Native American Myths and Beliefs

by Tom Lowenstein

  kachina Among the Hopi and other Pueblo peoples, a kachina is a benevolent ancestral spirit or deity. Kachinas participate in important festivals in the form of masked impersonators in dance rituals.

  kiva A partly subterranean chamber used for important rituals and ceremonies by the Hopi and other Pueblo peoples. The term is also used for similar structures characteristic of the ancient cultures of the region, such as the Anasazi.

  longhouse A type of rectangular dwelling that is home to several families. Longhouses were formerly characteristic of the Iroquois and other peoples of the Northeast.

  medicine bundle A bundle of holy objects that are believed to possess special significance or to be a source of “medicine” (spirit power) for an individual. It is similar to a sacred bundle.

  mesa A flat-topped elevated region, similar to a plateau but covering a smaller area.

  potlatch A ceremony, common on the Northwest Coast, in which an individual affirms his prestige or rank by giving away or even destroying material possessions; important transactions are also witnessed at potlatches.

  precontact Of or pertaining to the period before the first contact between Europeans and Native people.

  prehistoric Of or pertaining to the time before written historical records, i.e. any period for which knowledge is based mainly on oral tradition and archaeology. In Native North American terms, this may refer to any time before the arrival of Europeans.

  pueblo (Spanish: “village”) 1. A traditional town or village of the Southwest constructed of adobe or stone. 2. (With capital “P”) A people of whom such settlements are characteristic, such as the Hopi and the Taos.

  sacred bundle A bundle of holy objects that are believed to possess special significance or to be a source of great spirit power for a tribe or group. It is similar to a medicine bundle.

  sweat lodge A building in which community members are purified or ritually cleansed by sweating; it takes the form of either a wigwam- like structure or a large semi-underground lodge.

  tipi A conical tent of buffalo hide or canvas. It is of Plains origin but was adopted by some other tribes owing to the ease with which it can be dismantled and transported by horse. Also spelled teepee or tepee.

  tribe To anthropologists, a community that shares cultural traits and has a specific geographical location. Native North Americans apply the term broadly to entities as small as a clan, or as large as the inhabitants of an entire reservation.

  wigwam A domed tent of bark or matting, formerly the characteristic dwelling of some Algonquian peoples.

  For More Information

  Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC)

  100 Laurier Street

  Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M8

  Canada

  (819) 776-7000 or (800) 555-5621

  Web site: http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/home

  CMC is Canada’s national museum of human history. The First Peoples Hall highlights the cultural, historical and artistic achievements of Canada's First Peoples.

  The Field Museum

  1400 S. Lake Shore Drive

  Chicago, IL 60605-2496

  (312) 922-9410

  Web site: http://fieldmuseum.org

  The Field Museum’s permanent exhibition The Ancient Americas takes visitors on a journey through 13,000 years of human ingenuity and achievement. Artifacts, reconstructions, videos and interactive displays illustrate the ingenuity with which ancient American peoples met the challenges of their times and places.

  Heard Museum

  2301 N. Central Avenue

  Phoenix, AZ 85004

  (602) 252-8848

  Web site: http://www.heard.org/

  The Heard Museum explores American Indian history through the voices of native people while celebrating the creative innovations of today’s most masterful artists. Visitors can examine the changing nature of Native American art from ancestral artifacts to cutting-edge art.

  Museum of Anthropology (MOA)

  University of British Columbia

  6393 N.W. Marine Drive

  Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2

  Canada

  (604) 822-5087

  Web site: http://www.moa.ubc.ca/

  MOA houses thousands of ethnographic and archaeological objects from around the world. The museum’s collections include approximately 6,000 objects related to the First Nations peoples of British Columbia.

  National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI)

  George Gustav Heye Center

  Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House

  One Bowling Green

  New York, NY 10004

  (212) 514-3700

  Web site: http://www.nmai.si.edu

  This museum is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans. Its collections include thousands of works of aesthetic, religious and historical significance, as well as articles produced for everyday use. The collections represent over 12,000 years of history and more than 1,200 indigenous cultures throughout the Americas.

  Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian

  704 Camino Lejo

  Santa Fe, NM 87505

  (800) 607-4636

  Web site: http://www.wheelwright.org

  The Wheelwright Museum collects objects and archives pertaining to the arts and cultures of the Navajo, the Rio Grande Pueblos and other native peoples of New Mexico.

