Cherokee Misconceptions, Part 9: The Cherokee had Leprechauns?

When the Irish came over to America, I’m sure they were surprised to learn that Native Americans had a version of the leprechaun in their lore.  And there are many similarities.

 

Despite colonial biases, the Cherokee did not copy the Irish Leprechaun.  The Cherokee Yunwi Tsunsdi (Little People) was part of ancient legend and myth.  As Will Rogers might have said, “The Little People didn’t come over with the colonists, they met the boat.”

These interesting “Little People” figure prominently in many old Cherokee stories, including origin stories.  They were probably introduced to non-native Americans by James Mooney in his monumental work “Myths of the Cherokee” published in 1900.  The Cherokee medicine man, Swimmer, related to him the following:

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Courtney Miller