Native American mythology comprises the variety of myths, legends, mythical creatures, such as tricksters or heroes, and copious deities of the indigenous people of North America. Native American mythology, much like Aboriginal mythology, based out of Australia, is a composite of multiple mythology from the indigenous people. Due to this, “the Native American or Indian peoples of North America do not share a single, unified body of mythology” (Native American Mythology”). Ranging from the Kalaallit of Greenland and the Lencas of El Salvdaor, a variety of tribes developed their own myths that helped not only with organizing society through principles of leadership but with answering the unknown questions of creation and existence. Native American Mythology largely consists of myths concerning creation, such as the formation of the first people, the meaning of life, and the lives of important figures such as deities or heroes. Still, although some native mythology’s were notably distinct, some themes, myths, and characters were shared across cultural boundaries. For example, spiritual forces, which help maintain the existence of all natural subjects, such as life, play a large role in the majority of Native American Mythology. In all, Native American mythology is vast, encompassing the spirituality and beliefs of hundreds of tribes from all across North America spread through oral tradition (“Native American Mythology”).

        Origins and Connections Across Cultural Boundaries

Through either a bridge of land that linked Siberia and Alaska during the Ice Age 8,000 years ago or simply by boat or walking on ice, the ancestors of Native Americans were able to reach North America through the Bering Sea and Siberia. Descendents of northeastern Asians who led a semi-nomadic lifestyle of hunting and gathering, the Native Americans spread slowly throughout North America, developing separately and forming beliefs. Over time, namely thousands of years, the Native American population steadily grew, diversifying into a variety of different cultures and traditions that was eventually interrupted through the arrival of Europeans, starting in the 1500s (“Native American Mythology”).

To simplify Native American Mythology, scholars have divided North America into various regions pertaining to similar beliefs. Although the mythology of Natives Americans across North America largely differs, “some elements of mythology are shared across the region, and certain kinds of stories are particularly important” (“Native American Mythology”). While it is true that, for example, a tribe in a southeastern mountainous area has different elements of belief when compared to a tribe in a largely plains biome, those tribes found in a generally similar environment share similar beliefs. For example Sedna, a deity regarded as the mother, or mistress, of the sea, is often found in the myths of native Eskimos in the eastern part of the Arctic region. Additionally, “the peoples of the Subarctic region of inland Alaska and western Canada have myths about tricksters and heroes who transform, or change, the world into its present state” (“Native American Mythology”).  The characters present in these myths of tricksters and transformers are also present in the mythology of natives in the “coast-Plateau religion of the Pacific Northwest” (“Native American Mythology”). Outside of trickster and transformer myths, myths surrounding creation, animals, dying gods, heroes, the origins of humans, migrations, and purification are shared throughout the regions of North America ("Native American Mythology").