legends

Nokomis and the spider: the story of the dreamcatcher

Picture of Ojibwe dreamcatcher

“I spent over 10 years traveling to Native American pow wows across the United States, visiting a different reservation almost every week. Dreamcatchers were everywhere, from grandmother-made heirlooms to commercial versions sold at gift shops. Understanding the difference matters. This article tells the real story.” — Raven SiJohn, AAANativeArts.com (Est. 1999) The dreamcatcher comes from the Ojibwe people, one of the largest Native American nations in North America, and the story behind it is more beautiful than most people realize.…

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Native American Vampire Stories

Native /american vampires canvas fine art print

There are no Native American vampire stories that display the distinctive characteristics of European vampires (associated with bats, unable to withstand sunlight, killed by a stake through the heart, casting no shadow or reflection, weaknesses to garlic and running water, or the ability to turn their victims into another vampire by biting them.) There is nothing equivalent to that in traditional Native American folklore. But there are plenty of monsters that do have some similarity with vampires.Continue to Native American…

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Seven Fires Prophesy of the Anishinabe (Ojibwa/Ojibwe)

Seven prophets came to the Anishinabe. They came at a time when the people were living a full and peaceful life on the North Eastern coast of North America. These prophets left the people with seven predictions of what the future would bring. Each of the prophecies was called a fire and each fire referred to a particular era of time that would come in the future. Thus, the teachings of the seven prophets are now called the “Seven Fires.”Continue…

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