Native American Mythology

Native Americans, the first people in America , were here long before Columbus and the other early European explorers. These native people, also known as Indians of North America, told stories to pass their history from generation to generation. Some of their stories were based on actual historical events and are called legends. Other stories were used to explain the origins of natural events. These stories are called myths or mythology.

If you would like to learn more about Native American mythology, follow the links on this pathfinder. It will help you find information in your school library media center, on the Internet, and in the community about the mythology of Native Americans.

Print Resources-Books and Magazines

There are some excellent books that contain written versions of Native American myths. A few of the books are listed below. To locate more books, use the suggested keywords and phrases to search the online library catalog.

398.2 GOBGoble, Paul. Iktomi and the berries : a Plains Indian story. New York : Orchard Books, c1989.

398.2 HAR Harris, Christie. Once upon a totem. [1st ed.]. New York , :Atheneum, 1963.

398.2 HAU Hausman, Gerald. Turtle Island alphabet : a lexicon of Native American symbols and culture. 1st ed. New York : St. Martin 's Press, c1992.

398.2 MAT Matson, Emerson N. Legends of the great chiefs. [1st ed.]. Nashville , : T. Nelson, [1972].

398.2 MUR Murphy, Claire Rudolf. The prince and the Salmon People. New York : Rizzoli, 1993.

398.2 STE Steptoe, John, 1950-. The story of Jumping Mouse : a native American legend. New York : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c1984.

398.2 THO Thorne, Ian. Monster tales of native Americans. [ Mankato, Minn. ] : Crestwood House, c1978.

398.28 BEV Bevan, Finn. Fabulous beasts : the facts and the fables. London : Children's Press, c1997.

E 398.2 GOB PB Goble, Paul. Buffalo woman : story and illustrations. 1st Aladdin Books ed. New York : Aladdin Books, 1986, c1984.

E 398.2 LEW Lewis, Paul Owen. Frog girl. Hillsboro , Or. : [ Emeryville, Calif. ] : Beyond Words Pub. ; Distributed to the book trade by Publishers Group West, c1997.

E 398.2 LUE Luenn, Nancy. The Miser on the mountain a Nasqually legend of Mount Rainier. Seattle, WA : Sasquatch Books, 1997.

E 398.2 MAR PB Martin, Rafe. The Rough-face girl.

E 398.2 MCD McDermott, Gerald. Raven : a trickster tale from the Pacific Northwest. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1993.

E GOB Goble, Paul. The girl who loved wild horses. Scarsdale, N.Y. :Bradbury Press, c1978.

E MCD McDermott, Gerald. Coyote : a trickster tale from the American Southwest. 1st ed. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1994.

Online Resources--Internet Sites

The Web sites listed on this page have been previewed and selected for this topic. If additional information is needed, use the suggested keywords and phrases to search the Internet.

Native American Legends of the Pacific Northwest - This site contains full text legends and myths of the native people of Washington and Oregon .

Chinook Indians - A poem explaining the origin of this Pacific Northwest tribe.

Aadizookaan Myths and Legends for American Indian Youth - Traditional stories grouped by region.

The SPOKANE INDIANS TRIBE- Many full-text myths and legends from the Spokane tribes and other Northwest tribes. You'll find lots of coyote tales here!

Mythology of North American Indians - Includes links to learn about Mythology of North American Indians related to objects in the sky, the Earth, and aspects of their world.

Videos, CD-ROM, Laserdiscs, etc.

Our library has the following multimedia resources on your topic: 

Search the ESD 101 Media Center Catalog for videos and laserdiscs. Teachers can book online. Students - ask your teacher to send for the material you need.

Dewey Decimal Numbers to Browse

If you want to browse the shelves in the library to locate information about Native American Mythology, look for these numbers: 

• 398.2 - Folklore

Keywords and Phrases for Searching

Do you need additional information? Try using these words and phrases to search Proquest Magazine Index, the library online catalog, CD-ROM or print encyclopedias or the World Wide Web: 

• Native American mythology
• Native American myth
• myths
• legends
• mythology
• Indians of North America

Community Resources-People and Places

The following community contacts may help you with your topic: 

Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
2316 W. First Ave.
Spokane, WA. 99204
1-509-456-3931
http://www.nativemuseum.com/

Information Literacy EALRs

Reading   

3. The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes

To meet this standard, the student will

3.3 read for literary experience

Grade 4 Benchmarks

• read, respond to, and evaluate a variety of traditional and contemporary literature (novels, folktales, stories, myths, rhymes, poems, plays, etc.)
• read a variety of literature representing different cultures, perspectives, and issues
• understand different views of family, culture, and tradition found in literature