What are the types of Native American myths?
Because there are so many different bands, tribes, and nations, there are various other myths and legends within Indigenous Peoples’ culture. However, there are some broad themes that many myths and legends share (even though the stories themselves may be a little varied).
Ancestral tribes used to tell stories that had nature and spirituality at their core. The relationship between humans and the environment around them was hugely significant to Native American tribes. Seasons, weather, animals, and the physical landscape were prominent in legends. Each tribe has a Creation myth passed down from generation to generation.
Often, Native American legends would be profound with solid moral messages aiming to teach Native Americans how to live their lives in a positive way to honor and respect the Earth. However, others did use humor and allegory to convey messages and educate those listening to the myth.
Why do Native Americans tell legends?
While it’s essential to Native American tribes to retell ancient stories and myths to teach and guide others, oral retelling of myths and legends allows traditions and beliefs to remain alive. Furthermore, as they didn’t have a written language as such, Native American people were keen to hone their skills of oratory; this is why we can still learn about ancestral myths from hundreds of years ago.
3 Native American legends for kids to uncover in class
Take a look at these myths that you can explore with your class. These stories will hook your learners and are accessible to all age groups. Depending on the age of your students, they will begin to find more profound levels of meaning and understanding as they delve further into the myths.
Creation story (Hopi tribe)
The Hopi tribe is not unique in having a creation story. However, it is a great myth to analyze with your class as it describes humans as seeing the Earth as their mother, hence the term Mother Earth. This story is also called a Native American “emergence myth.”
Before creation, there were only two living beings. These were Spider Woman, the Earth Goddess, and Tawa, the Sun God. Tawa controlled everything in the Above, while Spider Woman was the master of the mysteries of the Below. Nothing else apart from this two inhabited existence.
In time, Tawa and Spider-Woman felt that more living things should come into being. As such, Tawa divided himself, and the God of All Germs emerged. Spider Woman did the same, and the Goddess of Hard Ornaments (like coral and shell) appeared. More Gods and Goddesses were created as time passed, and more living things came to inhabit the Below.
Between the Above and the Below was the Earth, referred to as the Land of Shimmering Waters. As Tawa and Spider Woman began to sway and sing, the first song was created, and the rushing winds and flowering waters were created. Tawa also started to imagine birds flying, fish jumping, trees rustling, and animals walking on the land. Spider Woman decided to take Tawa’s thoughts and turn them into a reality by molding them out of clay.
Spider-Woman also created humans in the form of the Gods but as lesser beings. She cradled them in her arms while Tawa looked upon them. As they sang to the new humans, they began to breathe and live.
The Hopi tribe believes that the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Earth gave them life initially and are still hugely essential, guiding them throughout their lives. They see the Earth as a mother figure and link singing and music to rituals, ceremonies, and festivals.
How bison came to roam the Earth (Apache tribe)
This Apache legend tells how the bison (also called buffalo in this myth) came to roam the Earth freely. But, again, it is a myth that uses a creature as a trickster – in this case, Coyote.
Long ago, people of the Apache tribe were starving and going hungry. Because they were going through such hardship, they were more alert to the slyness of Coyote. This creature was a trickster and thought nothing of morphing into other animals and beings to deceive.
While the people were starving, Coyote was also very hungry. He spent his time searching the land for something to eat. There were no large animals to hunt, and he was desperate for food. Suddenly, he saw a large pen full of bison over the brow of a hill.
Coyote was angry that he didn’t have bison at his disposal and thought it was only fair and right that humans should share these animals with him. Coyote thought he could persuade a man from a local village to help him free these bison. The man agreed to help Coyote and went to the locked pen.
The man examined the pen’s fencing and deduced that it was too high to release the bison safely. Coyote had an idea. He would transform himself into another animal that others would feel sympathy for. This way, he could be let into the pen and release the bison from the inside. He morphed into an injured bird with a broken wing.
When a little boy found the injured bird, he took it to his father and asked if he could nurse it back to health. Coldly, his father refused and told him to put the bird back outside. Coyote was annoyed that his deception did not work.
The man who was with Coyote persuaded him to try again and transform into a creature that the father would allow the boy to keep. Coyote transformed himself into a healthy-looking puppy. The boy found the puppy and took it to his father, who was eager to keep the small dog. However, the father was very suspicious. He explained to the boy that Coyote was a trickster and often used disguise to deceive. He wanted to ensure that the boy had found a real puppy.
The father allowed his son to keep the puppy, and they placed him inside the pen with the bison. Coyote nipped at the bison’s feet when the family went to sleep that night, causing a stampede. They charged through the fence and escaped, even though the father tried to herd them back. Coyote had tricked the family, and the bison escaped to roam the Earth.
How the stars were created myth (Navajo tribe)
According to Navajo legend, there was a time when there were no stars in the night sky. So the Navajo Gods met in the Sacred House of Beginning and invited Fire God to join them.
Fire God was young but also old. He had seven jewels on his ankle and a crescent on his forehead. Inside the house, Fire God stomped his feet loudly. He did this with such force that the seven jewels moved from his ankle to his knees. The fellow Gods were shocked.
Again, he stamped his feet. This time the ground shook, and the seven jewels moved to his hips. Then he reached into a bag alongside him and brought out some more gems. He began shaping these into constellations. He formed the North Star and the Big Dipper, amongst others.
After he had completed the constellations and the Milky Way, Fire God took a step back and had a rest. Suddenly, Coyote barged into the Sacred House. He was unimpressed with the constellations and said that he preferred the darkness. Fire God explained that the stars could be used to navigate, help guide, and help people harvest crops. Coyote was still unimpressed.
Coyote grabbed the bag of jewels from Fire God and began running wildly around the Sacred House. The gems were flung into the Dark as Coyote gleefully laughed. God was distraught when Coyote ran off into the first every starry night.
