Native American Tales, Myths and Legends

The stories in this collection are drawn mainly from those tribes which lived in the northern and central areas of North America. These represent the linguistic groups gerneally referred to as Algonquian, Iroquois, and Sioux. A final chapter covers the tales of the northwest Pacific Coast.

Some legends tell of heroic men and women struggling against the giant forces of nature; others of mischievous animals like blue jay and coyote, or of perilous journeys and of the origins of traditional customs.

Recited as part of religious ceremonial or simply as a form of entertainment, these tales were passed from parent to child as a way of explaining the present through the past.