Reading Notes: Mississippi/Great Lakes Native American Stories, Part A
Bibliography
"The Thunderers" from Myths and Legends of the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes edited by Katharine Berry Judson, Read it here
I was interested in reading this unit because these are all stories from Native American tribes who lived where I grew up. Part of my childhood was spent interacting with lots of Native American tribes in the Great Lakes region since my mom works to help them receive and use grants from the federal government. I'm also a descendent of the Oneida tribe in Wisconsin, so I've heard a few Native American stories growing up.
This one was particularly interesting to me, because it serves as an explanation for the sort of origin story for the Menomini people. I grew up around the Menominee Falls area, so I've been hearing the names of tribes and Native American people for a long time.
In this story, the two of the three clans of the Oneida people are mentioned, the Wolf and the Bear. This story isn't about the Oneida people, but it's easy to see how all of the stories are interconnected.
In this story, the "Great Mystery" creates the earth and populates it with animal spirits called manidos. The Thunderers were the bird spirits, which included the golden eagle who was known as the "Thunder-which-no-one-could-see."
One of the manido spirits Masha Monido ("the good mystery") allows Bear to transform into a person, and he pretty much becomes the first person of the Menomini tribe by Green Bay in Wisconsin.
Bear is lonely being the only person, and so he asks Eagle to become a person as well and be Bear's brother. Eagle does so, and then is followed by Beaver, the first woman. Then Sturgeon joins them, followed by Elk, Wolf, and Crane. Wolf makes Dog and Deer his younger brothers, too.
At this time, the Thunderers (birds) return from their migration to the Southwest, and they brought the springtime rain with them, which allowed all the trees and plants to grow. Masha Monido/the Good Mystery also gave the Thunderers corn, and fire, which Masha Monido stole from someone else.
The Thunderers traded fire for the rice that Bear and Sturgeon had, and the Thunderers became the war chiefs in Menomini. From then on, they were all the Menomoni people and the Thunderers always led when they traveled so they could start the fires for everyone else.
After reading this story, I looked at the current website for the Menomoni people and found that the story matches the Menomoni's people description of their origin pretty well. The Menomoni people recognize five clans, which are Bear, Eagle (the Thunderers), Wolf, Moose (Elk), and Crane.
I think it was really cool to read this story that mentioned so many familiar places to me like Green Bay, the Wisconsin River, Fond du Lac, and Winnebago Lake. It was also neat to see how this story connected to stories from other cultures, like Masha Monido bringing the Menomoni people fire which reminds me of the story of Prometheus.
"The Thunderers" from Myths and Legends of the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes edited by Katharine Berry Judson, Read it here
I was interested in reading this unit because these are all stories from Native American tribes who lived where I grew up. Part of my childhood was spent interacting with lots of Native American tribes in the Great Lakes region since my mom works to help them receive and use grants from the federal government. I'm also a descendent of the Oneida tribe in Wisconsin, so I've heard a few Native American stories growing up.
This one was particularly interesting to me, because it serves as an explanation for the sort of origin story for the Menomini people. I grew up around the Menominee Falls area, so I've been hearing the names of tribes and Native American people for a long time.
In this story, the two of the three clans of the Oneida people are mentioned, the Wolf and the Bear. This story isn't about the Oneida people, but it's easy to see how all of the stories are interconnected.
In this story, the "Great Mystery" creates the earth and populates it with animal spirits called manidos. The Thunderers were the bird spirits, which included the golden eagle who was known as the "Thunder-which-no-one-could-see."
One of the manido spirits Masha Monido ("the good mystery") allows Bear to transform into a person, and he pretty much becomes the first person of the Menomini tribe by Green Bay in Wisconsin.
Bear is lonely being the only person, and so he asks Eagle to become a person as well and be Bear's brother. Eagle does so, and then is followed by Beaver, the first woman. Then Sturgeon joins them, followed by Elk, Wolf, and Crane. Wolf makes Dog and Deer his younger brothers, too.
At this time, the Thunderers (birds) return from their migration to the Southwest, and they brought the springtime rain with them, which allowed all the trees and plants to grow. Masha Monido/the Good Mystery also gave the Thunderers corn, and fire, which Masha Monido stole from someone else.
The Thunderers traded fire for the rice that Bear and Sturgeon had, and the Thunderers became the war chiefs in Menomini. From then on, they were all the Menomoni people and the Thunderers always led when they traveled so they could start the fires for everyone else.
After reading this story, I looked at the current website for the Menomoni people and found that the story matches the Menomoni's people description of their origin pretty well. The Menomoni people recognize five clans, which are Bear, Eagle (the Thunderers), Wolf, Moose (Elk), and Crane.
I think it was really cool to read this story that mentioned so many familiar places to me like Green Bay, the Wisconsin River, Fond du Lac, and Winnebago Lake. It was also neat to see how this story connected to stories from other cultures, like Masha Monido bringing the Menomoni people fire which reminds me of the story of Prometheus.
A beautiful shot of the Wisconsin River.
(Image source: Good Free Photos)
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