Native American Day

It's a pumpkin!  Really!

Sometime a couple of decades ago Congress declared that the last Friday of September is National Native American Day, these days that has shifted to the Thanksgiving season, but techinically, the September date still stands.  So around here, every last Friday of Sept. is the annual Native American Fright Night.

Modern depiction of an Inua spirit (Inuit)

Various Native myths have plenty of monsters, spirits and ghosts.  There is no lack of spooky stuff to celebrate from an "American Indian" perspective.  Probably the most famous monster is the Wendigo (from Algonquin Cree), a cannibal spirit that roams the woods in search of people to eat.  On the other end of the spectrum, we have fun but completely made up monsters, like the Aztec mummy.

One imagining of a Wendigo

Below are just a few homegrown monsters, spooks and weird beings.

Thunderbird

Mothman

Actual illustration of Native American pendant of a Thunderbird, or even a Mothman

Feathered Serpent

Tezcatlipoca, God of Darkness and Sorcery

Shark Amakua

Quetzalcoatl

Tlatecuhtli

Tzitzimitl or Aztec Star Demon

Uca Pacha, Incan God of Death

Aztec Mummy

A Skinwalker