NewsForNatives.com

Here is an interesting article on the making “Zeezibahkwat” or Maple Syrup

also called “Ziinzibaakwad” and “Sinzibukwud”

I have been to the end of the earth.
I have been to the end of the waters.
I have been to the end of the sky.
I have been to the end of the mountains.
I have found none that are not my friends.
—Navajo proverb

Native American Ceremonies

Ceremony plays a vital, essential role in Native American religions. Whereas western religions typically consider ceremony the servant of theology, Native American religions barely recognize the distinction between myth and ritual.Often the ritual proves to be established and secure while the myth is vague and unclear. Indian ceremonies grew up within local groups; […]

Gods, Goddesses, Religions & Beliefs of the Native Americans

Native Beliefs share some common tendencies. Religion tends to be closely related to the natural world. The local terrain is elevated with supernatural meaning, and natural objects are imbued with sacred presences. Ceremonial rituals involving these supernatural-natural objects are meant to ensure communal and individual prosperity. These common […]

~ The Last Warrior ~ 
 
High on bleak, stony rag,
Unmoving, he sits astride
His ragged coated pony.
Only telltale frozen breaths,
Separate them from
The still, winter black boles
Of ancient leafless trees.
The pony, blown and lame,
Stands with lowered head,
Ears flattened to the sound
Of a distant wolf pack.
The man on his back,
All weapons lost,
Ignores the trickling blood
From savage wounds,
Mingling his war paint.
Eyes […]

Often, around the fire in the long house of the Iroquois, during the Moon of the Long Nights, this tale is told.
Three Arrows was a boy of the Mohawk tribe. Although he had not yet seen fourteen winters he was already known among the Iroquois for his skill and daring. His arrows sped true to […]

As Told By Glenn Welker  
Long, long ago, the Hopis were greatly troubled by the wind. It blew and blew and blew and blew–all the time. The Hopis planted their crops, but before the seeds could begin to sprout, the wind blew the soil and seeds away. Unhappy and worried, all the people made prayer offerings […]

Long, long ago, animals and trees talked with each other, but there was no fire at that time.Fox was most clever and he tried to think of a way to create fire for the world. One day, he decided to visit the Geese, te-tl, whose cry he wished to learn how to imitate. They promised […]

Apache, The Story of Creation

In the beginning nothing existed–no earth, no sky, no sun, no moon, only darkness was everywhere.
Suddenly from the darkness emerged a thin disc, one side yellow and the other side white, appearing suspended in midair. Within the disc sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives Above. As if […]

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Traditional Blackfoot story of How the Buffalo Dance was given to the people.
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When the buffalo first came to be upon the land, they were not friendly to the people. When the hunters tried to coax them over the cliffs for the good of the villages, they were reluctant to offer themselves up. They did not […]

Apache: How the Buffalo Were Released on Earth
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In the first days a powerful being named Humpback owned all the buffalo. He kept them in a corral in the mountains north of San Juan, where he lived with his young son. Not one buffalo would Humpback release for the people on earth, nor would he share […]

Once upon a time, when the Field-Mouse was out
gathering wild beans for the winter, his neighbor, the
Buffalo, came down to graze in the meadow. This the
little Mouse did not like, for he knew that the other
would mow down all the long grass with his prickly
tongue, and there would be no place in which to hide.
He […]

Why Opossum has a Pouch

(Koasati Tribe)
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
One evening, Opossum was playing in a field with her babies when Big Bat came swooping down and grabbed all of the little ones and carried them away. Opossum shouted and begged for Bat to bring her babies back to her, but he would not. Bat put […]

Windigo

Ojibwa First Nation
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
The storm lasted so long that they thought they would starve. Finally, when the wind and swirling snow had died away to just a memory, the father, who was a brave warrior, ventured outside. The next storm was already on the horizon, but if food was not found soon, the […]

Crow Brings the Daylight

An Inuit Myth
retold by
S. E. Schlosser

Long, long ago, when the world was still new, the Inuit lived in darkness in their home in the fastness of the north. They had never heard of daylight, and when it was first explained to them by Crow, who traveled back and forth between the northlands […]

Coyote and Wishpoosh
(Chinook)
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
Now Wishpoosh the monster beaver lived in the beautiful Lake Cle-el-lum which was full of fish. Every day, the animal people would come to the lake, wanting to catch some fish, but Wishpoosh the giant beaver drove them away with many threats and great splashing. If they refused to leave, […]

Coyote and the Columbia
(Sahaptin/Salishan Tribes)
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
One day, Coyote was walking along. The sun was shining brightly, and Coyote felt very hot.
“I would like a cloud,” Coyote said.
So a cloud came and made some shade for Coyote. Coyote was not satisfied.
“I would like more clouds,” he said. More clouds came along, and the sky […]

The Bloody Knife
(Micmac)
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
Many and many a year ago, two Micmac warriors from rival villages got into a terrible argument. Harsh words were exchanged, and then knives were pulled. The warriors battled back and forth on the banks of a small creek. They fought with the ferocity of grizzlies, tearing at each other […]

Attack of the Mammoth

Kaska First Nation
retold by S. E. Schlosser
The man and his family were constantly on the moving, hunting for beaver. They traveled from lake to lake, stream to stream, never staying any place long enough for it to become a home. The woman sometimes silently wished that they would find a village and […]