13 h 34 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 34 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Enter story worlds where animals speak, tricksters shape the land, and the earth begins beneath water.
In The Myths of the North American Indians, Lewis Spence gathers sacred stories from many nations, not one shared mythology. His survey moves from the eastern woodlands to the Plains, the Southwest and the Pacific coast, bringing creators, thunder beings, animal spirits and heroes into view.
Meet Manabozho, also called Nanabozho, and Glooskap, figures in stories of heroes and tricksters. Explore earth-diver tales and the power called manitou among Algonquian peoples. Spence compares these traditions through an early twentieth-century outlook , looking for common roots in their varied stories.
What you’ll discover
- Many nations, distinct traditions Discover why Spence begins with the continent’s varied peoples, languages and separate story worlds.
- Earth beneath the waters Follow animals in earth-diver tales as they seek mud beneath a world covered with water.
- Tricksters who shape landscapes Meet Manabozho and Glooskap within Spence’s account of heroes and tricksters who shape the land.
- Animals with their own minds Enter stories where bears, wolves, hares, turtles and eagles speak, bargain and marry.
- A comparative view of myth See how Spence sets stories beside one another and seeks common roots in their themes.
Who will love it
Readers who love folktales, trickster stories and creation myths will enjoy this collection, along with those curious about stories shaped by hunting, weather and stars.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scholar gathers the stories of a continent
- People crossed from Asia in very ancient times
- The tribes divide into great language families
- Daily life shaped what the stories say
- Spirits live in animals, objects and dreams
- Creation, gods and the road of the dead
- Glooskap shapes the world and then departs
- Blackfoot and Chippeway tales link earth, stars and sun
- Iroquois and Sioux tales mix heroes and tricksters
- Pawnee and Pacific tales, and how to read them
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The Myths of the North American Indians
by Lewis Spence · 1914
A hunter caught in a blizzard dreams of a painted tepee where the Lord of Cold Weather waits.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
Why would a hunter caught in a blizzard dream of a painted tepee? In the dream, the Lord of Cold Weather offers him a gift, and the hunter, Sacred Otter, wakes with power over storms.
The Myths of the North American Indians at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 40 min6 h 5 min fast, 9 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 109,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1914by Lewis Spence
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scholar gathers the stories of a continent
Lewis Spence wrote this book as a general guide to the mythologies of the peoples he calls the Red Race. He complains that few English books offered more than thin details about them. So he gives the myths together with the history and customs behind them. Without the second, he argues, the first cannot be understood.
His main tool is comparison. All myth grows from the same natural ideas, he says, so American tales echo those of Greece, Rome and Egypt. Where they differ, he blames climate and custom. Nearly every chapter rests on the reports of the Bureau of Ethnology, whose scholars knew Indian languages firsthand.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1914
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Spence, Lewis. The Myths of the North American Indians. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-myths-of-the-north-american-indians.
Spence, L. (2026). The myths of the North American Indians. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-myths-of-the-north-american-indians (Original work published 1914)
Spence, Lewis. The Myths of the North American Indians. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-myths-of-the-north-american-indians.
@book{spence2026myths,
author = {Spence, Lewis},
title = {The Myths of the North American Indians},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-myths-of-the-north-american-indians},
note = {First published 1914}
}
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What is The Myths of the North American Indians about?
It gathers myths and legends from many North American peoples, including Algonquian, Iroquois, Sioux, Pawnee and Pacific coast tales. Lewis Spence adds chapters on origins, history, customs and religion so the stories can be understood in their setting.
Who are Glooskap and Michabo?
Both are Algonquian culture heroes. Michabo is the Great Hare, a creator and lord of light. Glooskap is a sun-like helper who shapes the world, fights monsters, gives gifts to those who find him, and finally sails away.
What do totem and fetish mean in this book?
Spence uses totem for an animal that a clan treats as ancestor or protector, and fetish for a charmed object believed to hold a helpful spirit. A personal guardian spirit, gained in a vision, is a third idea.
The author
Lewis Spence
1874–1955 · Scottish folklorist and occult writer
Lewis Spence (1874–1955) was a Scottish writer and journalist. He was born in Angus, Scotland, and lived in Edinburgh, where he died. His books on mythology and folklore appeared in the early twentieth century, including The Myths of Mexico and Peru, The Myths of the North American Indians, and Legends and Romances of Brittany.
More by Lewis Spence
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