Stories, Folklore, Legends, and Fiction
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Baker, Olaf. Where the Buffaloes Begin. NY: Federick Warne, 1981. Unpaged. Illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
This is a Great Plains Indian story. After hearing the legend retold by the tribe's oldest member, Little Wolf hopes to someday witness the beginning of the buffaloes at the sacred lake.
Baker, R. Ray. The Red Brother and Other Indian Stories. Ann Arbor, MI: George Wahr, 1925. 155 pages.
A fictional account of Chief Wawatan and Northern Michigan.
Balch, Glenn. Indian Saddle-Up. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1953. 210 pages. Illustrated by Robert Frankenberg.
"Here is the story of the most dramatic moment in the history of the American Indian, when an Indian mounted a horse for the first time and brought to his tribe and his people a whole new way of living."
Blos, Joan W. Brothers of the Heart: A Story of the Old Northwest, 1837-1838. NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985. 162 pages.
Fourteen-year-old Shem spends six months in the Michigan wilderness alone with a dying Indian woman, who helps him, not only to survive, but to mature to the point where he can return to his family and the difficulties of life as a cripple in a frontier village.
Bruchac, Joseph. Eagle Song. NY: Dial Books, 1997. 80 pages. Illustrated by Dan Adreasen.
Bruchac is Abmaki/Mohawk. "After moving from a Mohawk reservation to Brooklyn, New York, fourth grader Danny BigTree encounters stereotypes about his Native American heritage."
Bruchac, Joseph. The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story. NY: Dial Books, 1993. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Anna Vojtech.
A quarrel between the first man and the first woman is reconciled when the sun causes strawberries to grow out of the earth.
Bruchac, Joseph. Flying with the Eagle, Racing with the Great Bear: Stories from Native North America. Troll, 1993. 128 pages. Illustrator Muru Jacob.
Sixteen traditional tales associated with rites of passage from a variety of tribal nations.
Bruchac, Joseph. Fox Song. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1997. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Paul Morin.
"After the passing of her Indian great-grandmother, Jamie remembers the many special things the old woman shared with here about the natural world."
Bruchac, Joseph and Gayle Ross. The Girl who Married the Moon: Tales from Native North America. Bridgewater Books, 1994. 127 pages. Illustrated by S.S. Burris.
Sixteen Native American stories that celebrate the passage from girlhood to womanhood. Ross and Burris are Cherokee.
Bruchac, Joseph. Native American Animal Stories From Keepers of the Animals. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1992. 133 pages. Illustrated by John Kahiones Fadden and David Kanietakeron Fadden.
Twenty four stories which demonstrate the power of animals in Native American tradition. The illustrators are Mohawk.
Bruchac, Joseph. Native American Stories From Keepers of the Earth. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1991. 139 pages. Illustrated by John Kahionhes Fadden.
A collection of Native American tales and myths focusing on the relationship between man and nature.
Bruchac, Joseph. Native Plant Stories From Keepers of Life. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1995. 125 pages. Illustrated by John Kahionhes Fadden and David Kanietaheron Faddon.
These stories promote responsible stewardship toward all living things. With original illustrations by Mohawk artists these stories draw upon legends from 18 Native American tribes.
Bruchac, Joseph and Jonathan London. Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back: A Native American Year of Moons. NY: Philomel Books, 1992. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Thomas Locker.
Celebrates the seasons of the year through poems from the legends of such Native American tribes as the Cherokee, Cree, and Sioux.
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Caldwell, E. K. Bear: American Indian Legends. NY: Scholastic, 1996. 32 pages. Illustrated by Diana Magnuson.
Includes both factual information and Indian legends about North American bears. Caldwell is Tsalagi and Shawnee and European.
Chamberlin, Mrs. Alden. Whitewing: An Indian Story. Published by the author, 1911. 180 pages.
Fiction set in Michigan. Whitewing, an Indian woman, exerts a widespread Christian influence and marries a missionary in this story of early Michigan.
