Old Indian Legends facts for kids

Old Indian Legends is a special book filled with stories from the Sioux people. It was written by Zitkala-Sa, a talented writer from the Yankton Dakota tribe. The book was published in 1901. Zitkala-Sa wanted to make sure the old stories of her people were not forgotten. She was worried that children were losing touch with their traditions. This book helps keep those amazing legends alive. There are 14 different stories in the collection.

The first five stories in the book are about a character named Iktomi. He is a spider fairy who often plays tricks, but sometimes his tricks backfire on him!

Meet Iktomi, the Trickster!

Iktomi is a well-known character in many Native American stories. He is a spider fairy who loves to play tricks on others. But often, his plans don't work out the way he wants them to! Let's read about some of his adventures.

Iktomi and the Ducks

One day, Iktomi met a group of ducks who loved to dance. Iktomi decided to play a trick on them. He started playing music and told the ducks to dance in a special way. He said they should twist their necks as they danced. The ducks danced and twisted their necks so much that they broke them. This made the ducks die.

Iktomi then took the ducks back to his teepee to cook them. While they were cooking, he heard a tree branch cracking outside. He went to see what was happening. He broke the cracking branch, but then he got stuck by it! While he was stuck, a group of wolves came by. They saw his delicious feast and ate all the cooked ducks. Iktomi was left with no food!

Iktomi’s Blanket

After losing his ducks to the wolves, Iktomi was very hungry. He needed food badly. He prayed to Inyan, who he called his great-grandfather. He asked Inyan to bless him with some meat. To show his thanks, Iktomi offered his warm blanket to Inyan.

After his prayer, Iktomi found a deer that was hurt. He thought his prayer had been answered! Iktomi quickly built a fire and started cooking the deer meat. But as he cooked, he started to feel very cold. He realized he had nothing warm to wear because he had given his blanket away. So, he decided to go back and get his blanket from where he had left it. When he returned to his teepee, he saw that his meat was gone! His fire had also gone out. Iktomi realized he should have eaten his food first before going to get his blanket.

Iktomi and the Muskrat

Another time, Iktomi was getting some fish ready to eat. Suddenly, he heard a voice call him "friend." He looked around and saw a muskrat near his feet. The muskrat asked Iktomi if he would share his fish. Iktomi, always ready for a trick, suggested they race for the fish. He said if the muskrat won, they would share it.

The muskrat said he wasn't a fast runner. So, Iktomi offered to tie a heavy rock around his own waist. He said this would make the race fair. The muskrat agreed. They went in opposite directions to race back to the fish. The muskrat, being a good swimmer, swam across the lake and won the race easily! The muskrat then told Iktomi that he should have just shared the fish in the first place.

Iktomi and the Coyote

One day, Iktomi was walking across a wide prairie. He saw a coyote lying on the ground. Iktomi thought the coyote was dead, even though it was still warm. He decided to take the coyote back to his teepee to cook it for dinner.

But the coyote was not dead! When Iktomi got to his place, he built a fire and threw the coyote into it. The coyote quickly jumped out of the fire! It told Iktomi that he should always make sure his prey is truly dead before trying to cook it.

Iktomi and the Fawn

Iktomi once saw a beautiful peacock sitting in a tree. He wished he could be as beautiful as the peacock. He begged the peacock to give him wonderful feathers. The peacock magically turned Iktomi into a peacock. But there was one rule: Iktomi could not try to fly. Being stubborn, Iktomi tried to fly anyway. He failed and turned back into a human.

Next, Iktomi found an arrow. He wished to be an arrow and was transformed. But again, he failed to follow a rule and returned to normal. Finally, he met a young fawn. He asked the fawn to give him spots like its own. To get the spots, Iktomi had to lie in a hole and be burned with dried grass, sticks, and cedar embers. The fawn agreed to help. Iktomi lay in the hole, and blue smoke rose. But Iktomi climbed out of the fire before he could get burned. So, he did not get the brown spots he wanted.

Images for kids

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  The cover of the first edition of Old Indian Legends.