Cherokee Myths

Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son, Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Dunbar-Ortiz adroitly challenges the founding myth of the United States and shows how policy against the Indigenous peoples was colonialist and designed to seize the territories of the original inhabitants, displacing or eliminating them. And as Dunbar-Ortiz reveals, this policy was praised in popular culture, through writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Walt Whitman, and in the highest offices of government and the military.

In Cherokee myth - as in other indigenous American traditions - the whole of creation is alive and able to communicate like humans and with the human beings who share their environment. Cherokee myths explain how the world came to be the way it is and imparts important lessons about Cherokee cultural values.

A Cherokee couple spends their days fishing and making cornmeal. When a giant dog steals their cornmeal, the neighbors all gather to help. Find out how this Cherokee legend explains the creation of the Milky Way.

For many generations, the Aniyunwiya (meaning the “real people” or “principal people”) lived in harmony with the land they inhabited. They worshipped their ancestors and believed that every living thing—people, animals, trees, and plants—had a spirit and an important place in the world.

Why are ravens black? Why do screech owl eyes look red in light? How did we get fire? You'll find the answers to those questions in this retelling of a Cherokee pourquoi folktale. The earth was cold and dark, but the animals could see fire coming from the tree on the island. They tried to fly or swim to the island to bring back the fire's heat and light. What happened to some of the animals? Which animal brought it back and how?

Un recuento de la leyenda Chéroqui que explica cómo conseguimos el fuego y por qué ciertos animales son como son.

The Mischievous Adventures of a Cherokee House Minder is a heartwarming tale set in the Cherokee Nation Reservation, Oklahoma. The story introduces Tayanita, one of the unseen Cherokee Little People, known for playfully guarding a Cherokee family's home.