Clark, Ann Nolan. In My Mother's House. NY: Puffin Books, 1992. [1941]. 56 pages. Illustrated by Velino Herrera.
A young Tewa Indian describes the home, customs, work, and strong communal spirit of his people.
Coady, John P. The Legends and Story of the Michigan Indian. Cedar Springs, MI: Cedar Springs Historical Society, 1993. 114 pages.
Native American legends collected in the Mid-Michigan area by an educator.
Coatsworth, Emerson and David Coatsworth. The Adventures of Nanabush: Ojibway Indian Stories. NY: Atheneum, 1979. 85 pages. Illustrated by Francis Kagige.
"These stories, which have delighted generations of Ojibway and are told here by elders of the Rama Ojibway Band in Canada, will delight a wide new audience of young readers and storytellers."
Coleman, Sister Bernard, et. al. Ojibwa Myths and Legends. Minneapolis, MN: Ross and Haines, 1962. 135 pages. Drawings by Ruth Manley.
The stories in Ojibwa myths and legends express aboriginal social and religious beliefs and an aboriginal economy."
Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757. NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926. 370 pages. This edition illustrated by N.C. Wyeth.
Fiction set in the New York area.
Cory, David. Chippewa Trail. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1939. 143 pages.
A Sioux boy goes on a peace mission to the Chippewa of the Great Lakes region.
Cory, David. Little Indian. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1934. 128 pages
Adventures of a young Native American boy.
Cory, David. Lone Star. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1936. 128 pages.
A young Native American boy and his adventures.
Coryell, Hubert V. Indian Brother. NY: Harcourt, Brace, 1935. 348 pages.
"I dedicate this book to our pioneer ancestors who settled this land of New England and held it against the Indians by their stoutness of heart and their stubborn determination to make the wilderness their own. But I dedicate it equally to the Indians from whom our ancestors wrenched the land. They fought for their hunting grounds fiercely and cruelly, but they knew no other way."
Crook, Connie Brummel. Maple Moon. Toronto: Stoddard Kids, 1999. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Scott Cameron.
A young Missisagua boy discovers maple sap and his tribe discovers maple syrup.
Cross, Genevieve. Tommy and the Indians. NY: Cross Publications, 1950. 35 pages. Illustrated by Steven Vegh.
Near Fort Joseph, a small white boy is befriended by Chief Weesaw.
Curry, Jane Louise. Turtle Island: Tales from the Algonquin Nations. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1999. 145 pages. Illustrated by James Watt.
A collection of 27 tales from different tribes that are part of the Algonquin peoples who lived from the Middle Atlantic states and up through eastern Canada.
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De Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas. NY: Putnam & Grosset, 1996. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
A retelling of the Comanche Indian legend of how a little girl's sacrifice brought the flower called bluebonnet to Texas.
De Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Indian Paint Brush. NY: Putnam & Grosset Group, 1988. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
"Little Gopher follows his destiny, as revealed in a dream-vision, of becoming an artist for his people and eventually is able to bring the colors of the sunset to the earth."
Dolch, Edward W. and Marquerite P. Dolch. Wigwam Stories in Basic Vocabulary. Champaign, IL: Garrard Publishing, 1956. 165 pages. Illustrated by Robert S. Kerr.
"This collection of Forest Indian tales contains stories from tribes which extended from New York across the country to Wisconsin. This book is called wigwam stories because the lodges of these tribes were generally called wigwams. The stories are typical of the great mass of folklore of the forests and give an idea of the thinking of these forest peoples."
Dominic, Gloria. Song of the Hermit Thrush: An Iroquois Legend. [n.p.] Troll, 1996. 47 pages. Illustrated by Charles Reasoner.
The animals and birds of the forest hold a contest to choose which will sing a song to greet the day.
Donaldson, Ellen Miller. Little Papoose Listens. Springfield, MA: McLoughlin Bros., 1934. 112 pages. Illustrated by Heldegard Lupprian.
