Native American religions have many types of Gods, which include Gods of creation, culture, gods of the dead, monster, transformer, and trickster. Spirits of nature and animals are extremely important to most of the Native American religions. It is believed that spirits live in the Earth and that it is unwise to anger them. Tribes such as the Sioux and the Algonquian tribes believe in a great spirit called the Wakan Tanka and Gitche Manitou, respectively. This ‘great spirit’ is a conception of a supreme being prevalent in some Native American cultures, called by different names.
Sometimes one god can be put into multiple categories, for example Napi, a creator god, is also known as a trickster, transformer, and culture hero.
God- Tribe/Area; Brief description
Creation These are the gods who are believed to have brought the world into being. There are many stories and myths relating to creation. These include:
Napi- The blackfoot creator god; A well intentioned demigod responsible for shaping the world that the Blackfoot people live in.
Hahgwehdiyu- Iroquois god of creation; A just teacher and caretaker of the Iroquois people.
Culture heroes
Maasawu- Hopi; culture hero who warned about the dangers of the world and teaches the art of agriculture to the Hopi people.
Amalivaca- Carib; Shapes the world for the Caribs and teaches them how to live.
Of the dead Chibiabos- Chippewa, Potawatomi, Algonquin, Meskwaki; Murdered by water spirits and became ruler of the underworld. Portrayed as good and kind who looks after the land of the dead.
Kudo- Bribri; Ruler of the underworld, and punishes people who violate taboos, often by sending disease or venomous animals to bite them.
Monster
Kolowa- Creek; A hairy, man-eating ogre.
Mhuwe- Lenape; A man-eating ice giant associated with starvation, cannibalism and sin.
Transformer
Seiku-Alsea; Underwent a period as a whale before becoming a monster-slayer.
Odzihozo-Abenaki; Created himself from nothing and formed lake Champlain (a freshwater lake in North America) and its surrounding landscape.
Trickster Kwatee- Pacific-Northwest region; Changed the world from being ancient into the one we know today. Formed Indian people from little balls of dirt and sweat. Isily- Cahuilla; Clever but reckless, and is always getting himself and the people around him into trouble with his inappropriate behaviour. Stories with him are usually humorous, but they can also be cautionary tales about the consequences of bad behaviour and the dangers of interacting with reckless and unethical people.
Spirits Indian tribes in the Southwest called their spirits kachinas. They made decorated kachina dolls that represented the different spirits, and made masks to help channel the spirits.
Native Americans believe that the universe, and all natural objects within the universe, have souls or spirits.
From Wakan-Tanka, the Great Mystery, comes all power. It is from Wakan-Tanka that the holy man has wisdom and the power to heal and make holy charms. Man knows that all healing plants are given by Wakan-Tanka, therefore they are holy. So too is the buffalo holy, because it is the gift of Wakan-Tanka.
Flat-Iron (Maza Blaska) -Oglala Sioux Chief
What's the difference between a god and a deity? According to their definitions, they both represent a supreme power. However, "God" is used to represent the only supreme power, whereas "Deity" can be used to refer to any of the forms of this supreme power and therefore there can be multiple deities. God is generally used to refer to male gods, whereas deity can be used to refer to both god and goddess (female gods).