[Native American] The Thunder Bird myth is perhaps one of the most wide spread among the Native America. Thunder Bird mythlore can be categorized into two types: as a benevolent (or sometimes malicious) nature deity, or a type in which the bird is not spiritual but corporeal and co-extant with the aboriginal inhabitants of pre-colonial North America. (This latter type, the non-spirit myth, might be the source for legends of giant birds reported in more recent times.) The name Thunder Bird directly refers to a Native American spirit myth. According to Winnebago tradition, "Thunder is a spirit, and it is an emblem of war, it is winged, mighty and awful and it is called the Thunder Bird (Curtis. THE INDIANS BOOK. 252). The Chippewa had a supreme bird, "The Birds eyes were fire, his glance was lightning, and the motions of his wings filled the air with thunder." (Emerson, Indian Myths. 34). Concerning the cause of thunderstorms, "The Mandan supposed that it was because the thunderbird broke through the c...
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