"Touched with the magic wand of Indian fancy and written in poetic style in keeping with their character, these legends of the Navajos have endless charm."
Ellis, Edward S. The Daughter of the Chieftain: The Story of an Indian Girl. NY: McLoughlin, [1908]. 120 pages.
Delaware Indian fiction set in Pennsylvania with a Christian flavor.
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Fernald, Helen Clark. The Shadow of the Crooked Tree. NY: David McKay, 1965. 244 pages.
"The theme is Louisa's coming to love the backwoods country, coming to understand the people, particularly the Indians, and being won over to stay on." Fiction set in Michigan.
Fox, Francis Margaret. The Magic Canoe: A Frontier Story of the American Revolution. Chicago: Albert Whitman Co., 1939. 271 pages. Illustrated by Matilda Breuer.
Set in Revolutionary War times, this is the story of two children Indian captives in the Great Lakes area.
Fox, Mary Virginia. Ambush at Fort Dearborn. NY: St. Martin's Press, 1962. 123 pages. Illustrated by Lorence Bjorklund.
Tamrak, a Potawatomi boy, and Tom become friends when both are captured by the Senecas.
Fuller, Iola. Loon Feather. NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1940.
Fiction set at Mackinac. Oneta, daughter of Tecumseh and stepdaughter of a French trader, must choose between her two worlds.
Fuller, Iola. The Shining Trail. NY: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1943. 442 pages.
"The incidents in this novel leading up to and following through the Black Hawk War are based on historical fact."
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George, Jean. Julie of the Wolves. NY: Harper & Row, 1972. 170 pages. Illustrated by John Schoenherr.
A young Eskimo girl survives alone with the help of a wolf pack.
Goble, Paul. Buffalo Woman. NY: Macmillan, 1986. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
The story of Buffalo Woman comes from the tribes who followed the buffalo herds on the Great Plains.
Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. Scarsdale, NY: Bradbury Press, 1978. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
"Although she is fond of her people, a girl prefers to live among the wild horses where she is truly happy and free."
Goble, Paul. Iktomi and the Boulder: A Plains Indian Story. NY: Orchard Books, 1988. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
Itkomi, a Plains Indian trickster, attempts to defeat a boulder with the assistance of some bats, in this story which explains why the Great Plains are covered with small stones.
Golden, Barbara Diamond. The Girl Who Lived with the Bears. San Diego: Gulliver Books, 1997. Unpaged picture book. Illustrator: Andrew Plewes.
Pacific Northwest Indian tale of the relationship between humans and animals.
Greene, Jacqueline Dunbar. Manabozho's Gifts: Three Chippewa Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. 42 pages. Illustrated by Jennifer Hewitson.
Three Chippewa legends featuring the mythical hero Manabozho, who introduces fire and wild rice to his people and saves the rose from extinction.
Grey Owl. Sajo and the Beaver People. NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. 187 pages. With sketches by the author.
The author writes, "It is my hope that, besides providing an hour or two of entertainment, this simple story of two Indian children and their well-loved animal friends may awaken in some eager, inquiring young minds a clearer and more intimate understanding of the joys and the sorrows, the work, the pastimes and the daily lives of the humble little people of the forest."
Gridley, Marion E. Indian Legends of American Scenes. Chicago: M.A. Donohue, 1939. 127 pages.
"The legends of the Indian are the true folklore of America. Those that pertain to the scenic spots of the country are certainly essentially American. The stories reflect with clearness their thoughts and lives, and in the beauty and dignity of these traditions the spiritual side of the Indian nation is richly portrayed."
Gringhuis, Dirk. Lore of the Great Turtle: Indian Legends of Mackinac Retold. Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac Island State Park Commission, 1970. 89 pages. Illustrated by the author.
Nineteen stories of Mackinac.
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Hagner, Dorothy Childs. Navajo Winter Nights: Folk Tales and Myths of the Navajo People. NY: E.M. Hale, 1938. 180 pages. Illustrated by Nils Hagner.
