The thunderbird is a mythological birdlike spirit in North American Indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength.[1]

Pacific Northwest (Haida people) imagery of a double thunderbird
Pacific Northwest (Haida) imagery of a double thunderbird

It is frequently depicted in the art, songs, and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures,[2] but is also found in various forms among some peoples of the American Southwest,[3] US East Coast,[4] Great Lakes,[5] and Great Plains.[5]

Description

The thunderbird is said to create thunder by flapping its wings in Algonquian tellings,[6] and lightning by flashing its eyes in both Algonquian and Iroquois tellings.[7] Across cultures, thunderbirds are generally depicted as birds of prey, or hybrids of humans and birds.[5] Thunderbirds are often viewed as protectors, sometimes intervening on people's behalf, but expecting veneration, prayers, and gifts.[5]

Archaeologically, sites containing depictions of thunderbirds have been found dating to the past 4,000 years.[5]

Petroglyphs of thunderbirds are found near Twin Bluffs, Wisconsin. They are in a shelter that was probably used c. 250 BCE to 1500 CE.[8]

By people

Stories about the struggle between the Thunderbird and Whale (q.v.) have been traditionally told by various Pacific coast tribal groups. Studies have scrutinized the possible connection with the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake in the year 1700 that sent a tsunami to Japan.[9]

Algonquian

Mississaugas
Ho-Chunk
Menominee
Tribal signatures using thunderbirds on the Great Peace of Montreal

The thunderbird myth and motif are prevalent among Algonquian peoples in Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec, and eastward) and the Northeastern United States, as well as the Iroquois peoples (surrounding the Great Lakes).[10] The discussion of the Northeast region has included Algonquian-speaking people in the Lakes-bordering U.S. Midwest states (e.g., Ojibwe in Minnesota[11]).

In Algonquian mythology, the thunderbird controls the upper world while the underworld is governed by the underwater panther or Great Horned Serpent. The thunderbird creates not just thunder (with its wing-flapping) but also lightning bolts, which it casts at the underworld creatures.[6]

Thunderbird in this tradition may be depicted as a spreadeagled bird (wings horizontal, head in profile). They are also quite commonly portrayed with the head facing forward, thus presenting an X-shaped appearance overall (see under §Iconography below).[11]

Ojibwe

Ojibwe shoulder pouch depicting two thunderbirds in quillwork, Peabody Museum Harvard

The Ojibwe version of the myth states that the thunderbirds were created by Nanabozho to fight the underwater spirits. Thunderbirds also punished humans who broke moral rules. The thunderbirds lived in the four directions and arrived with the other birds in the springtime. In the fall, they migrated south after the end of the underwater spirits' most dangerous season.[12]

Menominee

In Menominee (Northern Wisconsin) folklore, thunderbirds live on a far-western mountain that floats. The thunderbirds control the rain and hail, and delight in fighting. They continually fight the great horned snakes (the Misikinubik) to keep them from overrunning the earth and devouring humankind. They are messengers of the Great Sun himself.[13]

Siouan

Painting of a thunderbird on an animal hide, originally from the Great Lakes region
Painting of a thunderbird from the Great Lakes region, likely pre-1800

The thunderbird motif is also seen in Siouan-speaking peoples, which include tribes traditionally occupying areas around the Great Lakes.

Ho-Chunk

Ho-Chunk tradition states that a man who has a vision of a thunderbird during a solitary fast will become a war chief of the people.[14]

Arikara

Ethnographer George Amos Dorsey transcribed a tale from the Arikaras with the title The Boy Who Befriended the Thunderbirds, and the Serpent: a boy named Antelope-Carrier finds a nest with four young thunderbirds; their mother comes and tells the human boy that a two-headed Serpent comes out of the lake to eat the young.[15]

Thunderbird nests

A wide variety of circular landscape features found in North America are known—at least in English—as "thunderbird nests", a term which has moved from Indigenous languages into archaeological terminology and popular usage.[16]

Stone rings

Some thunderbird nests are doughnut-shaped stone rings. In a key archaeological investigation of a thunderbird nest, Patrick H. Carmichael excavated a site on the shore of Lake Wanipigow, Manitoba, known to him as EgKx-15, around 0.5 kilometres east of the mouth of Beaver Creek,[17][18] labelling it a "Thunderbird Nest" "because this is the manner in which local Native inhabitants refer to such phenomena",[17]: 282  and reporting that "an 80-year-old Native from the Hole River Reserve told me quite frankly that the Thunderbird built the nests, for 'what man has the power to lift those great stones?'".[17]: 290  Carmichael concluded that "the exact function of the Wanipigow Thunderbird Nests remains enigmatic".[17]: 294  They were associated in "popular theory" with vision quests, though Carmichael doubted that this would have been the original use for a structure constructed within a settlement site.[17]: 290–294 

