Comparative Native American Mythology

Mythologies of cultures around the world share basic themes and ask the same questions. Best expressed by Joseph Campbell, four purposes of myth are to: explain natural phenomena, teach a culture's values of right and worng, guide the individual to live as an authentic self (orindividuation) and to help us understand the mysteries of being that are beyond our ability to rationally understand. We'll narrow our focus to mythologies of selected Native Amercan cultures and how they express creation, death, trickster and heroes/monster slayers.