Based on authentic Navajo stories but edited by the author.
Hale, Anna W. Mystery on Mackinac Island. Tucson, AZ: Harbinger House, 1989. 183 pages. Illustrated by Lois McLane.
Thirteen year old Hunter Martineau, an Ottawa Indian, and his tourist friends, Rusty and Fancy, investigate the mystery of stolen bicycles on Mackinac Island.
Heming, Arthur. Spirit Lake. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1907. 335 pages. With illustrations by the author.
Fiction featuring the Ojibway/Saulteaux of Canada.
Holling, Holling Clancy. Claws of the Thunderbird: A Tale of Three Lost Indians. Joliet: P.F. Volland, 1928. 128 pages. Illustrated by the author.
A story of the Chippewa around the Great Lakes.
Holling, Holling Clancy. Paddle-to-the-Sea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1941. Unpaged. Illustrated by the author.
An Indian boy made a toy canoe which he sent on a journey which took it from his cabin near Lake Nipigon through the Great Lakes to the Ocean.
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Jenks, Albert. The Childhood of Ji-Shib, the Ojibwa and Sixty-four Pen Sketches. Madison, WI: American Thresherman, 1900. 130 pages.
Fictional account of a young Ojibwa boy's childhood.
Johnston, Basil. Mermaids and Medicine Women: Native Myths and Legends. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1998. 79 pages. Illustrated by Maxine Noel.
"Authentic voices of the elders preserved" by Johnston who is of Cape Croker First Nation and Noel who is of the Birdtail Sioux.
Johnston, Basil and Jonas George. The Star Man and Other Tales. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1997. 62 pages. Illustrated by Ken Syrette.
Nine Ojibway stories told and illustrated by Ojiway authors and artist.
Johnston, Basil. Tales of the Anishinaubaek. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1993. 79 pages. Illustrated by Maxine Noel.
Nine stories of the Ojibwa retold by an Ojibwa author and illustrated by a Sioux artist.
Johnston, Basil. Tales the Elders Told: Ojibway Legends. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1981. 64 pages. Illustrated by Shirley Cheechoo.
Nine Ojibway stories told by an Ojibway author.
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Kerle, Arthur G. Whispering Trees: A Tale of Michigamaw. St. Cloud: MN: North Star Press, 1971. 208 pages.
Johnny Shawno, an Ojibway man, is caught in cultural changes but he wants none of them.
Lange, Dietrich. The Gold Rock of the Chippewa. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1925. 272 pages.
Set in 1775 around Lake Superior among the Chippewa.
Lange, Dietrich. The Silver Island of the Chippewa. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1913. 246 pages. Illustrated by Stanley L. Wood.
"A tale playing on the lakes, streams, and islands, and in the forests of the Chippewas, who in the days gone by, fought many a battle with their hereditary enemies, the Sioux, but did not join the Sioux in their desperate struggles against the whites."
Larned, W. T. American Indian Fairy Tales. NY: Wise-Parslow, 1935. 96 pages. Illustrated by John Rae.
"With one exception, all the tales in this book are adapted from the legends collected by Henry R. Schoolcraft in 'Algic Researches'."
Larry, Charles. Peboan and Seegwun. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1993. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
An encounter between Peboan, Old Man Winter, and Seegwun, the Spirit of Spring, marks the transition from one season to another.
Leekley, Thomas B. The World of Manabozho: Tales of Chippewa Indians. NY: Vanguard Press, 1965. 128 pages. Illustrated by Yeffe Kimball.
"I set out to make them interesting to American boys and girls generally. In so doing I had to rearrange and edit them, because, told the way the Indians tell them, they seem more like story material than finished stories."
Legendary Lore of the Northern Lake Country compiled by the Tenth Grade Composition Class of the Elk Rapids High School, Elk Rapids, Michigan. 1925-1926. 76 pages
A compilation of stories from various sources including interviews, newspapers, and books.
