Native American Indian culture is known for its rich oral traditions. In many cases there were no written languages to document their histories. The tribes relied on verbal communication to share their customs, history, rituals and legends. The tribal elders used vibrant tales to pass information to the younger generations. These stories were not only related to tribal history but were meant to entertain as well as educate, while preserving their tribal culture. Each time an elder told a story, new life was breathed into it. The telling of the stories gave a revived meaning to the tribe's past and their relations to the earth and the animals they had depended on for existence. In many cases when the stories were told, they were accompanied by music. Drums and rhythm were paired with dance to create a visual record. The Hopi Indians culture was and is rich with these stories. With a past stretching back thousands of years, they are one of the oldest living cultures in documented history. The tribe's teachings relate stories of a great flood and other events dating to ancient times. The Hopi trace their ancestry back to the Ancient Puebloan and Basketmaker cultures. They were responsible for many stone structures and artifacts of the Grand Canyon and across the Southwest. A deeply religious people, they live by the ethic of peace and goodwill. There was a time in Hopi history that when crops were harvested, religious ceremonies had been performed, and the winter wood had been collected. It was at this time that the people broke out into dance and story-telling. It was a time of sharing a rich history. With this book, that time is now. Included in this book, is a huge collection of the stories of the Hopi Indians. Without books and without writing the Hopi have an extensive literature. These stories have been collected with the main purpose of preserving the ancient stories of Native American life. Over the years, many collectors have recorded several versions of some of these tales. So keep in mind there is some variation to what has been collected. You are invited to enjoy the culture and as in true Native tradition, share these stories with the next generation.

Native American Mythology began long before the European settlers arrived on North American soil. The most popular of these myths usually are the ones dealing with Creation and Origins of people, places and things. These myths deal with both how the physical world as we know it came to be and how the many features of specific cultures originated. They cover areas of gods and man and why we were separated, where did the different races come from, and when did evil surface. Being there were so many different tribes with countless beliefs and customs, the only way to understand these beliefs is through understanding the Native American stories. In this book there is a wide landscape of different tribes that present a true look at these beliefs. Among the stories included in this anthology are: Creation of the First Indians, Creation of the Red and White Races, In the Beginning, How the Great Chiefs Made the Moon and the Sun, Origin of Fire, The First Moccasins, The Origin of Game and of Corn, The Origin of Medicine, The Origin of Summer and Winter, Origin of the Animals, Origin of the Buffalo, Origin of the Clans, Origin of the Sweat Lodge, The Origin of the Winds, The Origin of Yosemite, The Origin of Earth, Origin of the Lakota Peace Pipe, How the World Was Made, The First Fire, Origin of the Pleiades And the Pine, and many more.

Native American Indian culture is known for its rich oral traditions. In many cases there were no written languages to document their histories. The tribes relied on verbal communication to share their customs, history, rituals and legends. The tribal elders used vibrant tales to pass information to the younger generations. These stories were not only related to tribal history but were meant to entertain as well as educate, while preserving their tribal culture. Each time an elder told a story, new life was breathed into it. The telling of the stories gave a revived meaning to the tribe’s past and their relations to the earth and the animals they had depended on for existence. The Hopi Indians culture was and is rich with these stories. With a past stretching back thousands of years, they are one of the oldest living cultures in documented history. The tribe’s teachings relate stories of a great flood and other events dating to ancient times. The Hopi trace their ancestry back to the Ancient Puebloan and Basketmaker cultures. They were responsible for many stone structures and artifacts of the Grand Canyon and across the Southwest. A deeply religious people, they live by the ethic of peace and goodwill. There was a time in Hopi history that when crops were harvested, religious ceremonies had been performed, and the winter wood had been collected. It was at this time that the people broke out into dance and story-telling. It was a time of sharing a rich history.  With this book, that time is now. Included in this book, which is one of two volumes is a huge collection of the stories of the Hopi Indians. Without books and without writing the Hopi have an extensive literature. These stories have been collected with the main purpose of preserving the ancient stories of Native American life. Over the years, many collectors have recorded several versions of some of these tales. So keep in mind there is some variation to what has been collected. You are invited to enjoy the culture and as in true Native tradition, share these stories with the next generation.

