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Not all ancient stories are just myths... Join us as we count down our picks for the most fascinating Native American oral traditions that were later confirmed by science, archaeology, and geology! Our countdown includes the Klamath Tales & Mount Mazama Eruption, Giant Beaver Stories, Mammoth & Mastodon Encounters, and more! Which of these legends surprised you most? Let us know!
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00:00The spiritual power of this place is an energy that we get thousands of years of
00:05ancestors being right here in this place. Welcome to WatchMojo and today
00:10we're counting down our picks for the top Native American oral stories once
00:14thought to be unverified but were later linked to real historical biological or
00:19geological phenomenon. So we don't know why why did this species stay this size
00:25and why did this species get so big. Number 8. Pacific Northwest Megathrust Earthquakes
00:41Long before geologists ever discovered the 1700 Cascadia earthquake,
00:46indigenous people along the Pacific Northwest already knew it happened. Their oral traditions
00:52described the land shaking like a living being, villages being swallowed, and a catastrophic
00:57battle between powerful forces. In some stories it's told as a clash between the whale and the
01:02thunderbird, causing the ocean itself to rise. While these stories give no exact date, they state that
01:08the earthquake was massive and devastating. Japanese records support this claim with a description of
01:14an orphan wave that struck in the 1700s. Nine hours after the earthquake struck the coast,
01:19the waves of the tsunami started to reach Japan. That's where more of the detailed reports were
01:25first discovered. Written accounts from Japan, that's how we know the day, January 26th. Centuries
01:31later, geological evidence such as sunken forests, coastal drops, and ocean sand eventually confirmed
01:37this event. This goes to show that not all myths are entirely fabricated. The soil, the trees,
01:44trees, and the written stories across 5,000 miles and 300 years all pointed at the same theory. That a
01:52catastrophic quake was possible in the Pacific Northwest. Number seven, the waning of the sun myth.
01:59We sit inside as Navajos and reflect on ourselves. We don't eat, we don't drink, we don't laugh. That's what
02:08we do as Navajo is we stay inside, we reflect, we persevere.
02:12What we now understand as solar eclipse was interpreted differently by many native peoples. Some believed
02:19it marked the meeting of the moon and the sun. For others, it was a time of transformation or a
02:24symbol
02:24of rebirth and renewal, often accompanied by silence or reflection. The sun is called the great, one of the
02:31great warriors, the uncle, and to cover it up is sort of implying that there is a need to set
02:38aside war.
02:40In other traditions, it was said a giant frog was attempting to swallow the sun, leading to rituals
02:46meant to save it. So long before Western astronomy explained solar eclipses, indigenous nations were
02:52already observing and recording them. Rock art and winter counts appear to document eclipse events.
02:59Notably, eclipses influenced Haudenosaunee Confederacy history and helped to strengthen the authority of
03:05Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee prophet. And so an eclipse occurred in their territory and that was a convincing
03:14sign to them that the message that was brought to them by the peacemaker had truth and power.
03:19Number six, Cahokia's advanced civilization. For hundreds of years, generations carried baskets of dirt
03:27from huge borrow pits to make this mound. The work began before the Vikings discovered the new world
03:34and was finished just after the second crusades. The city of Cahokia, an advanced civilization,
03:41was once thought a legend. But this lost city of North America was real. At one point, it thrived as
03:47the
03:47largest city of the region, with tens of thousands of residents living in well-planned neighborhoods.
03:52Hunters, traders, farmers, and even astronomers thrived in this highly organized civilization.
03:59Monumental mounds such as the massive Monk's Mound served as ceremonial and political centers,
04:05showing the city's complex and impressive engineering. Each mound follows along the exact
04:10same alignment to form a city grid. The grid is centered along a feature rediscovered only today,
04:20a roadway. Yet by the mid-1300s, the city's population declined, leading many to believe it vanished.
04:27However, recent studies suggest that Cahokia remained habitable even after the 1400s. While its demise
04:34remains a mystery, archaeological findings confirm its former greatness.
04:39Up on top of the mountain, you can feel the spirits of all the people who were there before.
04:43You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of people in the village below.
04:49Number 5. The Great Flood
04:51Among the Clollam people of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, there's a powerful story about the
04:56Great Flood. Elders tell of coastal waters turning salty, a warning sign that something was wrong.