Lelooska, Chief. Spirit of the Cedar People: More Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska. NY: DK Publishing, 1998. Edited by Christine Normandin. 38 pages.
Five tales of the Northwest Coast Indians of a time long ago when spirits and animals dwelled in a shadowy world full of magic.
London, Jonathan and Lanny Pinola. Fire Race: A Karuk Coyote Tale about how Fire Came to the People. San Francisco: Chronicle Book, 1993. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Sylvia Long.
With the help of other animals, Wise Old Coyote manages to acquire fire from the wicked Yellow Jacket sisters.
Locker, Thomas. The Land of Gray Wolf. NY: Penguin Books, 1991. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
"The forests and fields of long-ago America provided food and shelter for the native tribes who nurtured them. But then white settlers arrived and claimed the land, cutting the dense forests for timber and depleting the fertile soil by over farming. Here is a compelling portrayal of one small tribe's efforts to save their land and themselves from destruction."
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Magoon, Marian W. Ojibway Drums. NY: Longmans, Green & Co., 1955. 146 pages. Illustrated by Larry Toschik.
Two Ojibway boy's adventures on Birch Island in Georgian Bay.
Malory, Lois. Swift Thunder of the Prairie: An American Adventure. NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1942.
"This is a story of buffalo and buffalo hunters and of the white man and his railroad."
Manitawauba. Cheboygan, MI: Cheboygan Daily Tribune, 1970. 18 pages.
Fiction written by 7th graders about Manitawauba, a real Native American of the Cheboygan area.
Mathews, Cornelius. The Indian Fairy Book: From the Original Legends. NY: Leavitt & Allen, 1868. 338 pages. Illustrated by John McLenan.
These stories are taken from Schoolcraft's work and reinterpreted.
Martin, Rafe. The Rough-Face Girl. NY: G.P. Putnam's, 1992. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by David Shannon.
"In this Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-faced girl and her two beautiful but heartless sisters compete for the affections of the Invisible Being."
Mayo, Gretchen Will. North American Indian Stories: More Earthmaker's Tales. NY: Walker, 1990. 48 pages. Illustrated by the author.
A collection of Indian legends from several tribes about earthquakes, snow, fog, and other natural phenomena.
Mayo, Gretchen Will. North American Indian Stories: More Star Tales. NY: Walker, 1990. 42 pages. Illustrated by the author.
A collection of Indian legends about the stars, moon, and nighttime sky.
Mayo, Gretchen Will. Star Tales: North American Indian Stories. NY: Walker, 1990. 50 pages. Illustrated by the author.
A collection of Indian legends about the stars, moon, and nighttime sky.
McDermott, Gerald. Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale. NY: Viking Press, 1974. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
An adaption of the Pueblo Indian myth explains how the spirit of the Lord of the Sun was brought to the world of men.
McDermott, Gerald. Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, 1993. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by the author.
Raven, A Pacific Coast trickster, sets out to find the sun.
McGuire, Frances. Indian Drums Beat Again. NY: E.P. Dutton, 1953. 123 pages. Illustrated by John Polgreen.
A young Indian boy and a white boy become friends on Mackinac Island.
Menunqua. Medicine Bear. [n.p.]: Thunder Bay Press, 1996. 72 pages.
"Medicine Bear brings the ancient world of the Native American to life. Following the seasonal migrations and rites of passage of the Odawa and Cheyenne tribes, it reveals the traditional and spiritual stories that make up the substance of a people through the adventures of Medicine Bear and his brave friend, Young Eagle, as they grow to adulthood."
Mitchell, A. Templeton. The Indians and the Oki: A Story of Old France in the New World. Chicago: Row, Peterson, 1925. 282 pages.
An Indian boy and a French boy share adventures on the Great Lakes frontier.
Moon, Grace. Chi-Wee'; The Adventures of a Little Indian Girl. Garden City, NY: Doubeday, Doran, 1928. 239 pages. Illustrated by Carl Moon.
