The Thunderbird is a giant eagle-like or condor-like bird that is associated with rain and is able to create thunder by flapping its wings and to create lightning by blinking its eyes. In Native American religions, Thunderbirds are powerful, benevolent spirits that link the natural and supernatural worlds. They represent truth and are associated with change.
Many Native American cultures observe the tradition of thunderbird, a spirt in the form of a large eagle-like bird that creates wind, thunder, lightning, and other phenomena. Thunderbird petroglyph on basalt, Petroglyph State Park, New Mexico. (North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo)
The Thunderbird legend is found throughout North America, and in most cultures it shares common characteristics, including the ability to create storms, thunder, lightning, and clouds. Stories about the huge bird appear in Native American traditions along the Atlantic coast, in the Great Lakes region, the Great Plains, and the Southwest, as well as in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Native American Indian peoples that have a Thunderbird legend include the Algonquin, Cree, Blackfoot, Iroquois, Ottawa, Pawnee, Potawatomi, Ojibwe (Chippewa), and Oglala and Lakota Sioux.
The Thunderbird legend is prominent in the cultures of the Pacific Northwest, including the Hoh, Quileute, and Tillamook peoples. For these tribes, Thunderbird was associated with thunder and lightning, but in some versions of the legend the sound of thunder was caused by the Thunderbird dropping whales onto the ground rather than by his wing-beats.
“Thunderbird and the Whale” is a Pacific Northwest myth that represents a duel between good and evil. Thunderbird lived high in the mountains and was able to see all of the people living in the area around his home. When Thunderbird saw that the people were starving, he flew out over the ocean and dove into the water to try to capture Mimlos-whale, a killer whale, to feed them.
But Mimlos-whale slipped away from Thunderbird again and again. As the great beasts fought, the ocean roiled and a great tsunami struck the land. Thunderbird grabbed Mimlos-whale and lifted him out of the water and dropped him on shore, creating a huge thunderclap. The beasts continued their fight on land, smashing all of the trees and pulling them out by their roots, until finally Mimlos-whale managed to escape and dove deep into the ocean where Thunderbird could not follow. To this day, the area where Thunderbird and Mimlos-whale fought remains treeless.
All Native American Thunderbird legends describe him as a very large bird, larger than an eagle. In some tribal legends, it is a unique creature that lives on top of a mountain and serves as a messenger to the Great Spirit. In other traditional stories, Thunderbirds are a species of animal. Thunderbirds are usually helpful to people, but they must be treated with great respect or else their anger may be roused.
The Quileute in the Pacific Northwest region preserve a legend about the Thunderbird, known to them as T’ist’ilal, in which the great bird became angry and caused a flood that lasted for many days; the water rose so high it covered the mountains. The Quileute climbed into their boats and were adrift for days, and after the water receded, the tribe was scattered.
According to Cree legend, Thunderbirds are responsible for atmospheric phenomena. When they are angry, they create strong winds and storms, including tornadoes. When Thunderbirds are in a good mood, they create good weather and fair winds. Lightning is the reflection of sunlight off the birds’ gold and white feathers, and thunderbolts are the invisible arrows shot by the thunderbirds.
Among the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Shawnee, the Thunderbird is known as Animikí (Onimikí), the thunderer, or Bineskí (Pineskí), the great bird. The Algonquin believed that the Thunderbird was a good spirit and would assist them in time of need. The Potawatomi’s name for the Thunderbird is Chequa. The Potawatomi believe that thunder is caused by the great bird’s wings, as in other Thunderbird legends, but they also believe that if a Chequa gazes upon a human, that person will die. The Iroquois called the Thunderbird Oskadagea, which means “dew eagle.” They believed that the Thunderbird was responsible for bringing dew and could carry water on its back and deliver it to people in time of drought.
An Ojibwe legend tells of two young men who climbed a mountain to find the home of the thunderbirds. The mountain peak was wrapped in mist, but one of the men pressed forward, claiming that he saw the birds. He was struck by lightning for his audacity and fell from the mountain, while his friend managed to escape with his life.
A Passamaquoddy legend describes the creation of a Thunderbird. Two men set out to find the origin of thunder and came to a mountain range where an opening in the mountain opened and closed very quickly, like a door. One man managed to get through but the other was crushed by the sliding rocks. Inside the mountain was a group of tents and young men playing ball. The traveler watched, but soon the players went inside their tents and reappeared with wings and flew away. Only the old men remained behind to speak with the traveler. He told them he wanted to find the origin of thunder, so they crushed him and broke all his bones, and then shaped him into a new form, giving him wings and a bow and arrow before sending him away. A rival bird, Wochowsen, prevented the new Thunderbird from reaching his home for a long time, but when he did, Thunderbird became a strong protector for his people.
The Brule Sioux called the Thunderbird Wakinyan Tanka, the Thunder Spirit. The Thunderbird lives in the heart of the Black Hills on the top of a mountain. According to the legend, there are four old Thunderbirds that represent the four cardinal directions. The Thunderbird of the West is black and surrounded by clouds. The Thunderbird of the East is yellow, the Thunderbird of the North is red, and the Thunderbird of the South is white (some stories say it is blue).
In many legends, the Thunderbird represented a protecting spirit that kept people safe from malevolent sprits. In Lakota legend, the Thunderbird saved humanity from serpent-like water demons, or untekhi, who threatened to destroy the human race. While the Thunderbird brought life-giving rains, he was also feared for the great storms he could cause. Several Thunderbird legends describe them as tricksters or shape-shifters. Thunderbirds could take human form and even marry humans.
Despite the prevailing belief that the Thunderbird is a mythological beast, modern-day sightings of a giant bird have been reported in several eastern and central states. In the spring of 1948, there were two sightings of a very large unidentified bird in Illinois, followed by similar sightings in Missouri a few weeks later, which were quickly explained as being herons.
In 1977 another giant bird was sighted in Illinois. Three young boys were playing outside when two large birds approached. One swooped down and lifted a ten-year-old boy two feet off the ground and carried the sixty-five-pound child for nearly thirty feet before dropping him. Witnesses described the birds as being entirely black except for a ring of white feathers on their necks and having a wingspan approximately eight to ten feet.
Although the Thunderbird is generally regarded as a mythological creature, some scientists believe that its legend may have been based on sightings of an actual bird, and that witnesses may have misinterpreted the animal’s size. Others believe that it is possible that the Thunderbird is a cryptid, an animal that is believed to exist but which has not been scientifically proven.
Cryptozoologists, people who search for and study cryptids, speculate that the Thunderbird might be a surviving pterodactyl or teratorn, a Pleistocene bird of prey that was native to North and South America. Fossils of several species of teratorns indicate that these large birds may have had wingspans of up to twenty feet or more.
Karen S. Garvin
See also Cetan; Monsters in Native American Legends; Piasa; Rain Bird; Weather Prediction Myths
Further Reading
DeMallie, Raymond J., and Elaine A. Jahner, eds. 1991. Lakota Belief and Ritual. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Hall, Mark A., and Mark Lee Rollins. 2004. Thunderbirds: America’s Living Legends of Giant Birds. New York: Paraview Press.
Joe, Donna, Jamie Jeffries, and Kim La Fave. 2003. Ch’askin: A Legend of the Sechelt People. Roberts Creek, BC: Nightwood.
Lame Deer, John. 1984. “Wankanyan Tanka, the Great Thunderbird.” American Indian Myths and Legends, edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz, 218–222. New York: Pantheon.