Top 12+ Animals That Appear in Native American Legends

12. Coyote The Divine Trickster

Coyote stands as perhaps the most ubiquitous figure in Native American mythology, appearing in stories from tribes spanning the continent. Often portrayed as both creator and trickster, Coyote embodies duality—he's clever yet foolish, helpful yet selfish. In Navajo traditions, Coyote helped create the stars by carelessly tossing a carefully arranged pattern into the sky. Among the Chinook and other Pacific Northwest tribes, Coyote stories explain how he stole fire and brought it to humans, similar to Prometheus in Greek mythology. While frequently appearing as male, Coyote's gender can shift in different stories, highlighting his transformative nature. These tales often serve as cautionary examples, showing the consequences of greed, vanity, and recklessness while simultaneously celebrating quick thinking and adaptability.

11. Raven The Cosmic Creator

Particularly significant to tribes of the Pacific Northwest such as the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian, Raven appears as a powerful creator and transformer. In many Northwest Coast traditions, Raven created the world, released the sun, moon, and stars from boxes where they were kept hidden, and brought light to humanity. Despite his role as a cultural hero, Raven also embodies contradictions—he can be both selfless and self-serving. In some stories, he transforms between human and bird form at will. The Inuit of Alaska tell how Raven created land by dropping pebbles into the primordial ocean. Raven's distinctive black coloring is often explained in legends where he was scorched while stealing fire or light. His prominence in artwork, totem poles, and ceremonial masks throughout the Northwest Coast reflects his central importance in these tribal cosmologies.

10. Thunderbird The Weather Deity

Revered across many tribes including the Algonquian, Ojibwe, Sioux, and tribes of the Pacific Northwest, the Thunderbird represents one of the most powerful supernatural beings in Native American mythology. This enormous bird creates thunder by flapping its wings and lightning by blinking its eyes, controlling weather patterns and rainfall. Among the Lakota, the Thunderbird (Wakinyan) serves as a warrior against dangerous underwater monsters. The Ojibwe consider the Thunderbird (Animikii) a protector of humans against evil forces. Often depicted with outstretched wings and distinctive curved beaks in tribal art, the Thunderbird symbolizes power, strength, and protection. Some tribes believe Thunderbirds nest on mountain peaks, explaining why storms often gather around high elevations. This magnificent creature bridges the gap between the celestial and earthly realms in many indigenous cosmologies.

9. Bear The Healing Guardian

Bears hold special significance across numerous tribes, often associated with healing, medicine, and strength. The Cherokee tell of a time when bears and humans were kin, with some humans transforming into bears to escape persecution. In many California tribal traditions, Bear serves as a healer who taught humans about medicinal plants. The Lakota consider the bear a symbol of wisdom and healing power, while many Pueblo tribes incorporate bear dances into their ceremonial practices to ensure good health. Among tribes of the Northeast Woodlands, bears are viewed as close relatives to humans, possessing spirits that must be honored through special rituals when hunted. Bear medicine remains important in contemporary Native healing practices, with the animal's strength, introspection during hibernation, and protective nature serving as models for physical and spiritual well-being.

8. Spider Woman The Divine Weaver

Spider Woman (or Spider Grandmother) appears prominently in the mythology of Southwestern tribes, particularly the Navajo (Diné), Hopi, and Pueblo peoples. In Navajo creation stories, Spider Woman taught humans the art of weaving, creating the first loom using sky, earth, sunrays, and crystal. The Hopi consider her one of the most important deities, credited with assisting in the emergence of people into this world by guiding them through a reed to the surface of the earth. Her web connects the corners of the earth and the levels of the universe. Many Navajo weavers include a spirit line—an intentional imperfection—in their rugs to honor Spider Woman, allowing creativity to continue flowing rather than being trapped in the weaving. As a creator figure who brings important knowledge to humanity, Spider Woman represents female creative power, wisdom, and the interconnectedness of all life.

7. Buffalo The Sacred Provider

For Plains tribes including the Lakota, Blackfeet, Crow, and Cheyenne, the buffalo (American bison) represents the central figure in their material and spiritual lives. White Buffalo Calf Woman, a sacred figure in Lakota tradition, brought the sacred pipe and seven ceremonies to the people, establishing their spiritual practices. The Blackfeet tell of Old Man Buffalo, who taught humans how to conduct ceremonies and use all parts of the buffalo for food, clothing, shelter, and tools. Buffalo sacrifice stories explain how the animal willingly gave itself so that humans might live, establishing a sacred covenant between people and bison. When nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century, many tribes experienced not just material devastation but spiritual crisis. Today, efforts to restore buffalo populations carry deep cultural significance beyond ecological restoration, representing a renewal of traditional relationships between tribes and this sacred animal.

6. Turtle The Earth Bearer

Many eastern and midwestern tribes, including the Iroquois, Lenape, Ojibwe, and Huron, share creation stories featuring Turtle prominently. In these traditions, Earth was formed on the back of a great turtle swimming in the primordial waters, giving rise to the term "Turtle Island" as a Native name for North America. After a great flood, various animals attempted to dive to the bottom of the waters to bring up soil to create new land, but only Muskrat succeeded, placing the mud on Turtle's back where it grew into the continent. The Lenape tell how the Creator placed the people on the turtle's back, making their homeland the "center of the shell." Turtle's patience, longevity, and protective shell make it a symbol of perseverance and security. In many tribal traditions, the thirteen large scales on a turtle's shell correspond to the thirteen moons of the lunar calendar, connecting this animal to time-keeping and the seasons.