An Indian girl from the Pueblo, her home and her work are portrayed in this book.
Morriseau, Norval. Legends of My People, the Great Ojibway. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1965. 130 pages. Illustrated by the author.
Morriseau is Ojibwa. "The author tells of the beliefs, tales and legends up to present day of the great Ojibway nation of Lake Nipigon and the Thunder Bay District."
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Newell, Cicero. Indian Stories. Boston: Silver, Burdett, 1912. 187 pages.
These are Dakota Indian stories. "I give the stories as they were told to me by old men who knew and loved the old-time ways, and who wanted to give me the real facts because they saw that I respected their customs and believed in them. In these stories I share with the boys and girls of to-day my recollections."
Neitzel, Shirley. From the Land of the White Birch. Spring Lake, MI: River Road Publications, 1997. 30 pages. Illustrated by Daniel Powers.
Three Ojibwa legends illustrated by an Ojibwa artist.
Norman, Howard. Trickster and the Fainting Birds. San Diego: Gulliver Books, 1999. 82 pages. Illustrated by Tom Pohrt.
A collection of seven Cree and Chippewa trickster tales.
Oldenburg, E. William. Potawatomi Indian Summer. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1975. 134 pages. Illustrated by Betty Beeby.
Six children find themselves transported back several centuries to a time in which the forests around their house were inhabited by Potawatomi Indians.
Osofsky, Audrey. Dream Catcher. NY: Orchard Books, 1992. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Ed Young.
"In the land of the Ojibwa a baby sleeps, protected from bad dreams, as the life of the tribe goes on around him."
Otto, Simon. Ah-soo-cah-nah-nah. Talking Leaves Publishing, 1977. 61 pages.
Otto, an Ottawa/Ojibwa from Michigan "is striving to pass on what he knows and had heard to the younger ones of the tribe, so that they can carry on the traditions."
Otto, Simon. Walk in Peace: Legends and Stories of Michigan Indians. Grand Rapids, MI: Michigan Indian Press, 1990. 50 pages. Illustrated by Kayle Crampton.
Otto is Ojibway/Odawa. "These legends and stories have come from my own memories."
Oughton, Jerrie. Music From a Place Called Half Moon. NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1997. 160 pages.
"The summer Edie Jo meets Cherokee Fish is the summer her whole world changes. Her town is astir with anti-Native American tension, and it seems that her father is the only person in all of North Carolina who believes in integration. Thirteen year old Edie Jo isn't even sure how she feels, and the entrance of the mysterious Cherokee Fish confuses her even more."
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Panagopoulos, Janie Lynn. Little Ship Under Full Sail: An Adventure in History. Spring Lake, MI: River Road Publications, 1997. 146 pages.
"When her grandchildren arrive at her home, Grandmother Kinzie tells them the story of their great-grandmother's capture by the Seneca Indians in 1779."
Parker, Arthur C. [Gawaso Wanneh] Red Streak of the Iroquois. Chicago: Children's Press, 1950. 191 pages. Illustrated by I. Heilbren.
Parker is Seneca. "The story of an Indian boy in the time of Hiawatha."
Parrish, Peggy. Good Hunting, Blue Sky: An I Can Read Book. [n.p.]: Harper Trophy, 1991. 64 pages. Illustrated by James Watts.
"Blue Sky is on his first hunt. He sees turkey and a deer and even a giant bear. Blue Sky is a clever hunter. But can he catch the meat before the meat catches him?"
Phillips, W. S. Indian Tales for Little Folks. NY: Platt & Nourse, 1914. 80 pages. Illustrated by the author.
Stories from Indians west of the Missouri River. "Every story in this book is a genuine Indian story, told in English as nearly as possible as the Indian would tell it."
Rasmussen, Knud. The Eagle's Gift: Alaska Eskimo Tales. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Duran, 1932. 235 pages. Illustrated by Ernst Hansen.