  Web Sites

  Due to the changing nature of Internet links, Rosen Publishing has developed an online list of Web sites related to the subject of this book. This site is updated regularly. Please use this link to access the list:

  http://www.rosenlinks.com/wmyth/namer

  For Further Reading

  Bierhorst, J. The Mythology of North America, William Morrow, New York, 1985

  Billard, J. B. The World of the American Indian, National Geographic Society, Washington D.C., 1974

  Brody, H. Maps and Dreams, Douglas and McIntyre, Vancouver, 1981

  Brown, Dee Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, An Indian History of the American West, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1981

  Cove, J. J., and G. F. McDonald (eds.) Tsimshian Narratives I: Tricksters, Shamans and Heroes, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Mercury Series, Ottawa, 1987

  Deloria, V. God is Red, a Native View of Religion, North American Press, Golden, Connecticut, 1992

  Driver, H. E. Indians of North America, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1961

  Fagan, B. Ancient North America, Thames and Hudson, London and New York, 1995

  Gill, S. D. Beyond the Primitive, the Religions of Nonliterate Peoples, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1982

  Hardin, T. (ed.) Legends and Lore of the American Indians, Barnes and Noble Inc., New York, 1993

  Jacobs, Alan (ed.). Native American Wisdom, Watkins Publishing: London, 2009

  Jonaitis, A. From the Land of the Totem Poles, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1988

  Josephy, A. M. Five Hundred Nations: An Illustrated History of North American Indians, Hutchinson, New York, 1995

  Kopper, P. The Smithsonian Book of North American Indians: Before the Coming of the Europeans, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1986

  Maxwell, J. A. (ed.) America’s Fascinating Indian Heritage, Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, New York, 1978

  Maurer, E. M. (ed.) Visions of the People, a Pictorial History, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1992

  Niehardt, J. Black Elk Speaks, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1979

  Robinson, Rita. Exploring Native American Wisdom, Career Press: New Jersey, 2008

  Sturtevant, W. C. (gen. ed.) Handbook of North American Indians, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1981

  Sturtevant, William C. (series ed.) Handbook of North American Indians (17 vols.), Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington D.C., 1978-2007

  Waldman, Carl Atlas of the North American Indian, Facts on
File, New York, 1984

  Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Checkmark Books: New York, 2006

  Woodhead, H. (series ed.) The American Indians, Time-Life Books, Richmond, Virginia, 1994

  Zimmerman, Larry J. The Sacred Wisdom of the American Indians, Watkins Publishing: London, 2011

  Index

  Page numbers in italic relate to illustration captions. Where there is a textual reference to the topic on the same page as the caption, italics have not been used.

  A

  Achitescatoueth, seasonal balance, 61

  Adena, mound culture, 14 adobe dwellings, 14, 15 afterlife, of animals, 68, 69, 124; of humans, 69, 70-3, 124; and owls, 115; purification in, 72; rewards and punishments, 69, 72; serpent bridge to the, 69, see also death agriculture, 8, 121, see also beans; corn; crops

  Alaska, 17, 102, 103-4; Inuit shaman’s mask,70, 94; myths, 23, 25, 34, 38, 57-8, 78, 83-4, 91, 122; spirits of place, 60

  Algonquian speaking tribes, alliance with the French, 15; culture and society, 12, 16-17; guardian spirits, 69; ideas of cosmic harmony, 49; myths, 48, 69

  Alingnaq, Inuit moon deity, 58 alliances, between Native Americans and Europeans, 9, 15; Sioux/Cheyenne and defeat of Gen. Custer, 15 alligators, 54

  Alone with the Past, 27

  American Indian Movement (AIM) founded, 15 amulets, protective, 22, 55, 55, 83; of transformation, 69

  Anasazi, culture, 14, 15; sacred site, 19, 27 ancestors, spirits of, 62, 73, 110, 129, 130

  Anderson, John Alvin, photographer, 7 animals, afterlife of, 69; in myth, 11, 21-5, 29, 35-7, 66-7; relations with humans, 94-9, 110-11, 122-5; sanctity of, 68; spirits, 19, 31, 62, 68-9, 70, 84, 88, 102, 107, 122, 123; vulnerability of, 98-9 antelope, in myth, 51

  Apache, buffalo hunters, 95; Chiricahua Apache, 87-8; Jicarilla Apache, 86; Kiowa Apache, 112; language, 17; myths, 26, 32-3, 86; and Pueblo culture, 15; rituals, 95, 112, 113; shamans, 112; Western Apache, 113, 123, 134, 135

  Appalachian Mountains, tribes, 14

  Arapaho, Ghost Dance shirt, 58; and sacred bundles, 112; trickster myth, 77

  Arctic region, Inuit shaman’s mask, 70, 94; myths, 25, 34, 56, 57-8, 78, 83-4; nature spirits, 60, 61-2; tribes and cultures, 17

  Arikara Pawnee, buffalo myth, 90; healing society, 114

  Arizona, 8, 19, 26, 27, 47, 67

  Arkansas, 43 armor, incised shell, 60 arrows, 85, 86, 87, 90, see also weapons art, artist explorers, 132-3; and myth, 44-5, see also literature

