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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Tribal Legends: Hunting Beliefs and Lore of Native Americans
A majority of North American tribes hold on to a belief that everything has a spirit, which plays into their view of hunting, as well.
By Susan Hedrick-Chaffin
A single belief has lasted from the unwritten past to the present, and a majority of North American tribes still hold on to it: There is nothing that can be seen or touched, animate or inanimate, that does not have a spirit.
That belief has played into the Native American view of hunting, as well. Read how various tribes and native people brought their spirituality to the great outdoors.
The Inuit
Archeologists accept the first people to inhabit North America were hunters who traveled across the Bering Straits from Russia about 25,000 years ago. The Inuit live on the land first touched by those crossing the ice.
When taking an animal’s life, both on land and in the sea, Inuit believe a complex orderliness must be followed. Rituals and ceremonies are performed prior to and immediately after hunting parties strike out.
There are many Keepers for land mammals, one for each species.
The underwater goddess Sedna rules the sea mammals. She watches to see the order is followed and releases her animals appropriately.
Some of the taboos that cannot be violated include not eating seal and caribou meat on the same day nor sewing caribou-skin when sea mammals are being hunted.
Plains Indians
A “buffalo dance” is performed before the hunt, both in the hope the Great Spirit would show the hunters to the herd and ensure the hunters’ safety. During the hunt, only the number of bison needed to survive are killed; harvesting more would be disrespectful to the Great Spirit and the buffalo. The heart of the bison is placed back on the Plains, where the animal was killed, to give new life to the herd. After the hunt, they again perform the buffalo dance to show respect for the animals and the Great Spirit, and guarantee successful future hunts.
Oglala Lakota (Sioux)
Camped near Fort Robinson, Neb., legendary medicine man Black Elk hunted deer with his father. While walking, Black Elk felt the “whistle of the spotted eagle.” He told his father they should stop hunting because the deer would be brought to them. Indeed this happened, and his father killed two deer. This underscored the Lakota belief that game would always come to the hunters.
Cherokee
These natives of the Eastern Woodlands believe in Kana’ti, the Lucky Hunter, who is Keeper of the Game. He is sometimes known as the First Man and is married to Selu, Grandmother Corn. They are the parents of The Twin Thunder Boys, who created trouble for their parents.
One legend has the boys sneaking after their father as he went to the cave where he kept the game of the world. After they watched him roll back the rock to the cave, they ran home to fashion bows and arrows, which they took to the cave the next day. They removed the rock to allow one deer out, but they forgot to replace it, and the deer was quickly followed by others. Several ran out of the cave before they remembered to aim at the first deer. When the arrow left the boy’s bows it landed on the tail of the deer, which stood up straight. They thought this so funny they shot another deer as it streaked by, and hit the tail so hard it curled over the deer’s back. Since that time, most deer tails curl at the end.
All of the deer left the cave, followed by the other four footed animals, then turkey, partridges and other winged creatures. There were so many birds, the skies turned dark as they flew. Kana’ti knew it must have been the work of his boys, and went to the cave immediately. After setting stinging insects upon the pair, he said, “You have always had plenty to eat without working for it … from now on when you are hungry, you will have to hunt throughout the woods … and then not find enough game.”
Zuni
The Zuni, known in the Southwest as Ashiwi, believe in animal talisman, or fetishes, which assist them in their daily lives. Simple carvings of wood, stone, antler, bone or shell that represent animals or natural forces become fetishes when they are imbued with a power of nature. The full meaning of each fetish is complex and known only to members of the Medicine Societies. A hunter chooses a fetish based on his prey: a mountain lion for buffalo, elk and deer; a coyote for mountain sheep; and a wolf for antelope. Placing the fetish near his mouth before the hunt, a hunter captures the “magical breath” of the fetish god “allowing him to charm his prey.” After the animal is harvested, the Zuni hunter washes the fetish in the animal’s “warm blood to further strengthen its power.”