I have been exposed to some different Native American mythologies and there seem to be many differences. Are there any beliefs or stories that they all share?
11
-
1Surely the answer is no, simply as a consequence of the fact that Native American peoples (by definition) span an entire continent, and wouldn't have had a shared cultural history for thousands of years before present. – senshin May 1 '15 at 14:54
-
@senshin Actually it is two continents with a land bridge, at least until 1914 – James Jenkins May 1 '15 at 15:00
-
Well, sure, if you count South American peoples, then the answer is even more likely no, though the term "Native American" does not typically refer to the indigenous people of South America. – senshin May 1 '15 at 15:01
12
The idea of the Coyote Trickster god is pretty widespread. My copy of The Book of the Navajo contains "The Tale of Coyote, the Troublemaker".
The Coyote is also known to the Apache in the "Badger carries Darkness: Coyote and Bobcat scratch each other"
A Cheyenne tale called "How he got tongue"
And a Blackfoot Coyote tale called "Little Friend Coyote"
He's known to the Sioux, the Caddo in Why Coyote Stopped Imitating His Friends and the Cherokee in How the Bluebeard and the Coyote got their Color
A list of other tribes and legends can be found here
