Arts & Culture
The Role of the Trickster Figure in Native American Oral Storytelling Traditions
Quick fact
The trickster is often both a cultural hero and a fool, and in some traditions, such as the Winnebago, the trickster is considered sacred while still being crude and foolish.
Why this is interesting
Everyone knows a character who bends the rules—think of Loki, Br'er Rabbit, or Bugs Bunny. But what if that troublemaker was also a creator, teacher, and sacred being? In Native American stories, the trickster is all of that and more.