pawnee men.
We have not included any Witch Woman stories on our website because they feature too much adult humor,
but you can find some of them on Google if you're so inclined!
The Girl Who Was The Ring:The Woman Who Became A Horse:Making The Sacred Bundle:The Prisoners of Court House Rock:The Cheyenne Blanket:Pawnee Creation Myth:Big Turtle's War Party:A Pawnee Apocalyptic Myth:The Medicine Grizzly Bear:The Mud Pony:The Offended Rolling Stone:Hold Up The Sky: 
Learn more about the Pawnee Indian tribe.
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