Native American Storybooks

[Sharikee]

Native American stories are as varied as the trees on the Earth and yet have many common themes, whether told by the Inuit of Alaska or the Seminole of Florida. Traditional Native stories are based on honoring all life, especially the plants and animals we depend on, as well as our human ancestors.
Most stories talk about the living beings within a specific tribe’s homeland—the raven of the Pacific Northwest, the coyote from the desert, the buffalo of the Plains, the beaver of the Eastern woodlands. Stories explain why and how certain local plants and animals came to be, such as Narragansett storyteller Tchin’s lesson of why rabbits have such long ears. Other stories explain ceremony and ritual, such as Hoskie Benally’s story “The Five Sacred Medicines”.

[Sharikee]

Decrepit and hungry, Coyote feels as if he's nothing but an old bag of bones. He wants to be young and strong again. He knows that young Buffalo has special powers, since he provides food, clothing, and shelter for the people. He asks Young Buffalo to change him into a young buffalo bull like himself. Buffalo obliges, but also warns Coyote: 'Remember, even though most of you looks like a young buffalo on the outside, on the inside, you are still a powerless coyote.'

[Sharikee]

Long ago, the people known as the Ashiwi offended the Corn Maidens, the spirits who had given them bountiful harvests. Hard times came, and it was left to a boy and his little sister to restore the good fortune of their people.

[Sharikee]

In this story from the Siksika (formerly known as the Blackfoot), spring fails to come to the land. A boy discovers the reason: Bear has stolen the chinook. Then the boy and his friends -- Owl, Coyote, Weasel, Prairie Chicken, and Magpie -- set out in pursuit of Bear. When they locate his den, the problem becomes freeing the chinook from the fierce animal. But thanks to the boy's ingenuity, the group prevails. Spring returns, the tribe celebrates, and from that time on, Bear is compelled to sleep through winter.

[Sharikee]

Thunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that’s all his own. Just because people call his dad Big Thunder doesn’t mean he wants to be Little Thunder. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he’s done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder.

But just when Thunder Boy Jr. thinks all hope is lost, he and his dad pick the perfect name…a name that is sure to light up the sky.