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Audiobook edition · 5 h 0 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Enter a world where animals hold councils, families gather in Plains camps, and a clever trickster invites trouble.
In Myths and Legends of the Sioux, Marie L. McLaughlin gathers tales she learns as a child from Dakota elders in her family and community. The collection includes stories of Iktomi the spider trickster, animals who speak and act like people, and families whose lives unfold in the camps of the northern Plains.
Iktomi is clever, vain and greedy, always ready to fool others for his own gain. Around him, animal families hold councils and quarrel, while stories of hunters, wives, children and elders explore the bonds between people. These tales teach, warn and entertain: generosity earns praise, while selfishness brings trouble.
What you’ll discover
- Meet Iktomi the trickster Follow a clever spider whose vanity and greed turn his mistakes into lessons.
- Animals with lives together Discover tales where animals have families, hold councils, and quarrel much as people do.
- Life in Plains camps Meet hunters, wives, children and elders through legends of family bonds and camp life.
- Generosity against selfishness Explore stories that praise giving and show the trouble selfish choices can bring.
- Tales passed between generations Read stories McLaughlin learns from elders, where teaching and entertainment share the same fire.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy campfire stories, animal tricksters, and tales with a clear lesson. It suits families who read aloud and anyone curious about how the Sioux saw courage, friendship, grief, and the natural world.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Short tales teach respect for small things
- Rabbit tricks others and is tricked himself
- Love is tested by promises and courage
- Grief and laughter live in the same tent
- Unktomi the spider tricks and is tricked
- Courage and friendship carry the greatest honor
- Animals, spirits, and the land speak back
- Stone Boy and the voice of the storyteller
Who’s who
- RabbitA quick and mischievous hero who lives with his grandmother, hunts for flint and meat, and often outwits others or falls for a trick himself.
- UnktomiThe spider trickster, always hungry and always claiming to be a relative, who deceives others for food or glory.
- ChaskeA war chief's son who chooses an orphan as his closest friend and gives up the woman he loves for him.
- HakeThe orphan chosen as Chaske's friend, who is loved by Pretty Feather and must prove himself on the warpath.
- White PlumeA young marksman with painted arrows who sets out to free a starving nation from three evil spirits.
- Stone BoyA boy made from a white pebble who sets out to rescue four uncles from an old witch.
- Big EagleA brave scout who falls in love with a woman who looks like his dead wife and joins her people.
- Pretty Feathered ForeheadA young man born with colored feathers on his forehead who marries a Buffalo woman and an Elk woman.
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Mitos y leyendas de los sioux
by Marie L. McLaughlin · 1916
A forgotten ear of corn cries out in an empty field, and a woman searches until she finds it.
Easy read5–10 hours to readEspañol
Excellent
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In short
A woman gathers the last corn of the season and starts for home. Then a small voice behind her cries that she must not leave it behind.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Short tales teach respect for small things
The collection opens with very short stories, and each one rests on a single lesson. In The Forgotten Ear of Corn, a woman has filled her robe with ears from the field. The tale explains why women gather the harvest so carefully.
The Little Mice makes a point about work. One prairie mouse spends the fall filling a snakeskin with ground beans. Her cousin spends the season talking and dancing. When winter nears, the cousin has no beans and must ask for help. The hardworking mouse lends the skin, but first she scolds her cousin.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1916
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 3 h 15 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
McLaughlin, Marie L. Myths and Legends of the Sioux. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-and-legends-of-the-sioux.
McLaughlin, M. L. (2026). Myths and legends of the Sioux. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-and-legends-of-the-sioux (Original work published 1916)
McLaughlin, Marie L. Myths and Legends of the Sioux. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-and-legends-of-the-sioux.
@book{mclaughlin2026myths,
author = {McLaughlin, Marie L.},
title = {Myths and Legends of the Sioux},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/myths-and-legends-of-the-sioux},
note = {First published 1916}
}
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What is Myths and Legends of the Sioux about?
It is a collection of more than thirty traditional Sioux tales, told by older men and women and written down by Marie L. McLaughlin. The stories feature tricksters, brave young men, loyal friends, animals, spirits, and explanations of customs and places.
Who is Unktomi in Sioux stories?
Unktomi is the spider, a trickster who claims to be a relative of everyone he meets. He is hungry and deceitful, and often sets traps for others, though sometimes his own schemes turn against him.
Who wrote Myths and Legends of the Sioux and where did the stories come from?
Marie L. McLaughlin, who was one quarter Sioux, wrote the book. She took notes as older Sioux men and women told her the tales. Her mother told her many of them, and she grew up in Minnesota speaking Sioux.
The author
Marie L. McLaughlin
1842–1924 · American Sioux folklore collector
Marie L. McLaughlin (1842–1924) was an American writer. She was born in Wabasha, in what is now Minnesota, and lived in the United States. She wrote Myths and Legends of the Sioux, published in 1916. She was married to James McLaughlin, who worked as an Indian agent.
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