My first "taste" of Native American mythology came when I was sifted through my Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. I had just bought an earring, made by a Haida artist, of a raven. In the little booklet, with it, I read that is was a symbol for the Trickster. I started to investigate and became more & more fascinated by the concept of the Trickster: a hero, a transformer, a buffoon.

In the dictionary they say: "Psychologically, the role of the trickster seems to be that of projecting the insufficiencies of man in his universe onto a smaller creature, who, in besting his larger adversaries, permits the satisfactions of an obvious identification to those who recount or listen to these tales". A fascinating concept to me.

The push was on to find books on the Trickster. Which lead to shamans and kushtakas and beyond. Even though I was reading the stories, not hearing them out loud, I was fascinated. Though the tales may be short, they say a lot. You don't have to wade through 30 pages to find a moral or commentary.

So it was, as with Celtic mythology, Native American mythology started to influence my writing. And I found some things in Iroquois Stories: Heroes and Heroines, Monsters and Magic, as told by Joseph Bruchac, that made me look at my writing a little different. He writes, in his introduction: "The stories last because of their continuing role in American Indian life. They entertain, they instruct, and they empower". And he wrote: "Good luck was said to follow a good storyteller and he was welcomed wherever he travelled". Things I would like to have with my stories.

The following page is the beginning of my journey and learning, using the Web. As I continue along my path, things I put here will grow richer. At the moment, I can just share recommended books until I have rebuild my links list.

Iroquois Stories: Heros & Heroines, Monsters & Magic

As told by Joseph Bruchac, The Crossing Press, ISBN 0-89594-167-8

For me, the thing that resonated, when I first read this book was a simple comment: "I will now tell a story". A fascinating book brimming with great tales to tell adults and children.

Shamans and Kushtakas: North Coast Tales of the Supernatural

Mary Giraudo Beck, Alaska Northwest Books, ISBN 0-88240-406-7

"Shaman and kushtaka! Both struck terror in the hearts of the Tlingit and Haida people, for both possessed frightening supernatural powers. The shaman, healer and seer battled the kushtaka for the spirit of a man in danger of drowning or dying of exposure." Those first few lines brought shivers down my spine. The aspect of a shaman, descending into an underworld, trying to find a "wound", healing it and coming back to tell his people the knowledge has been a focus for me, as I delve into myself and try to find the wounded parts of me. This book also brought, to me, the idea that there may be an advisary to the shaman. Someone who might try to thwart his effort. For me, this is a special book.

Native American Animal Stories

Told by Joesph Bruchac, Fulcrum Publishing, ISBN 1-55591-127-7

The only book I currently have that covers a wide spectrum of Indian stories. Stories from the Miwok to the Hopi to the Haida to the Cherokee. How did butterflies come be to? Why do coyotes have yellow eyes? Did you ever wonder how poison came into the world? You'll find those answers and more in this book.

Navajo Coyote Tales: The Curly Tó Aheedlíinii Version

Father Bernard Haile, O.F.M, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0-8032-7222-7

Being totally fascinated by the Trickster, I bought this book, which is the Coyote here. As Father Haile said: "He is perhaps the most versatile of all Navajo legendary and mythological characters - certainly the one whose versatility is most talked about". The Trickster is about us for education purposes. Which many of the tales in this book bring forth. And I would have to say that to see the stories written in Navajo was something else. I would write some of it here, but HTML doesn't seem to have to commands to put the accents under the vowels or lines through consonants like l.