A collection of Native American tales and myths focusing on the relationship between man and nature.

Before the time of books, computers, tablets and recording devices, the history of many cultures was passed down, from person to person, by word of mouth. The rich histories of so many people were told in songs, chants, poems and stories. This was and still is the way of Native American tribes. Each in its own way enriching their stories with their own experiences. By exploring these stories, you will be offered you a glimpse into an often forgotten past. By reliving these stories and songs, we have the opportunity to bring life back to the ancient spirits that created them. We have a chance to walk with the spirits of the past. These stories were passed from one generation to the next. And now these stories are given to you, to carry forward for younger generations to explore and learn. The mythology of North America is a cultural treasure house, but many of these myths and legends are hidden away in various old and rare books. It would be difficult for the average person to track down and collect this material because the rarity of some of these books makes them hard to acquire. So, this vast body of wisdom lies out of reach of most people… until now. Included in this anthology are over 100 stories in the categories of Star People, Animal Tales, People Tales, War Tales, Origin Tales and Ghost Tales. Among the stories collected are: Origin of the Sweat Lodge, The Story of Poïa, The Story of the Land of Northern Lights, Tale of the Lazy Boys Who Became the Pleiades, The Moon and the Thunders, The Two War Gods and the Two Maidens, The First War, A Widow’s Revenge, A War Between the Alabama And the Choctaw, The Death of Head Chief and Young Mule, Two War Trails, Escape of The Seneca Boys, The End of The First World, Mistakes of Old Man, Iktomi’s Blanket, Iktomi and the Muskrat, Beaver Medicine, The Badger and the Bear, The Tree Bound, The Simpleton's Wisdom, Crossing the Red Sea, Wakiash and the First Totem Pole, The Dogs of the Chief's Son, The Orphan Boy Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Godasiyo the Woman Chief, Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away's Father, Blue Corn Maiden and the Coming of Winter, The Beginning of Newness, The Origin of the Society of Rattlesnakes, Origin of the Raven and the Macaw, How Glooskap Found the Summer, Raven's Great Adventure – How Raven Lost His Beak, Apache Creation Story, How the Old Man, Made People, Origin of the Medicine Man, When the Animals and Birds Were Created, Creation of the First Indians, A Little Brave and the Medicine Woman, The Man Who Was Afraid of Nothing, The Ghosts' Buffalo, The Land of the Dead, The Skin Shifting Old Woman and many more.

More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups present a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. “This fine, valuable new gathering of ... tales is truly alive, mysterious, and wonderful—overflowing, that is, with wonder, mystery and life" (National Book Award Winner Peter Matthiessen). In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices.

This collection of more than one hundred tribal tales, culled from the oral tradition of the Indians of Washington and Oregon, presents the Indians' own stories, told for generations around their fires, of the mountains, lakes, and rivers, and of the creation of the world and the heavens above. Each group of stories is prefaced by a brief factual account of Indian beliefs and of storytelling customs. Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest is a treasure, still in print after fifty years.

Presents a variety of myths, tales, and legends. Includes Native American tales about creation, goddesses, trickster gods, the Indian and the white man, as well as Hispanic American, Asian American, Anglo American, and African American stories. Features patriotic heroes, American loners, frontiersman, and tall tales, Western outlaws, lawmen, and cowboys, slave rebels, and Blues legends, among other topics.

Rich selection of traditional songs and contemporary verse by Seminole, Hopi, Arapaho, Nootka, other Indian writers and poets. Nature, tradition, Indians' role in contemporary society, other topics.

The myths and legends in this book have been selected both for their excellence as stories and because they illustrate the distinctive nature of Native American storytelling. A collection of Native American myths and legends. Selected for their excellence as stories, and because they illustrate the distinctive nature of Native American storytelling. Drawn from the oral traditions of all major areas of aboriginal North America. Reveals the highly practical functions of myths and legends in Native American societies. Illustrates American Indians’ profound engagement with their natural environment. Edited by an outstanding interpreter of Native American oral stories.