05:02A wise man urged people to flee, and those who listened gathered food and fresh water before
05:08escaping to the highest mountains nearby. For centuries, outsiders dismissed these stories as myths.
05:15That changed when an archaeological excavation at the ancient village site of Tzitwitzen
05:20revealed it was all true. According to findings, this wasn't a one-time disaster. The land was struck by
05:27tsunami-driven floods multiple times, and each time, survivors managed to return and rebuild homes and
05:34communities. This was dated around 2700 years ago, yet Clollam stories preserved these memories.
05:42Number 4. Giant Ground Sloths
05:44It is difficult to be sure about the etymology of the name Mapinguari, but the main assumption is that
05:52it comes from the Tupi-Guarani indigenous language. In stories told across parts of South America,
05:59a giant grotesque creature called the Mapinguari was said to leave destruction in its wake.
06:05Even the bravest of hunters feared it, describing enormous footprints, trees torn apart,
06:11and thunderous footsteps as it moved through the forest. While its true nature remains unclear,
06:17some researchers have noted similarities between these descriptions and giant ground sloths.
06:22They believe quite piously that if you see the animal, you will die. They're terrified.
06:29What did I do to have the devil himself appear before me in the forest?
06:36These massive creatures once lived alongside early humans in the Americas before going extinct 10,000
06:43years ago. The Mapinguari tales may be legend, but fossil discoveries continue to keep the possibility
06:49alive for enthusiasts. Megatherium reminds me of an old man in carpet slippers. The feet are rather
06:56distorted. They're turned over on their side like a man with arthritis. Number 3. Mammoth and Mastodon
07:03encounters. Mammoths once roamed the open landscape of ancient Britain. These extinct cousins of
07:11elephants had huge curving tusks and thrived during the Ice Age. They may be long gone now, but once,
07:19these Ice Age creatures co-existed with humans. With their exceptional tusks, thick furs, and towering
07:25frames they were impossible to ignore. While mammoths were taller and looked more like modern elephants,
07:31mastodons were stockier. Indigenous stories have described them as aggressive beasts that inspired
07:37fear. The only problem is, these accounts don't name mammoths and mastodons outright, but archaeological
07:52findings fill the gap, confirming early humans shared land with them. Who knows, they may just be the same
07:59giant creatures native people believed to have encountered.
08:16Number 2. Giant beaver stories. This is called Castoroides. This skull is about the same size as a lion's skull.
08:25If you look at this skull, here's a lion compared to a giant beaver.
08:31If you're conversant with native oral traditions, then you've likely heard stories of the giant beaver.
08:36Among indigenous communities like Ojibwe, Cree, and other First Nations, these creatures are described as
08:42enormous, almost supernatural beings, sometimes as big as bears. Not only that, they're capable of reshaping
08:49rivers and landscapes with their powerful dams. They walked upright, and were even as tall as humans.
08:56Interestingly, these stories aren't just mere fantasies. Fossil evidence confirms giant beavers
09:02were once found in North America. Larger than modern beavers, they were up to 7.2 feet long,
09:08and are thought likely to have coexisted with early humans. This may have inspired some of the legends
09:13passed down through generations. Now, it's time to get back to work. And do what beavers do best.
09:21Build a dam.
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09:42We had everything. There's no word to describe what our land was like. It was such a wonderful
09:48place that anyone that ever lived there will never forget it. This is an eerie example of oral history
09:55matching geological findings almost perfectly. For over 7,000 years, the Klamath people told an
10:02unusual tale of two powerful beings shaping the land. Lao, ruler of the below world, and Skel,
10:09chief of the above world, hurled rocks and flames at each other. Some said the disaster was punishment
10:14for bad human behavior. Crater Lake, quote, came from a battle between spirits, and when people saw
10:20what happened there, they had to run into the water to keep from being burned up, a Klamath elder has
10:26recounted. Their battle ended when Lao was sent back to the underworld. Rain filled the crater left
10:32behind, forming a lake in place of the mountain. Remarkably, scientists later confirmed that Mount
10:38Mazama collapsed around 7,700 years ago, which led to the formation of the crater lake. With such a
10:45powerful story, it's easy to understand why the Klamath people hold the lake sacred.
10:52multiple vents encircling the mountain so that ash and pumice were not just coming out of the summit,
10:59it was coming around from around the base of the mountain. What other native tales have some truth
11:04to them? Let us know in the comments section.
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