Native American Tales and Legends

This anthology collects several origin myths from natives of North America, tales and legends from the celebrated Cherokee, Sioux, Apache, and Algonquin nations, not to mention the lesser-known Koasati, Tsetsaut, and Lillooet. The world of the First Nations of North America is made new in this French version faithful to the source material, stretching from south to north, east to west, the United States to Canada, the better to showcase a people whose culture was derided—their poetic, martial, mystical, and most of all, spirited way of life, intimately tied to a wondrous natural world in which humans, in no way predominant, were an animal like any other. Organized by themes such as the creation of the world, seasons, humans, animals, objects, and rituals, these stories sweep us away into another world where the universe is limitless and humans are connected to the spiritual dimension.
A new edition of a work from the Beginnings of the World imprint, to which new titles will soon be added
Directly addressing nature, the editors have breathed new vital and universal energy into these orally transmitted stories
The editors have avoided selecting texts already available from other French publishers, in favor of never-before-seen stories
Stories mystical and marvelous, comedic and melancholy, as ever inspired by age-old wisdom
The choice of fables and their translation were overseen by Marilyn Plénard, a specialist in tales and legends from all over the world. With Flies, in their imprint Origins of the World, she has published Contes et légendes d’Irlande [Irish Tales and Legends] and Mythes et légendes d’Australie [Australian Myths and Legends], and in the imprint Caravan of Folktale, Histoires de chats [Stories of Cats], Histoires de chiens [Stories of Dogs], Histoires des quatre saisons [Stories of the Four Seasons], Histoires de créatures fabuleuses [Stories of Imaginary Creatures], Histoires de chevaux [Stories of Horses], Histoires de déserts [Stories of Deserts], Histoires d’arts et de métiers [Stories of Crafts and Trades], Histoires d’îles sous le soleil et sous le vent [Stories of Islands Sunny and Windswept], Histoires entre ciel et terre [Stories Between Heaven and Earth], and Histoires de sorcières et de magiciens [Stories of Wizards and Mages].