Native American Mythology

Honors - Fall 2026

Directions - YOU WILL DO TWO OF THESE

• Put Information here. �
• Give at least five pieces of information. You may include more. �
• Tribe that worshipped this god will be one of them. �
• Find information from at least three sources. Put links to those sources in the speaker notes below. �
• Put your name in the speaker notes

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Picture of god goes here

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Wakan Tanka

• The main tribes are the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota
• Known as the Great Spirit or Great Mystery�
• Represents the sacred power or energy in all living things�
• Refers to a system of sacred beings rather than just a single personified sky god
• Not an actual being, its more of an energy or spiritual power

The blue jay

• Tribes The Chinook, Chehalis, Coast Salish, and Snoqualmie peoples�
• The blue jay is a trickster who is a messenger and a forest sentry�
• It is an animal spirit �
• There is only one spelling but some people put the two words together as Bluejay
• It can transform, mimic voices, and act as a spiritual messenger betwween realms

Gitche Manitou

• Tribe(s) Algonquian Anishinaabeg, Cheyenne, Oglala Sioux�
• Means “Great Spirit” in multiple Algonquian dialects�
• It’s a rarely personified creation deity�
• Manitou is innate spiritual power �
• There are many different spellings, such as Gichi Manidoo and Gitchi Manitou depending on the tribe

Tirawa

• Tribe(s) Pawnee, Wichita�
• It means “our father above”�
• The creation god of the Pawnee�
• He is the father of men�
• Also known as Atius-Tirawa

Sky woman

​

• tribe Haudenosaunee�
• She created the turtle island
• She fell through a hole in the sky left by the uprooting of the great tree of light
• She brought celestial seeds and plants
• She fell through the sky and the waterbirds caught her fall

Ta’xet

• Tribe: Haida�
• God of violent death, counterpart is the god of peaceful death�
• During Earth’s creation, the raven stole the moon from Ta’xet�
• If we harm the environment too much, the raven will stop protecting us from Ta’xet�
• People who die a violent death go to Ta’xet

The thunderbird

• powerful, giant mythical bird
• Its wings create the sound of thunder It has been seen a benevolent guardian that uses its abilities to fight evil spirits
• Bright flashes of lightning come out of its eyes or its beak
• Brings spring rains needed for crops
• Tribe(s):

Wakan Tanka -yuliana

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Raven, aka Kit-ka’ositiyi-qa-yit

• Comes from the Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit, and Tahltan Tribes.�
• A Greedy and Mischievous creature.�
• The Trickster God.�
• He is the creator of life, and teaches life lessons.�
• Raven has many different names.

Blue Jay - Phoenix

• Tribe(s)�
• God of mischief and mayhem�
• �
• �
• ​

Wakan Tanka - Phoenix

• Tribe(s)�
• God of creation�
• �
• �
• ​

Thunderbird

• Algonquian (Modern Eastern Canada and Northeastern US), Siouan (Around the Great Lakes), Arikara (Modern day North and South Dakota)
• ​
• ​
• ​
• ​

Spider Grandmother

• Hopi (Modern day Northeastern Arizona)
• Because the Hopi people communicated most of their mythology orally, there are not many surviving visual depictions of the Spider Grandmother.
• ​
• ​
• ​

Ababinili

• Tribe: Chickasaw�
• Creator god�
• Name’s meaning is similar to “sits above”�
• Associated with the sun�
• Not generally considered to have a human form

Coyote

• Cherokee�
• He is known as the thorn in Raven’s side�
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Horned Serpent - Julia

• This creature was believed by maybe indian tribes like: Cherokee, Dakota, Lakota, Ojibwe, Anishinaabe, Tewa, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Abenaki. �
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Ocasta the god of knowledge or “stone coat” - Julia

• The cherokee indians worshiped this god of knowledge �
• He wore a coat made up of flint which is where the name “stone coat” comes from.�
• This god was equal parts good and equal parts evil.

​

• Preferred food: human liver�

​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Raven

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Raven

​

• This god was known by the Tsimshian for mayhem. �
• Raven was good at being a trickster.�
• The Raven can take the form of humans or even a object.�
• The Raven is given credit by some tribes for finding humans in a clam shell.�
• Some tribes think that the Raven could make worlds.

Coyote

• The Coyote is a creature in the tribes: Achomawi, Atsugewi, Chumash, Dieguenos, Gallinomero, Juaneno, Karok, Luiseno,�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Trickster (Kokopelli)

• Tribe: Hopi, Zuni�
• “Hump” because of the large burden�
• Plays flute to warm the earth and end the winter�
• Is associated with a robber fly�
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Wakan Tanka

Give at least five pieces of information. You may include more.

• The Lakota People worshipped this god.
• The name means “great sacred” or “great holy”.
• In Lakota, Wakan Tanka represents a sacred presence residing in everything.
• According to them, before creation, Wakan Tanka existed in complete darkness.
• Pronounced: “WAH-kuhn tahn-kuh

Raven

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Alignak

• Tribe(s) Inuit�
• God of weather and motion�
• Male�
• Responsible for earthquakes and comets�
• Also the god of the moon

Negafook

• Tribe(s) Inuit�
• god of snow and the north wind�
• Male�
• Necessary for the inuit people as their hunting requires snow(eg. Seals, caribou)�
• Also controls stormy weather

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Chloe’s slide 1

The god I chose was Raven. The Raven is a god that conforms to the Native Americans but not to any singular tribe. The raven is known to show trickery, mischief and Mayhem. The Raven has a brother named Logobola who is also known for his intense bickering and teasing. A fun fact about the Raven is he was the first animal off of noah's arc which connects him to the bigger idea of godliness. Many legends credit the Raven with bringing light into a darkened world. The raven is also known for bringing forth the first humans. �

​

Chloe’s slide 2

The second figure I chose was the god coyote. The coyote is known for being a hero, being sneaky and also being a cheater.

​

​

Hey bud! - hannah

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

• Tribe(s)�
• �
• �
• �
• ​

Gahe - Sam Phinn

• Tribe(s) Gahe was worshipped by the apache tribe.�
• �
• The Gahe are healing spirits�
• �
• ​

https://www.godchecker.com/native-american-mythology/GAHE/

​

Gaoh (giant master of winds(God)) -

• There is no current evidence that Gaoh was worshiped but just regarded as a powerful wind spirit�
• Each direction, (North, East,South,West) all had different managers for that direction�
• Gaoh is seen as the “controller of weather” �
• When he is tired and restless, the wind becomes silent and restless�
• He is able to create storms

Wendigo (cannibalistic ice monster(Creature))

• Wendigo typical come from the Algonquian linguistic groups�
• �
• �
• �
• ​