Top 10 Native American Superstitions.

What are your Top 10 Native Superstitions?

As a kid growing up in the reserve, we have been warned about doing many things or else there will be dire consequences. Native American tribes often believed in good luck and bad luck, if, you didn’t do a certain thing in a certain way. Nowadays people are not heeding the warning of our elders and things are happening to them. But what kinds of stuff must you not do? Here is Top 10 Native American Superstitions

10. Taking Pictures Of Your New Car.

In some Native American beliefs, It is said that one must not take a picture of your new ride. Elders of the past believe that when you take pictures of something new like a car, it would not last long and would soon break down. Have you ever had a new car break down soon after taking a picture of it as showing it off to your friends? Maybe this is the reason why.

9. Putting On Your Shoes On The Wrong Feet.

When I was a young boy I was to be filled with energy and just wanting to get outside already. I remember vividly that my mother would always give me heck because I would put my shoes on backward and I always wondered why.

Later on, I asked her as I grew older and she said that it was older teaching to make sure you put your shoes on the right way or you will be sure to run into a bear. So before your young one goes out to play make sure you say “hey!” “Put your shoes on right your going to run into a bear!”.

8. Don’t Whistle At Night

I remember a long time ago one of my cousins came to visit and it was pretty dark out when he came walking up to the house. When he was walking towards the house he was whistling a cheerful tune and then entered the house.

Right away when he entered the house my mother yelled at him and said “Don’t whistle at night” And my cousin said “why” then my mother replied “Because night time is when all the bad spirits like to roam around and when your whistle at night your calling them to your direction”

Being dark and alone I can understand that his whistling was just a way not to be scared, but I don’t think he whistled again after that.

7. Don’t Play During a Funeral

A long time ago when I was about 7, I remember me and my cousin playing downstairs at my sister’s house. The game was called wolf and the objective of the game was to find someone in the dark then go and tag them then that person was the wolf.

So about half an hour into the game into complete darkness with just the light of the moon shining through the basement window’s, I remember standing behind the furnace and I turned around to see if had a safe route to run away. When I turned around a caught a glimpse of a white water cooler behind me and it had a strange white glow coming from it.

For some reason, I didn’t look away and I saw a figure of a woman with a white dress on slowly rising from the water cooler and then fade away. Not really sure what I just saw I calmly turned on the lights and let all the kids know what I saw.

Of course, they didn’t believe me and said that I was lying. Then a couple of seconds later my brother came down the stairs and said ” Hey, you guy’s shouldn’t be playing down here! There a funeral going on at the hall and your not suppose to be playing at the time!”

All of us fell silent because we didn’t know how the funeral and after I told everyone what I had seen we all screamed and ran upstairs.

So thats one of the reason’s kid’s are not suppose to play during a funeral.

6. Be Careful Where You Place A Building.

From the legend that inspired the movie The Poltergeist, It is often said you must be wary of where you place a home or building. The tradition goes back before the arrival of the European settlers.

In my home reserve in Canada, there was a stubborn man who wanted to build a house in a certain place beside a lake. Many elders warned him not to put his house there but he would simply tell those people to “F*ck Off” and be on his way.

After the house was erected he and his family moved in. Not long after they started experiencing some strange occurrences in the home. Things like shadows, footsteps, things moving on their own, and nightmares.

Finally, the family went and hired a local medicine man to try to bless the house so they could be done with it once and for all. When the Medicine man arrived and took one look at the house and turned to the people and said

“I am sorry I cannot help you, whatever this thing is bothering you guys is very old and powerful. You should have asked some elders before you came and put your house here. This place was once the playground of the little people and they are mad you destroyed their play place. You either must leave or move the house somewhere else but you cannot stay here it’s not safe anymore”

The medicine man then left and the family moved and abandoned that house. Later someone else moved in, the house is still haunted to this day and is a hot spot for negative energy.

That is why you must be careful where you put your house, Or even where you walk because you could end up walking into an old graveyard.

5. Northern Light’s

For many tribes, the northern lights have a spiritual significance. Many tribes believe that the lights are actually the ones who have passed on dancing in the spirit world. A common belief is that you cannot whistle or walk around at night during the night.

When my aunt was a teenager she stayed out late with her friends and later walked home alone at night. On her way home the northern lights started above her. She started walking faster as she was warned not to walk around at night during this time.

She kept looking up the light’s and she could have sworn they started to come down towards her. Trying not to panic she convinced herself it was all in her mind. She looked up again this time they were even closer. She kept walking and again she looked up the lights. This time they were just above the tree line, she got scared and began to run home.

As she ran she could hear a strange whooshing sound coming from the lights. The lights passed close to her head, whooshing, and whooshing again. She finally made it close to her house and then the noise stopped she looked up and the lights were gone. She entered the house crying and told her mom what she had seen.

Her mom, later on, told her she was lucky because sometimes the spirits come down and take those who are wandering around at night. That’s why walking at night is very dangerous. Especially when the northern lights are out.

4. Walking With Kids

A lot of tribes believe that when walking with kids you must let the children walk up ahead. With naturally little bodies and legs, kids often get left behind the pack because of this they are most in danger from things in the woods such as bears, cougars, or something worse.

So when your walking to kid’s make sure they are in front of you and you keep an eye on them. If you carelessly leave them behind you might look back one day and they will be gone. The moral of the story is to keep an eye on your kids.

3. Fox Crossing Your Path.

There’s another superstition that says if a fox crosses your path when you are going somewhere you will have safe travels. If the fox crosses behind during your travels and your turn back and you see it, It is supposed to mean bad luck on your travels.

A few years back my family and I were traveling to the area of cold lake Alberta to go get some blueberries to raise money in order to get tickets to Saskatoon fair that year. With the van full I had go way in the back of the van and sat where the spare tire was. As I sat there I remember looking behind us then I saw a fox cross the road behind us, I then told everyone in the van.

A half an hour later we ended up getting stopped by the cop’s and got a couple of seat belt tickets. The moral of the story is not to look back when moving forward.

2. Seeing Big Foot.

Some Native American tribes believe that if you see a bigfoot, it is because he wanted you to see him. The bigfoot is known to be a powerful spiritual entity that can disappear in an instant.

Elder’s say that when you see one of these creatures it is because you are doing something you are not supposed to be doing and you need to stop.

A couple of year’s ago my step-sister brought a man to the reserve who she just met. This man was a very abusive man and secretly abused my step sister. Later when the man went to town for some food and on his way back he said that he had seen a Bigfoot in the ditch as clear as day just looking at him.

Scared of out his wits, the man rushed back to the house and told everyone what he had seen. Right away he was told to stop whatever he was doing. At the time no one knew about this man’s evil ways because he was fairly new to the family.

He soon broke up with my step sister and moved away.

Killing An Eagle

A powerful important creature to the native people all across North America, The mighty eagle is said to be one of the closest animals to the creator and killing it without proper protocol would be a very grave mistake.

It is said that to kill an eagle, you first must have a dream about it. Then you, later on, go ask an elder to if you should go kill one and the sometimes the elder will give you his blessing to go and kill one, but most times he will not.

If you kill an eagle without any ceremony, offering, or prayer it is said that the spirits will take one of your family members for taking the eagle’s life in an improper way. Many people have killed eagles improperly and have experienced the loss of loved ones.

The killing of eagles is super important to Native American people that is why I put it as number 1.

Have we left anything out?

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