"The tales were taken down in Eskimo at the story teller's dictation, and I have always, in their transition to a modern speech, honestly striven to spoil nothing of the fine, poetic tone, and the artless vigor which is so characteristic of the primitive spirit and which forms the very pith of the tales."
Reed, Earl H. The Silver Arrow, and Other Indian Romances of the Dune Country. Chicago: Reilly & Lee, 1926. Illustrated by the author.
"The author has tried to interpret part of the spirit and romance of the Indian life in dune country along the shores of Lake Michigan and the region immediately surrounding it."
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San Souci, Robert. Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story. NY: Doubleday, 1994. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Daniel San Souci.
Although she is mocked by her two older sisters, an Indian maiden wins a mighty invisible warrior for her husband with her kind and honest heart.
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. The Fire Plume: Legends of the American Indians. Collected by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Edited by John Bierhorst. NY: Dial, 1969. Illustrated by Alan E. Cohen.
These stories were collected by Schoolcraft during his travels through the Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes region.
Schwarz, Herbert T. Windigo, and other Tales of the Ojibways. Toronto: Mcclelland & Stewart, 1969. 40 pages. Illustrated by Norval Morrisseau.
Morisseau is Ojibway. Eight legends of the Ojibway, illustrated in the traditional style of the tribe with two-colour drawings.
Smith, Laura Rountree. Fifty Indian Legends: Stories of Curious Ways of Indian Days. Chicago: Albert Whitman Co., 1924. 128 pages. Illustrated by Mae H. Scannell.
As told by Peter Pale-Face.
Sproul, Gloria. Mishe-Mokwa and the Legend of Sleeping Bear. Greenwich, CN: Mishe-Mokwa Publications, 1979. Illustrated by Nancy Behnken.
Story based on an old Indian folk tale.
Steptoe, John. The Story of Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend. NY: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1984. Unpaged picture book.
"The gifts of Magic Frog and his own hopeful and unselfish spirit bring Jumping Frog to the Far-off Land where no mouse goes hungry. Great Plains Indians legend.
Taylor, C. J. Little Water and the Gift of the Animals: A Seneca Legend. Montreal: Tundra Books, 1992. Unpaged picture book.
"Legend of Little Water illustrates the high regard held by Native Americans for the natural world around them. Not only did they rely on certain animals for food, clothing and shelter but for their medicines as well."
Taylor, C. J. The Messenger of Spring. Toronto: Tundra Books, 1997. Unpaged picture book.
An Ojibwa folktale which tells of the coming of spring.
Taylor, Frances Lilian. Two Indian Children of Long Ago. Chicago: Beckeey-Cardy Company, 1920. 159 pages. Illustrated by L. Kate Deal.
"The author has endeavored to describe child life in the Wild Rice region west of the Great Lakes, and to retell some of the most interesting stories enjoyed by Indian children."
Toye, William. The Loon's Necklace. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1977. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Elizabeth Cleaver.
According to Tsimshian legend, when an old man's sight was restored by Loon, he gave the bird his precious shell necklace as a reward.
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Van Loan, Nancy. Shingebiss: An Ojibwe Legend. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Unpaged picture book. Woodcuts by Betsy Bowen.
Shingebiss the duck bravely challenges the Winter Maker and manages to find enough food to survive a long, harsh winter.
Villeneuve, Jocelyne. Nanna Bijou: The Sleeping Giant. Waterloo, ON: Penunbra Press, 1990. 46 pages.
"Children and grown-ups alike never tire of listening to the story of Nanna Bijou, the giant who sleeps in Lake Superior at the mouth of Thunder Bay."
Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. Firedancers. Toronto: Stoddard Kids, 1999. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by C. J. Taylor.
Waboose is Ojibwa and Taylor is a Mohawk. "An Ojibway child is unclear about the mysterious purpose of her grandmother's night visit to Smooth Rock Island. As she watches and finally joins in the old woman's ceremonial dance, a powerful link with her ancestors is made."
Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. Morning on the Lake. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1997. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Karen Reczuch.
