Native Traditions

Navajo myths are among the most poetic in the world, full of dazzling word imagery. For the Navajo, who call themselves the Dine (literally, "the People"), the story of emergence—their creation myth—lies at the heart of their beliefs. In it, all the world is created together, both gods and human beings, embodying the idea that change comes from within rather than without. Poet and author Gerald Hausman collects this and other stories with meditations that together capture the essence of the Navajo people's way of life and their understanding of the world.

Leslie Marmon Silko's groundbreaking book Storyteller, first published in 1981, blends original short stories and poetry influenced by the traditional oral tales that she heard growing up on the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico with autobiographical passages, folktales, family memories, and photographs. As she mixes traditional and Western literary genres, Silko examines themes of memory, alienation, power, and identity; communicates Native American notions regarding time, nature, and spirituality; and explores how stories and storytelling shape people and communities.

The use of hallucinogenic substances like peyote and desert tobacco has long played a significant role in the spiritual practices and traditions of Native Americans. While the majority of those practices are well documented, the relationship between entheogens and Native Americans of the Southeast has gone largely unexplored.

Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of blood and marrow - a dark and terrible magick that hasn't been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition.

Dive into the heartwarming world of "Inspiring Native American Stories for Kids"! This audiobook is full of captivating tales that link the past with the present, teaching wisdom, courage, and respect for nature. Perfect for children aged 8-12, this collection nurtures cultural appreciation and empathy through storytelling.

In Herbal Remedies for Health and Healing For Beginners, there are over 70 herbs detailed that can help over 20 common conditions and most have some scientific basis and research-backing of their benefits. The approach is both allopathic and holistic herbalism.

Welcome to the fascinating Yoruba religious culture! This will be a brief introduction to the Yoruba Religion. Whether you are reading this because you have just received your Mano de Orula or are curious about the ceremony, You are in the right place! I will explain in simple words what it consists of, how the ceremony is performed, its preparations, my personal experience in Cuba, and the meaning for the community. An added touch will be the images. The practitioners of the Yoruba Religion come from different parts of the world. The information it contains was consulted specifically in ...

I've been caged by tradition, tethered to a fate I don't want. A dream showed me a different path, leading to Aleron, washed ashore by destiny itself. He's more than a shipwreck survivor; he's the king's guard caught between his allegiance and our undeniable bond. His presence ignites a forbidden magic, a bond my tribe could never accept. The spirits chose him, granting him the power of the shift, making him my equal. Together, we fight his past and challenge the elders' grip on our future. Will our love break the chains of the past or doom us to its shadows? In the wild dance of fate, only...

You may know of many Native American tribes, but there is more to their story. Learn about life in the time that the First Americans lived.

You may know of Pocahontas, but there is more to her story. Learn about life in the time that Pocahontas lived, and how she impacted the First Colonies.

Physician, activist, and author Charles Alexander Eastman was the first Native American certified in Western medicine and one of the first authors of any background to emphasize the Native American perspective. In The Soul of the Indian, he shares the customs, rituals, celebrations, and beliefs of Native American spirituality, and in so doing provides a powerful account of the “Great Mystery” at their core.

Young listeners learn about the early traditions which have led to our present-day celebration of Thanksgiving.

In this exquisite collection of children’s folktales, Zitkála-Šá shares the legends that were handed down to her through generations of Yankton storytellers. These tales display the wide range of insights and observations that accrue to such stories through repeated iteration, but they also benefit from the sharp ear and finely tuned sensibility of Zitkála-Šá as a writer. Her characters seem to speak to us—often crying out to us—in the same tones that Zitkála-Šá must once have heard.

Joseph finds his mother's journal in a box that he brought with him from New York. He reads in her own words what she thought of the things he was doing in the city. He continues to try and escape his past, to get along with his twin brother who hates him, and he struggles to understand his father. Content warning: Inter-generational Indigenous trauma, extreme violence, murder, extreme abuse, sexual abuse, rape, drug use, suicide, single parent trauma and the loss of loved ones. If you enjoyed Silver Hawk A Warrior's Heart, Juanita's Journal, continue reading with The Returning Warrior, the...

This story has its beginnings on a day long ago when Earth rolled and heaved, and rocks fell like rain... Thus began what some today would call a “migration” of The Walking People. Leaderless and bereft of the shared knowledge of tradition, they set off on their journey. Their story is the story of how one particular group of human beings was able to start anew - to learn through difficulty and changing circumstance to prosper as a Whole People.

A creature of myth and magic emerging from the mist-shrouded forests of the Northwest, Coyote appears as a creator, messenger, hero, trickster, fool, or shapeshifter. Always on the lookout for fun, mischief, or the opportunity to help humans, Coyote’s encounters with gods, demons and the supernatural bring to life the rich cultural traditions of the Northwest peoples.

In Voices from Hudson Bay Cree elders recall the daily lives and experiences of the men and women who lived and worked at the Hudson’s Bay Company post at York Factory in Manitoba. Their stories, their memories of family, community, and daily life, define their past and provide insights into a way of life that has largely disappeared in northern Canada. The era the elders describe, from the end of World War I to the closing of York Factory in 1957, saw dramatic changes—both positive and negative—to Indigenous life in the North.

Many of us don’t know much about mythological stories from these regions, and it is my pleasure and privilege to educate you on the intricate details that lie within them. That’s why I have also provided some fascinating facts and historical background about each of these peoples. Creation myths, legacies, the sacrificing of children, the empires, and their wars are all mentioned and touched on in this book.

Below the mist-shrouded mountains of the West Coast lie the stories of how we came to be. It is through the myths of the people who have lived with this spirit of place for thousands of years that we uncover the mystery of our homeland. The mythical creatures Raven, Thunderbird, Bear, and the Great Spirit become a path to rediscovering the spiritual landscape of culture. These are the stories of the Pacific Coast that tell of gods and demons, good and evil; things unimaginable brought to life.

A tragedy sends Joseph Silver Hawk back to the Indian reservation, but it won't be easy. He was raised in New York and that's what he knows. John Stand's Proud, his father, spent 13 years in prison. He never raised children, let alone two teenage boys. Seth Lone Wolf lived on the reservation all his life and doesn't want anything to do with Joseph. Can they live in the same house to try and honor their mother's last wish? Aside from the fact that they don't know one another, Joseph struggles as a recovering addict from drug and alcohol abuse. He has severe PTSD and suffers from reoccurring ...