Native American Stories

by Michael J. Caduto, Joseph Bruchac, N. Scott Momaday (Foreword)

Native American Stories is a collection of myths drawn from the native cultures of North America Joseph Bruchac, from the introduction

Genres: Native American, Mythology, History

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had a nice array of stories and subject matter from a number of tribes. My favorite was the flying turtle. hahaha! Turtles are silly. They should have also said that is the reason why they are snappy as well, since they think no one is listening. hahaha!

[Dana Saavedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caduto, Michael J. and Bruchac, Joseph. Fadden, John Hakionhes - Illustrator. Native American stories (myths and legends). (1991)

Targeted Age: 7+

This is a great collection of Native American myths and legends derived from different tribes throughout North America. Each myth/legend comes with an indicator box at the beginning of the story, showing what tribe the particular story is from. The book also includes a map of the tribes across the country, all the way to the Arctic. The myths and legends found within are separated by subject: creation, fire, earth, wind and weather, water, sky, seasons, plants and animals, life, death, spirit, and unity of earth. A glossary, pronunciation key, and a list of tribal nations is also included at the end of the book.

How Raven Made the Tides (Tsimshian - Pacific Northwest) - Water Myth
I adore any story with a raven or a crow. They are incredibly intelligent birds, even though they have a stigma or an omen surrounding them. In this myth, the tide line is being held by an old woman who refuses to let it go. People are suffering because they don’t have access to the food the ocean can provide and living along the Pacific Northwest, access to food from the ocean is a must. The Raven puts on his trusty black cloak and flies down the coast to investigate why the tide line isn’t moving. He finds the old woman in her hut, holding the tide line firmly in her hand. He tricks her into thinking he had the best meal he could possibly have had, picking clams easily off the beach. (Ah, the smart, tricky Raven!) She doesn’t believe it to be possible, but curiosity gets the best of her, so she goes to see. Raven pushes her down and throws dust in her eyes to blind her so she’ll let go of the tide line. Immediately, the tide moves out and there is plentiful food for all. People all up and down the coast are able to gather much-needed food and thank Raven for his help. He returns to the hut and the old woman begs him to restore her sight. Raven agrees, but on one condition: that she let go of the tideline twice a day so that people can gather the food the ocean provides. They can’t wait as long as she was making them wait! She agrees and so, the tideline moves out twice a day because Raven made the old woman let go.

How Coyote Was the Moon (Kalispel - Idaho) - Sky Myth
I chose this myth because some of my family lives in Kalispell, Montana. I didn’t know that the name derives from the Native American tribe that lived in the area. In this sky myth, everything is dark at night because there’s no moon to light the sky - someone had stolen it. The people gathered around to discuss it and the Yellow Fox agreed to be the moon. They placed him in the sky, but he was too bright, yellow, and hot, so they took him down. (Poor fox!) Then, the people went to Coyote. He’s a trickster, that Coyote! They ask him if he would like to be the moon… could he do a better job? Of course, Coyote could do a better job! But, being the sneaky, trickster Coyote he is, he knew he’d be able to see EVERYTHING people were doing. The people placed him up in the sky and were happy because he didn’t shine too bright or too hot. They all thought he was doing a great job. Oh, but Coyote (being the trickster that he is) could see everything they were all doing in the secrets of the dark. If someone was doing something they weren’t supposed to do, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut and would shout at them. Hey! You’re cheating! Hey, you stole something! The people who wanted to do secret things in the cover of night (and not be shouted at), gathered together and agreed they needed to get Coyote down. Of course, they made it seem that he was just making too much noise with all his shouting, but really, the sneaky people didn’t like that they couldn’t sneak around anymore. So, Coyote was taken down and someone else became the moon. The best line of the story is at the end: “Coyote could no longer see what everyone on Earth was doing, but that hasn’t stopped him from still trying to snoop into everyone else’s business ever since.” What a charming story. Usually, Coyote gets the shaft, and maybe he does a bit here, but I loved how he called out all those sneaky people doing sneaky things at night. They deserved him being a snoop.

[Doria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent anthology of 24 relatively short stories from a wide range of Native American traditions. Each story is told in a clear prose format, and the tellings are enriched by the endnotes, which offer a deeper understanding of key words, specific ethnic and language groups, and important narrative figures. Highly recommended for Storytellers, but the pacing and length of the stories make it an ideal read-aloud for elementary and middle school kids. The black and white drawings are also nice.

[Blake Selph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a rather arbitrary desire to read more folk tales last year, and had the realization that I already knew lots of European stories but no Native American ones. Then I found this collection, and what a find! There's some really wonderful tales in here and they really tend to illuminate the tribes and nations that they're from and they're connection with the Earth. Brushac, himself Abenaki, tells them effortlessly and I think these great and often profound stories are gems to be treasured and remembered in a world that has been very tragically cruel to Indegenous people.

[Marissa Jasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels wrong to rate this anything other than 5 stars because it's a collection of true native stories. They were mostly all beautiful, some were horrifying. But I love that they all creativity explain why things are and how they came to be. Why there is death, why there is spring, why turtles hibernate, why corn should be planted a certain way, why we need balance. I look forward to re-reading!

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a fan of mythology. Stuff just happens. No character development etc. It seems I've seen some mythology stories with plots and character development, but most I have read don't really have that. That said, the longer pieces were the better ones as there was at least a little of the afore mentioned attributes that I look for when reading non-fiction.

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Foreword by N. Scott Momaday
Illustrations by John Kahionhes Fadden
Includes Glossary of Terms and Tribal Nation Descriptions

“Keepers of the Earth” presents this anthology of 22
Native American tales from various tribes of North America. In the excellent Foreword we learn the sacred duty of the Storyteller
And the responsive role of the listener. Why tell stories which relate to religion, natural history and anthropology—in an oral tradition? --“God made man because he loves stories.” So they are blessed from the start. Illustrated by Fadden’s iconic pen and ink sketches these tales discuss the following subjects: Creation, Fire, Earth, Wind and Weather, Water, Sky, Seasons, Plants and Animals, Life-Death-Spirit, and Earth’s Unity.

Many stories open at the beginning of man’s time on earth; at the one of the first Four Worlds. Elders are addressed as Grandfather or Grandmother. Many of the characters are anthropomorphic; humanlike animals or animal-like humans. The People behave remarkably like modern folk; with their greed, lust for power or sex, and especially their cleverness to outwit others. The trickster is a universal character in world folklore; sometimes we admire him for his cleverness (not his honesty--at least to benefit others, but sometimes he himself is outwitted. Many tales relate how certain animals acquired particular features. But a few quietly point out man’s role in the world; the need to respectfully ask permission to kill animals, and then to ask pardon for taking life.

Those who hear such tales learn to prize honest dealing and respect for their environment--and to consider the needs of future generations. Lessons which have not diminished in importance over the centuries. “Stories tend to support and confirm our perception of the world and of the creatures within it. Even the most fantastic story is rooted in our common experience; otherwise it would have no meaning for us.” An excellent introduction to the folklore and credo of Native American tribes-at elementary school reading level.


September 1, 2014

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this set of Native American tales. It fits nicely with having read Code Talker (also by Bruchac) with my students earlier this year and with Sign of the Beaver currently with my 3rd graders.

[Shannon]

The stories are nice, but I have to admit I had a hard time focusing on this one. I'm going to assume it was me and not the book.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Native American Stories
Caduto, Michael J.

a great collection of stories, form different aspects of American native culture

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of stories, but would be better if the author used the Native names for places like Mt. St. Helens