"A long-needed study of the creation stories and legends of the Creek Indian people and their neighbors...including the influential Yuchi legends and Choctaw myths as well as those of the Hitchiti, Alabama, and Muskogee." -Charles R. McNeil, Msueum of Florida History, Tallahassee The creation stories, myths, and migration legends of the Creek Indians who once populated southeastern North America are centuries--if not millennia--old. For the first time, an extensive collection of all known versions of these stories has been compiled from the reports of early ethnographers, sociologists, and missionaries, obscure academic journals, travelers' accounts, and from Creek and Yuchi people living today. The Creek Confederacy originated as a political alliance of people from multiple cultural backgrounds, and many of the traditions, rituals, beliefs, and myths of the culturally differing social groups became communal property. Bill Grantham explores the unique mythological and religious contributions of each subgroup to the social entity that historically became known as the Creek Indians. Within each topical chapter, the stories are organized by language group following Swanton's classification of southeastern tribes: Uchean (Yuchi), Hitchiti, Alabama, Muskogee, and Choctaw--a format that allows the reader to compare the myths and legends and to retrieve information from them easily. A final chapter on contemporary Creek myths and legends includes previously unpublished modern versions. A glossary and phonetic guide to the pronunciation of native words and a historical and biographical account of the collectors of the stories and their sources are provided. Bill Grantham, associate professor of anthropology at Troy State University in Alabama, is anthropological consultant to the Florida Tribe of Eastern Creeks. He has contributed chapters to several books, including The Symbolic Role of Animals in Archaeology.

Though he died at the age of thirty-four, the Muscogee (Creek) poet, journalist, and humorist Alexander Posey (1873-1908) was one of the most prolific and influential American Indian writers of his time. This volume of nine stories, five orations, and nine works of oral tradition is the first to collect these entertaining and important works of Muscogee literature. Many of Posey's stories reflect trickster themes; his orations demonstrate both his rhetorical prowess and his political stance as a "Progressive" Muscogee; and his works of oral tradition reveal his deep cultural roots. Most of these pieces, which first appeared between 1892 and 1907 in Indian Territory newspapers and magazines, have since become rarities, many of the original pieces surviving only as single clippings in a few archives.

Sixty-one tales narrated by Yaquis reflect this people's sense of the sacred and material value of their territory.

126 myths: sacred stories, animal myths, local legends, many more. Plus background on Cherokee history, notes on the myths and parallels. Features 20 maps and illustrations.

This vintage book contains a comprehensive guide to the myths and legends of the Great Plains of America. From the creation of the world to the origin of the buffalo, this volume covers all aspects of the Plains Indians' beliefs, complete with examples of authentic works of art, songs, stories, and more. This volume is highly recommended for those with an interest in culture of the native Americans, and it would make for a worthy addition to allied collections. Contents include: "The Creation", "How the World was Made", "The Flood and the Rainbow", "The First Fire", "The Ancestors of People", "Origin of Strawberries", "Sacred Legend", "The Legend of the Peace Pipes", "A Tradition of the Calumet", "The Sacred Pole", "Ikto and the Thunders", "The Thunder Bird", "The Thunder Bird" et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction.