Native American Myths & Ethnic Folklore

Native American Myths, Legends & Stories

• Attack of the Mammoth
  A mammoth attacks and kills a hunter and stalks his wife and child. (Kaska First Nation)

• The Bloody Knife
  Many and many a year ago, two Micmac warriors from rival villages got into a terrible argument. Harsh words were exchanged, and then knives were pulled.

• Coyote and the Columbia
  The origins of the Colombia River. (Washington)

• Coyote and Wishpoosh
  How the Northwest coastal tribes were formed.

• Crow Brings the Daylight
  Crow flys to the south, seeking to bring daylight to the Inuit, who live in darkness all year long. (Inuit)

• The First Tears
  Inuit tale about the origins of tears. (Alaska)

• The Guardian of Yosemite
  The beautiful spirit of Yosemite falls in love with a great chief.

• The Heron and the Hummingbird
  Why Herons eat fish and Hummingbirds drink nectar.

• How Selfishness was Rewarded
  A young girl refuses to share food with her starving family in this Tlingit myth from Alaska.

• The King of Sharks
  The King of the Sharks has a mischievious son. (Hawaii)

• The Maid of the Mist
  The tale of the maiden who lived behind Niagara Falls and the origin of the famous horseshoe falls.
• Rabbit Plays Tug-of-War
  Rabbit tricks two water Snakes into playing tug-of-war.

• Rainbow Crow
  The snow has come to Earth and all the animals are freezing. Can Rainbow Crow save them?

• The Spirit Lodge
  A great chief returns after his death to guard his people.
• The Trickster Tricked
  (In which Terrapin the Turtle outwits the Trickster Rabbit)
  Turtle and Rabbit decide to run a race. Guess who wins?

• The White Horse
  Mounted on a white horse, a new bride flees for her life from a rejected suitor.

• Who Calls?
  A Cree warrior journeying to the home of his beloved hears her voice calling his name in the night.

• Why Opossum Has a Bare Tail
  Opossum wants to make pretty rings on his tail, just like Raccoon.

• Why Opossum Has a Pouch
  Big Bat steals Opossum's babies and she must find someone to steal them back.

• Windigo
  A starving warrior comes face to face with a cannibalistic monster called a Windigo.

African American Folklore

• Brer Rabbit Stories
  Brer Fox tricks Brer Rabbit into fighting with a Tar Baby. Brer Rabbit trys to find a cool place to sleep and falls down the well. Brer Rabbit gets caught stealing goober peas and has to talk his way out of the trap. And other stories about Brer Rabbit!

• John Henry
  Man against machine!

• Never Mind Them Watermelons
  Sam Gibb accepts a dare to stay in a haunted house, never expecting to meet a ghost.

• Wait Until Emmet Comes
  Do you really want to wait for Emmet? (West Virginia)

• Why Dog's Chase Cats
  Its a dog chase cat kind of world. (Virginia)

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Cajun Folktales

• Jean Sot
  Foolish John is determined to guard the front door, even if he has to carry it up a tree to do it.

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Dutch Folklore

• A Gift from Saint Nicholas
  A poor family is visited by a stranger on Christmas Eve.
• The Headless Horseman
  A headless Hessian gallops forth from the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, scaring the locals.
• Henry Hudson and the Catskill Gnomes
  Every wondered who Rip Van Winkle played nine-pins with? It was Henry Hudson and his crew!
• Palatine
  A Dutch ship wrecks off Block Island. (Rhode Island)

• Spuyten Duyvil
  New Amsterdam is under attack. Can a brave trumpeter warn the people in time? (New York)

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French-Canadian Folktales

• The Devil and the Loup Garou
A lazy man sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for help around his farm. (Quebec)
• The Devil's Hole
  A strange horse is sent to a priest to aid him in the building of a new church. (Quebec)

• The Flying Canoe
  A group of lonely lumberjacks pay a bitter price when they go home for New Years. (Quebec)
• The Loup Garou and the Shawl
  A wife must save her husband from the devil.

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Scandinavian Stories

• Drought Buster
  Febold Feboldson busts a drought in Nebraska.

• Echoes
  A Minnesota settler longs for the echoing mountains of home.

Spanish-American Folklore

• Joaquin Murietta, The Bandit of the Goldfields
  A young man turns outlaw after a gang of jealous gold miners kills his wife and his brother.

• La Llorona
  The ghost of a woman searches the river banks for her sons.

• The Llorona, Omen of Death
  Two young men see the ghost of the Llorona as they drive home one evening.

• La Mala Hora
  A woman meets a spectre on her way to a friend's house.