The Thunderbird Nest investigated by Carmichael constituted a "large circular pile of boulders with a central depression or hollow".[17]: 282  The ring had an outer diameter of around 6.5 metres and when excavated had a minimum height of one metre. It comprised hundreds of boulders, each estimated to weigh 20–50 kilogrammes. Excavation revealed no evidence of other structures or of fires on the site, and "the central hollow had no definable floor",[17]: 282  though it was not excavated.[17]: 287  The site was associated with pottery and stone projectile points suggesting occupation around 500 CE, and Carmichael thought that the nest had been constructed in a single campaign, though this did not prove the date of the nest's construction.[17]: 287, 294 

Carmichael was aware of two similar nests elsewhere on the lakeshore and a semi-circular one two hundred metres inland. He was also familiar with examples as far north as Cross Lake, as far west as the Rural Municipality of Alonsa on the west bank of Lake Manitoba,[19][20] to the southeast on Manitoba's Black River and Caribou Lake as well as in Bissett, and east into Ontario.[17]: 288–89, 294–95  In the 2020s, Mary E. Gage believed she had discovered an example in New Hampshire.[21] Carmichael thought that although the raw material for the formations he inspected might in some cases have been piles of glacially deposited boulders, their arrangement was "cultural" rather than "natural".[17]: 290 

Depressions

Other thunderbird nests are large pits (similar to the Puckasaw Pits of Ontario).[17]: 294  Reporting on conversations with the Pikangikum First Nation elders Jake Keesic, Charlie Peters, Reggie Peters, Oliver Hill, and Matthew Strang, Marc Stevenson and David Natcher described the thunderbird nests of Whitefeather Forest as "circular boulder field depressions" being 10–30 metres deep and 50–150 metres in diameter, which from Stevenson and Natcher's perspective originated as "geomorphic features of the last glacial period". The elders reported how destructive clear-cutting forestry had been to these sites.[22]: 7–8 [23]

Iconography

X-shapes

In Algonquian images, an X-shaped thunderbird is often used to depict the thunderbird with its wings alongside its body and the head facing forwards instead of in profile.[10]

The depiction may be stylized and simplified. A headless X-shaped thunderbird was found on an Ojibwe midewiwin disc dating to 1250–1400 CE.[24] In an 18th-century manuscript (a "daybook" ledger) written by the namesake grandson of Governor Matthew Mayhew, the thunderbird pictograms vary from "recognizable birds to simply an incised X".[25]

Proposed Physical Analogs

Thunderbirds carved in sandstone wall at Twin Bluff, Juneau County, Wisconsin, by prehistoric artist(s)

Although Indigenous traditions hold that the Thunderbird is not a physical entity but a spirit,[26] the Thunderbird also lends its namesake to a loose subset of allegedly undiscovered animals reported over North America. The term has been variously applied to both descriptions of condor-like and pterosaur-like sightings,[27] a notable example of which is the subject of an alleged photograph from the American West in the late 19th century that was purportedly lost.[28] While proponents have argued the possibility that a prehistoric animal like a teratorn could have survived extinction,[29][30] the scientific community widely dismisses such types of sightings as the misidentification of known fauna.[27]

American science historian and folklorist Adrienne Mayor and British historian Tom Holland have both offered suggestions for the cultural origin of Indigenous thunderbird narratives from a secular perspective, namely that they may have been based on unrecorded discoveries of pterosaur fossils by Native Americans.[31][32]