  Assiniboine, 10, 133

  Atatalia, ogress, 93

  Athabascan speaking tribes, 15, 16-17

  Aua, Iglulik shaman, 115

  B baby carrier frame, 36 badgers, and emergence myths, 26 baskets, depictions of myth and legend, 11

  Baxbaxwalanuxsiwe, 105 beadwork, 101 beans, origin myths, 25, 63; powamu dance, 121; spirit of, 124, see also agriculture; crops

  Bear Mother myth, 96 bears, clan crests, 104, 107; marriage with people, 96; in myth, 24-5, 60, 81, 110; souls of, 68, 94, 99; vulnerability of, 99, see also polar bear beaver, guardian spirit, 123; in myth, 22, 25, 36

  Bella Coola people, myths, 70, 116; sun mask, 57

  Ben, Herbert Sr, artist, 136

  Beringia land bridge, 8

  Bierstadt, Albert, artist, 21

  Big Foot, Lakota Sioux chief, 7

  Big Foot Pass, 19

  Big Thunder, on cosmic harmony, 47, 50 bighorn, in myth, 51

  Bismarck, North Dakota, 137

  Black Elk, Oglala Sioux medicine man, 7, 33, 119

  Black Elk Speaks, 137

  Black-Tailed Deer, and Apache ritual, 113

  Blackfeet, creation myth, 38; medicine man, 99; religious beliefs, 30, 32, 34, 56-7; and the Sun Dance, 126-7 blankets, Navajo, 25, 45; Tlingit, 104, see also robes blue jay, Kathlamet sky myth, 53

  Bodmer, Karl, traveller, 100, 133

  Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Park, 50 bows, 86, 90; creation gifts, 66-7, see also weapons

  Brave Buffalo, Sioux medicine man, 31

  Bright Star, 52, 56, see also Evening Star

  British colonial authorities, alliance with the Iroquois, 9; rebellion of Pontiac, 15, 87

  British Columbia, 96-7, 98, 102, 116

  British settlers, 12, see also English settlers

  Brown Eagle, Tsimshian ghost story, 73

  Brulé Sioux, 7, 88, 129 buffalo, and the Ghost Dance, 130; hunting by Native Americans, 10, 14, 16, 31, 40, 85, 90, 95, 125; in myth, 24, 25, 69, 87, 90, 125; protective charms, 68; in Sioux ritual, 33; slaughter by frontiersmen, 10, 15, 69, 119; souls of, 69; spirits of, 73, 94, 95; tongues as offerings, 32; White Buffalo Cow Society, 120; White Buffalo Woman, 129, see also hunting

  Buffalo Bill, see Cody, William F. bundles, sacred, 32, 33, 34, 87, 112, 119, 125, 136-7

  Bureau of Indian Affairs, 10 burial sites and customs, 42, 92

  Buzzard, Cherokee sun myth, 35

  C

  Caddo people, myths, 43, 54, 80-1

  Cahokia, 8, 18 calendar, of the Sioux, 9, 129

  California region, Chumash rock painting, 109, 113; cosmic geography, 49, 52; myths, 38-42, 49, 64, 66-7, 69; shamanic initiation, 114; tribes and cultures, 15, 124 camp sites, spiritual guidance, 49

  Cannibal Society, 105, 120, 122 see also Hamatsa

  Cannibal-at-the-North-End-of-the-World, 105 cannibalism, 120 canoes, Inuit figurehead, 123; Makah, 133; model, 75; in myth, 54, 55, 78

  Canyon de Chelly, sacred site, 19, 27 cap see headdress caribou, 58, 124; marriage with hunter, 125; spirits of, 62

  Catlin, George, artist, 30, 40, 95, 99 cat’s cradle, 67

  Cayuga, 9

  Cayuse, 16, 50 cedarwood dwellings, 16, 102

  Ceremony, 136

  Changing Woman, 26 charms, protective, 22, 68, 115

  Cherokee, cosmic geography, 52-3; culture, 14; hunting taboos, 123; language in written form, 14, 17; myths, 22, 34, 35, 52, 63, 110- 11; shamanic initiation, 114

  Cheyenne, and buffalo hunting, 10, 15; model tipi, 86; myths, 36, 84-7, 92; and the Sun Dance, 127-9

