Iroquois Stories

Traditional Iroquois legends. How the Birds Got Their Feathers by Joseph Bruchac (2:07) Buzzard flies to the Creator to get clothes for all of the birds. He gets the first choice of feathers and ends up with the ugliest ones. Learn more about Joseph by visiting: josephbruchac.com Raccoon and the Crayfish by Joseph Bruchac (9:37) Raccoon tricks a bunch of crayfish into thinking he’s dead and then he eats them. The Wife of the Thunderer by Joseph Bruchac (15:57) A girl is treated badly by her aunt, who tries to arrange her marriage. The girl escapes and meets the thunder gods. She marries their leader and they have a child. The girl later returns to her village to warn her people to flee from a monster that is going to attack them, but her aunt gets in her way. Turtle Goes to War by Jim Bruchac (33:32) Turtle goes to war with the humans, bringing with him Skunk and Rattlesnake. None of them have success, however, because the humans scare them off. Jim is Joseph Bruchac's son. The Great Bear by Fran Yardley (45:52) A huge bear eats all of the deer around an Iroquois village. Three warriors who have special powers go after the bear, but the bear and the warriors all turn into stars, stars that the make up the Big Dipper. Learn more about Fran Yardley by reading an interview with her here: www.adirondackexplorer.org.