5. Eagle The Sacred Messenger

Revered across virtually all Native American cultures, the eagle holds unparalleled spiritual significance as the bird that flies highest and therefore nearest to the Creator. Both the golden and bald eagle feature prominently in tribal stories, prayers, and ceremonies. The Zuni describe Eagle as the lord of the sky, while the Pawnee consider the eagle a symbol of fertility and creation. In Cherokee traditions, eagles carry prayers to the heavens. Many tribes view eagle feathers as among the most sacred objects, used in ceremonial regalia, prayer fans, and given as honors for significant achievements or acts of courage. Federal law acknowledges this religious importance through the Eagle Feather Law, allowing enrolled tribal members to possess eagle parts for religious purposes. The eagle's exceptional vision symbolizes foresight and perspective, while its hunting prowess represents power and success. As a bridge between earth and sky, the eagle facilitates communication between humans and the divine realm.

4. Salmon The Self-Sacrificing Provider

For tribes of the Pacific Northwest including the Coast Salish, Chinook, and Haida, salmon represents both physical sustenance and spiritual significance. Salmon legends often describe these fish as people who live in villages under the sea, voluntarily transforming into fish and sacrificing themselves to feed humans. The first salmon ceremony, practiced by numerous coastal tribes, honors the return of the salmon each year, treating the first caught fish with elaborate ritual respect to ensure the continued return of its relatives. Among the Karuk of northern California, world renewal ceremonies center on salmon migrations. Petroglyphs depicting salmon appear throughout the Columbia River basin, demonstrating the fish's ancient cultural importance. The cycle of salmon—born in freshwater, traveling to the ocean, then returning to their birthplace to spawn and die—symbolizes regeneration and the circular nature of life. Contemporary Native communities continue to fight for salmon conservation and treaty fishing rights as matters of cultural survival.

3. Wolf The Teacher and Guide

Wolves feature prominently in the legends of many tribes, often portrayed as teachers, guides, and symbols of family loyalty. The Pawnee consider themselves descended from wolves, while the Shoshone and Nez Perce tell stories of wolves helping lost travelers find their way home. Among the Ojibwe, the wolf (Ma'iingan) was created as a companion to Original Man, traveling the earth together naming all plants and animals. When they completed their journey, the Creator explained that they would take separate paths but share a common destiny—what happened to wolves would eventually happen to humans, establishing their interconnected fate. The Cheyenne tradition includes a Wolf Warriors Society whose members emulated wolf tactics in battle. Unlike European folklore that often demonized wolves, Native traditions generally portray wolves with respect and admiration, emphasizing their intelligence, hunting prowess, and strong family bonds. These positive associations continue to influence contemporary Native attitudes toward wolf conservation efforts.

2. Crow The Intelligent Messenger

Though sometimes overshadowed by Raven in popular accounts of Native mythology, Crow appears as a distinct character in numerous tribal traditions. Among the Cheyenne, Crow serves as a messenger bringing news from distant places. The Hidatsa consider themselves descended from crows and incorporated the Crow Owners Society as one of their important ceremonial organizations. In some Plains traditions, crows are associated with death and the afterlife, guiding spirits to the next world. The Hopi tell of a contest between Crow and Hummingbird that determined whether winter would be long or short, explaining seasonal changes. Unlike the often-dignified Raven, Crow typically appears as more social and gregarious in Native stories, reflecting the actual behavior differences between these related birds. Crows' intelligence, adaptability, and complex social structures made them natural symbols for communication and community in indigenous traditions. Their characteristic black color associates them with mystery and transformation in many tribal cosmologies.

1. Snake The Transformative Healer

Snakes hold complex and sometimes contradictory meanings across different tribal traditions. The Hopi Snakes Clan performs the famous Snake Dance, handling live rattlesnakes who are later released to carry prayers for rain to the underworld. Among the Pueblo peoples, the horned or plumed serpent Awanyu represents water, lightning, and renewal. Eastern Woodlands tribes like the Ojibwe tell of the Great Horned Serpent, a dangerous underwater being that must be respected. The Cherokee associate the rattlesnake with healing knowledge and include rattlesnake symbols in some of their medicine formulas. Many tribes observe that snakes shed their skins, making them powerful symbols of transformation, renewal, and immortality. The movement of snakes, close to the ground in a wavelike motion, connects them to both earth energies and water in indigenous symbolism. While feared for their potential danger, snakes are generally not demonized in Native traditions as they sometimes are in European-derived mythology, instead being recognized as important members of the natural community with spiritual significance.

The Enduring Legacy of Animal Spirits in Native American Culture

The animals that populate Native American legends continue to hold profound significance in contemporary indigenous communities, serving as clan symbols, artistic motifs, and spiritual guides. These stories reflect not just ancient traditions but living relationships between tribes and the natural world that persist despite centuries of cultural disruption. Far from simple fables, these legends encode sophisticated ecological knowledge, ethical principles, and spiritual insights that remain relevant in addressing modern environmental challenges. As Native communities work to revitalize their languages and cultural practices, these animal stories provide vital connections to ancestral wisdom and indigenous worldviews that recognize humans as just one part of an interconnected community of beings. In their complexity, humor, and spiritual depth, these animal legends reveal the richness of Native American intellectual and spiritual traditions that have too often been overlooked or misunderstood by mainstream society.