  Chickasaw, 14, 22

  Chief-of-Eagles-in-the-Sky, 98

  Chilkat village, 107

  Chinook culture, carved adze handle, 80

  Chipewyan, culture and society, 16-17

  Chipmunk, and the origin of day and night, 24-5

  Chippewa, midewiwin ceremony, 121

  Chiricahua Apache, resistance to US authorities, 87-8

  Choctaw, 14, 49

  Christian missions, Spanish, 15, 135

  Christianity, impact on Native American culture, 135, 136-7; influence on Native American myth, 38

  chuh-rara-peru Pawnee sacred bundles, 32, 112

  Chumash people, 15; rock painting, 109, 113; soul flight beliefs, 113

  Church Rock, sacred site, 19 clans, Northwest Coast, 103-4; crests, 16, 103- 4, 105, 106, 107

  Clayoquot, dance robe, 65 clothing, aprons, 66; buffalo hide, 95; porcupine quills, 17; protective, 100-1; shamanic, 69; skins, 68, see also headdress; robes

  Cloud, Skidi Pawnee god, 31

  Cloud Chiefs, and the locust, 27

  Coast Salish, 116, 119

  Cody, William F. (Buffalo Bill), 11, 134

  Coeur d’Alene, thunder myth, 64-5

  Colorado, 8, 9, 28

  Colorado rivers, 28

  Columbia river, 93

  Comanche, myths, 24, 25 combs, incised Inuit, 38

  Cooper, James Fennimore, 136

  Coot, as “earthdiver”, 21 corn, emergence and origin myths, 25, 38, 63; Green Corn Dance, 60; Tuscarora corn spirit, 63, see also agriculture; crops

  Corn Woman, 25 cosmos, spiritual and material, 47-73, see also creation myths; land, identification with

  Coyote myths, 21, 24, 25, 26, 38, 40, 43, 65, 67, 76, 80-1, 89 crane, in Yana geese myth, 66 crayfish, in Chickasaw creation story, 22

  Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux chief, 33, 88, 118, 119 creation myths, 21-51, 66-7, 80, 89, see also cosmos creators, 21, 32-3, 36, 38-41, 48, 52, 53
, 64, 66, 78, 80, 120, 129; vanishing creator myths, 32-3

  Cree, 16-17, 122-3, 125

  Creek, culture, 14; thunder myth, 64

  Crested Jay, in Paiute myth, 65 crests, Northwest Coast, 16, 103-4, 105, 106, 107

  Crooked River, petroglyphs, 19 crops, 8, 12, 14, 25, 26, 60

  Crow nation, war with Lakota, 101 crow (bird), in creation myth, 21; in Iroquois myth, 110

  Crowfoot (Blackfoot warrior), on the cosmos, 47 crystals, ritual objects, 112 curing rituals, 89, 110, 111-13, 112, see also healing

  Custer, Gen. George A, 7, 15, 33

  Cut-Nose, man-eating buffalo, 90

  D

  Dakota Sioux, 9, 133 dancing, Apache buffalo hunt, 95; Hopi bean dance, 121; Medicine Mask Dance, 84; modern Native American, 136; Mohawk rabbit dance, 67; Paviotso curing ritual, 111; Pawnee bear dance, 99; shamanic societies, 105, 122; shamanic soul flight, 70, see also Ghost Dance; Sun Dance

  Dawes Act, 10

  Dawn Boy, Navajo hero, 64 day and night, origin of, 24-5 daylight, release of in myth, 25, 34, 82, 103

  Dayohagwenda, Tuscarora corn spirit story, 63 death, origin of, 40, 42-3; and shamanism, 109, see also afterlife

  Death of Jim Lonely, The, 136 deer, in myth, 53, 96-7, 123, see also Black- Tailed Deer

  Delaware, 36, 87

  Desert culture, 14

  Detroit, attack by Pontiac, 87

  Devil’s Tower, Kiowa sacred site, 47

  Digger Indians, 16 diseases, Cherokee origin myth, 110-11; due to contact with Europeans, 15, 16, 105, see also healing; smallpox divination, 111 dog, in Iroquois afterlife myth, 69 dogfish, Tlingit clan crests, 104

  Dogrib, culture and society, 16-17

  Don Juan, Yaquí shaman, 137

  Dotson’sa, Great Raven creator, 78, see also Raven dreams, 100, 114, 118-19, 124, 129; “dream time”, 21, 38, 66, 68; Dreamers Cult, 73, see also visions and vision quests drought, in Caddo myth, 54 drugs, and religion, 130 drumming, shamanic soul flight, 70, 116 drums, as ritual objects, 10, 34, 112 duck, as “earthdiver”, 21, 22

  Dutch settlers and Native Americans, 9, 12 dwellings, adobe, 14, 15; cedarwood, 16; earth and grass, 14-15; igloos, 17; lean-to, 16; palm thatch, 14; subterranean, 16, 17; tipis, 12, 15, 74, 86; wigwams, 12; wooden longhouses, 12