Myth-Folklore Unit: Blackfoot Stories

Overview. In these tales from Grinnell's Blackfeet Indian Stories, you will read about the epic adventures of Kut-O-Yis, a divine avenger born from the blood of the buffalo who battled many monsters. You will also read about Napi, or "Old Man," the supernatural trickster and culture hero of the Blackfoot people, and also about "Cold Maker," who brings the winter to the northern Plains. You will meet the "Wolf Man" who went to live with the wolves because he was angry at his wives, and you will also read about two men who loved their wives very much — one who went to the camp of ghosts to bring her back from the land of the dead, while the other bravely rescued his wife after she had been kidnapped by the Thunder god (he got some help from Raven along the way). There are also animal stories about bears, bobcats, buffalo, and prairie dogs, too, to name just a few.

Language. Grinnell's book draws on Blackfoot sources, but they have been edited to a more or less literary style which should not be too hard to read.

Story Length. The stories in this unit are single-page stories, along with a five-page-long cycle of stories about the great hero Kut-O-Yis, "Blood Boy."

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Blackfoot Stories. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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Free audiobook available!

READING A:

1. Two Fast Runners
2. The Wolf Man
3. The Dog And The Root Digger
4. The Camp Of The Ghosts
5. The Buffalo Stone
6. How The Thunder Pipe Came
7. Cold Maker's Medicine
8. The Rolling Rock
9. Bear and Bullberries
10. The Theft from the Sun

READING B:

1. The Smart Woman Chief
2. Bobcat and Birch Tree
3. The Red-Eyed Duck
4. Kut-O-Yis, The Blood Boy
5. Kut-O-Yis, The Blood Boy (cont.)
6. Kut-O-Yis, The Blood Boy (cont. again)
7. Kut-O-Yis, The Blood Boy (cont. yet again)
8. Kut-O-Yis, The Blood Boy (end)