Waboose is Ojibwa. Three linked stories of an Ojibway grandfather and grandson exploring their world.
Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. Skysisters. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2000. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Brian Deines.
Waboose is Ojibwa. "After an walk and patient waiting two sisters are rewarded by the arrival of the Sky-Spirits - the Northern Lights - dancing and shimmering in the sky."
Wade, Mary Hazelton. Our Little Indian Cousin. Boston: L.C. Page, 1901. 83 pages. Illustrated by L. J. Bridgman.
Part of "Our Little Cousin" series. "There were then no roads, no cities, no stores or factories in all this vast continent, and yet our red cousins were freer and happier than they can ever hope to be again."
Wah-be-gwo-nese. Ojibwa Indian Legends. Marquette, MI: Northern Michigan University Press, 1972. 20 pages. Illustrated by Charles Poterbowski.
An Ojibwa author retells two Schoolcraft stories for children.
Walker, Louise Jean. Legends of Green Sky Hill. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1959. 204 pages. Illustrated by Grace Hoyt.
A collection of Chippewa legends for the enjoyment of both juveniles and adults.
Wargin, Kathy-jo. The Legend of Mackinac Island. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 1999. Illustrator: Gijsbert van-Frankenhuyzen. Unpaged picture book.
Retells the story of the great turtle Mackinauk that enlists the aid of other animals to help create Mackinac Island.
Wargin, Kathy-jo. The Legend of Sleeping Bear. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 1998. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Gijsbert Van Frankenhuyzen.
A mother bear and her two cubs must escape a forest fire in Wisconsin. As they struggle to make the journey across Lake Michigan, the loyalty they show one another is heartwarming and powerful.
Webster, Elizabeth. Red Wing's White Brother: A Real Story of a Michigan Boy and his Life with the Chippewas. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1956. 64 pages.
In 1814 a young boy spends the winter as an Indian captive.
Whelan, Gloria. The Indian School. NY: Harper Collins, 1996. 89 pages. Illustrated by Gabriela Dellosso.
"In 1839, newly orphaned eleven-year-old Lucy goes to live with her missionary aunt and uncle who run a school for Indian children in Northern Michigan."
Whelan, Gloria. Next Spring an Oriole. NY: Random House, 1987. 60 pages. Illustrated by Pamela Johnson.
"In 1837 ten-year-old Libby and her parents journey by covered wagon to the Michigan frontier, where they make themselves a new home near friendly Indians and other pioneers."
Whelan, Gloria. Night of the Full Moon. NY: Random House, 1993. 63 pages. Illustrated by Leslie Bowman.
In 1840 Libby is inadvertently caught up in the forced evacuation of a group of Potawatomi Indians from their tribal lands.
Whelan, Gloria. The Shadow of the Wolf. NY: Random House, 1997. 79 pages. Illustrated by Tony Meers.
"In 1841 thirteen-year-old Libby and her family begin a new life on the shores of Lake Michigan, where her father works as a surveyor for the Ottawa Indians and Libby is reunited with her Indian friend Fawn."
Wood, Douglas. The Windigo's Return: A North Woods Story. NY: Simon and Schuster, 1996. Unpaged picture book. Illustrated by Greg Couch.
Retelling of an Ojibwe legend.
Wright, Robert H. Legends of the Chippewas. Munising, MI: Wright Printing Co., 1927. Unpaged.
"Believing that the legendary lore of the once great Chippewa Nation should be preserved, the writer made up this small collection of mythical stories relating to the exploits of the Indian demi-Gods, about the region of the Pictured Rocks and the south shore of Lake Superior."
Yellow Robe, Rosebud. Tonweya and the Eagles and Other Lakota Indian Tales. NY: Dial Books, 1979. 118 pages. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
"A collection of animal tales first told by the Plains Indians, interwoven with factual information about the Lakota people." Told by a Lakota author.
Young, Egerton R. Algonquin Indian Tales. NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1903. 258 pages.
Collected by Young over 30 years and retold by him.