Outside North America

Similar beings appear in mythologies the world over. Examples include the Chinese thunder-god Leigong, the Hindu Garuda and the African lightning bird.[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rulers of the Upper Realm, Thunderbirds Are Powerful Native Spirits". Audubon. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  2. ↑ "The Thunderbird Indigenous Symbol | Spirits of the West Coast". Spirits of the West Coast Art Gallery Inc. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  3. ↑ "T-Bird aka Thunderbird on the Franklin Mountain". Historic El Paso. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  4. ↑ Wilds, The Pennsylvania; Bernard, Lou (2019-12-09). "The Legend of the Thunderbird". Pennsylvania Wilds. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rulers of the Upper Realm, Thunderbirds Are Powerful Native Spirits". Audubon. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  6. 1 2 Cleland, Chute & Haltiner (1984), p. 240
  7. ↑ Lenik (2012), p. 163
  8. ↑ "Rock Art - Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center". Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  9. ↑ ——; Smiths, Gregory J.; Carver, D.; James, K. (2007), "Folklore and earthquakes: Native American oral traditions from Cascadia compared with written traditions from Japan", in Piccardi, Luigi; Masse, W. Bruce (eds.), Myth and Geology, Special Publications, 273(1), Jonientz-Trisler, C.; McMillan, A. D.; ... & Wray, J., Geological Society of London, pp. 70–71, ISBN 9781862392168
  10. 1 2 Lenik (2012), p. 163.
  11. 1 2 Lenik (2012), p. 181.
  12. ↑ Vecsey, Christopher (1983). Traditional Ojibwa Religion and Its Historical Changes. Vol. 152. American Philosophical Society. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-87169-152-1.
  13. ↑ Lankford, George E. (2011). Native American Legends of the Southeast: Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and other Nations. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-8173-5689-7.
  14. ↑ Burlin, Nathalie C. (1907). The Indians' Book: An Offering by the American Indians of Indian Lore, Musical and Narrative, to Form a Record of the Songs and Legends of Their Race. Harper and Brothers.
  15. ↑ Dorsey, George Amos. Traditions of the Arikara. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1904. pp. 73-79, 187.
  16. ↑ Leo Pettipas, Thunderbird Nests.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Carmichael, Patrick H. (1981). "The Thunderbird Site and the Thunderbird Nest Phenomenon in Southwestern Manitoba". In Wilson, Michael; Road, Kathie L.; Hardy, Kenneth J. (eds.). Megaliths to Medicine Wheels: Boulder Structures in Archaeology. Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Chacmool Conference. Calgary: University of Calgary Archaeological Association. pp. 279–295.
  18. ↑ Carmichael, Patrick H. (1979). The Thunderbird site, EgKx-15 : a prehistoric petroform and habitation site in Manitoba. Papers in Manitoba archaeology. Final report, no. 6. Winnipeg: Dept. of Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Historic Resources Branch.
  19. ↑ "Historic Sites of Manitoba: Thunderbird Nest (RM of Alonsa)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  20. ↑ Reid Dickie (2011-10-27). Thunderbird Nest. Retrieved 2026-06-12 – via YouTube.
  21. ↑ Mary Gage, Thunderbird Nests, Thunderbirds, Serpents, and Rain (2023).
  22. ↑ Stevenson, Marc G.; Natcher, David C. (2009). "Communities of Practice and Effective Institutions". Changing the culture of forestry in Canada: building effective institutions for Aboriginal engagement in sustainable forest management (PDF). Occasional publication series (Canadian Circumpolar Institute), 60. Edmonton: CCI Press and Sustainable Forest Management Network. ISBN 9781896445441.
  23. ↑ TheMediaBank1 (2013-01-25). Thunderbird Story: Pikangikum First Nation. Retrieved 2026-06-12 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ↑ Bouck & Richardson (2007), p. 15, citing Cleland (1984), p. 240, figure 2C; Lenik (1985), p. 132, figure 5.
  25. ↑ Bouck & Richardson (2007), p. 15.
  26. ↑ Nez, Noah (18 July 2012). "Thunderbirds". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  27. 1 2 Hill, Sharon (28 February 2014). "Prehistoric Survivors? They Are Really Most Sincerely Dead". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  28. ↑ Chorvinsky, Mark (Fall 2000). "Cowboys and Dragons: Unravelling the Mystery of the Thunderbird Photograph". Strange Magazine. No. 21 (Note: First Online-Only Issue). Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  29. ↑ Coleman, Loren; Clark, Jerome (1999). Cryptozooology A To Z. Simon & Schuster. p. 236-238. ISBN 9780684856025 – via Google Books.
  30. ↑ Eberhart, George M. (2002). Mysterious Creatures: A Guide To Cryptozooology. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 543-547. ISBN 979-1576072836 – via Google Books.
  31. ↑ Mayor, Adrienne (2005). Fossil Legends of the First Americans. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11345-9.
  32. ↑ "BBC Four - Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters".
  33. ↑ Andrews, Tamra (2000). Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Oxford University Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-19-513677-7.
  34. ↑ Whitlock, Flint (16 April 1998). The Rock Of Anzio: From Sicily To Dachau: A History Of The U.s. 45th Infantry Division. Basic Books. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8133-3399-1.
  35. ↑ Doran, Michael (28 April 2022). "Thunderbird is back and badass after 50 years in Giant-Size X-Men special". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  36. ↑ Bacon, Roy (2000). The Ford Thunderbird. Gramercy Books. ISBN 978-0-517-16173-9.
  37. ↑ Gerry Anderson – The Authorised Biography, by Simon Archer & Stan Nicholls, 1996, pp. 85–86, ISBN 0-09-978141-7.
  38. ↑ Thomas, Lowell (1925). The First World Flight. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
  39. ↑ "17 Pokemon based on real-world mythology". 4 February 2014.
  40. ↑ "Connetquot schools sue Regents over Native American mascot ban". Newsday. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  41. ↑ Thurlow, J. Scott (2025-06-23). "Horizon 3: After Their Forbidden West Downgrade, This Iconic Horizon Machine Could Use a Makeover". Game Rant. Retrieved 2026-02-10.

Sources

  • Bouck, Jill; Richardson, James B. III (2007). "Enduring Icon: A Wampanoag Thunderbird on an Eighteenth Century English Manuscript From Martha's Vineyard". Archaeology of Eastern North America. 35: 11–19. JSTOR 40914506.
  • Cleland, Charles E.; Chute, Richard D.; Haltiner, Robert E. (1984). "NAUB-COW-ZO-WIN Discs from Northern Michigan". Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology. 9 (2): 235–249. JSTOR 20707933.
  • Lenik, Edward J. (2012). "The Thunderbird Motif in Northeastern Indian Art". Archaeology of Eastern North America. 40: 163–185. JSTOR 23265141.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(mythology)