Katharine Berry Judson (1871–1956)

Myths and Legends of the Great Plains is a compilation of Native American traditional literature. The legends are compiled from a variety of Native American tribes. Many of the legends and myths seek understanding into how and why the world works, such as “How the World was Made” and “The First Fire.” Animal behavior is also included in selections like “Why the Possum Plays Dead.”
Judson offers the reader thoughtful insight into the various myths and legends of the plains Native Americans. The compilation is organized and the addition of pictures is a nice touch. It would be interesting to have students compare and contrast similar myths from various tribes, For instance, there are thunder bird legends from three different tribes that students could analyze.… (más)

This book had many tales it, and one that was particularly interesting was "How Old Man Above Created the World," told by the Shasta Indians. This told the story of how Chareya (the old man above) bored a hole in the sky and came down to Earth. At first, it was icy and cold, but as the sun shined through the hole, the earth began to warm. Chareya planted the first trees, and the ice melted to water them. With the branches from the trees, Chareya broke them apart to make the different animals: birds, bears, and fish.… (más)

“Myths and Legends of Alaska” is a compilation of Alaskan tales, stories and proverbs that was originally published in 1911. There are 60+ myths referenced and written down in the book, most of Eskimo, Tlingit, Tsimshian and Athapascan origins, with couple of other regional legends (e.g. Haida) included as well.
The myths are written down on the paper just as they would be told around some bonfire, with the language that is plain but very vivid and imaginative at the same time.
I absolutely loved this book and all the fantastic myths in it; I’ve found them to be really interesting, endearing, with a lot of them very cute (like one called “How the Fox became red”) and bringing a smile to my face. It was actually my first contact with the native Alaskan culture and a real enjoyable one. It could only be a bit better if there was some sort of commentary on the stories included in the book, as I missed a more detailed information on culture, region and background of the myths being a novice to Alaska’s heritage.… (más)