Native North American plains tribes may differ a bit in their mythology.  Each tribe has, over time, developed their own culture, traditions and beliefs, but there are some commonalities between their stories and myths; many are based in spirituality.

The belief that spiritual entities and forces can be experienced, even seen in the natural, mortal world in which we all live, is a very common underlying principal.  Ancient gods who shaped the world and universes abound throughout many indigenous cultures, as well as, stories about how and where life first began are often the topic of these stories.

Each tribe and culture abounds with mythological creatures and beings and the North American Plains are believed to harbor a myriad of entities and creatures, each with its own life and purpose.

The, “Trickster” is one of these beings; a deceiver and a teacher, the trickster is everywhere.  From dreams to the physical plains, the Trickster lies in wait for people.

The Trickster may be a person’s downfall or tutor and it’s up to the individual who is being presented with this entity’s guidance and advice, to decipher the message.  The Trickster can lead a person into horrible dangers or bestow great gifts upon one.   No one can be certain of when or where they will come across the Trickster, but everyone does at some point in their lives.

The “Thunderbird”, gigantic in proportion, this giant bird can mimic the sound of thunder with the beating of its giant wings.  It hides in rocky outcroppings and cliffs, building its nests where they cannot be found.

This monstrous creature is believed to have once existed and indeed may still exist; bones of what appear to be birds with humongous wing spans up to 40’ have been found, reconstructed and even displayed throughout history.  This is a legend that may actually be based in fact.

Native American lodges and totem poles often contain images of carved thunderbirds.  It’s still believed that the Thunderbirds exist, unseen to mortal eyes; however, reports in the past centuries have offered possible evidence of their very real existence. 

As late as 2010, in McHenry, IL, unusually large birds were seen in the sky by a goat farmer.  In 2009, an Air Force Military Police Officer in Minot, ND told his father about seeing a huge, dark bird with a wingspan of that equaling a hang-glider flying in the direction of Canada.  Witnessed in 2001 in El Cajon, CA, a huge bird was reported to have swooped from the sky, trying to attack some kids.  Stories like this abound throughout not only the west, but as far south east as Dad County, Florida. 

In April of 1890, some cowboys near Tombstone, AZ were said to have killed a creature with a wingspan of 160 feet.  They claimed that it had a serpent’s body, clawed feet and a face like that of an alligator.  This story has been reiterated in numerous publications, but despite the cowboy’s claims that they cut off a part of the wing, no evidence of this creature seems to exist.  Still, there are many things in existence for which we can neither prove nor disprove their existence.

It seems that with all of the reports of sightings, no one has ever been able to locate a nest where these birds lay their eggs; they remain elusive.  Theories abound that these spotted giant birds are actually condors, vultures, giant eagles, perhaps even descendants of giant pterodactyls still fly the skies, but whatever Thunderbirds are in actuality, they are a large part of Native American belief, as well as, being a part of American folklore.

The “Mothman”, a gigantic winged creature, reported to have a body like that of a human and the head of a moth and the wings of a bat, as well as, having red, sometimes glowing eyes.

Mothman, unlike his mythological counterparts, was immortalized in the movie, “The Mothman Prophecies”, 2002, staring Richard Gere and Laura Linney; the film, based on an event that occurred in Point Pleasant, West Virginia back in 1966.  He has a strange habit of appearing just before huge disasters; however he doesn’t seem to care to join in and help afterwards. 

While earlier sightings occurred in West Virginia, sightings of the Mothman or a similar creature abound throughout the world including a report in Victorian England, India, Afghanistan and Iraq.  A Mothman being was even seen at Chernobyl.  He was even spotted around the World Trade Center before 9/11 occurred.  (He does get around, doesn’t he?) Like other mythological creatures, Mothman appears around the time and place of other paranormal anomalies. 

Is Mothman perhaps the mythical Thunderbird or is it visa-versa?  Who knows?  Nevertheless, he continues to make his appearances before disasters, so watch for his appearance and take heed of his forewarnings.

A creature with a more human-like appearance is the “Skinwalker”.  Skinwalkers in Native American myth are individuals who can turn themselves into any sort of creature or animal that they desire and usually appear at night.  They must be wearing the pelt of the particular animal whose visage in order to successfully transform into that animal.  Also known as, “Shape shifters”, Skinwalkers pop up everywhere on dark nights, spooking people and drivers who might nearly run into or over them on the roads.

In August 1996, a team of investigators went out to a Sherman Ranch in Ballard, Utah, (Now known as, Skinwalker Ranch), for the purpose of investigating the numerous reports of all sorts of paranormal phenomena occurring on this ranch.   Their experience and findings were published in the book, “Hunt for the Skinwalker”.

Sightings of Skinwalkers may be accompanied by strange, unexplained phenomenon such as lights, fog or haze, along with some UFO sightings.  Whomever or whatever they are; plenty of people have reported sightings of these, elusive entities.

A creature that feeds off of livestock, goats, cattle, etc., is believed to inhabit the areas of Texas and Mexico is the “Chupacabra”.  Chupacabra, in reality are believed to be some sort of mutant coyote or wolf, and certainly there have been enough strange crypto zoological creatures that might be a, “Chupa”, that have been caught and killed.

Chupa’s have a tendency towards vampire-like behavior, drinking the blood of innocent and defenseless animals at night.  However, numerous reports from farmers who have lost livestock to this unseen blood sucker are recorded every year. 

Is it possible that Chupacabras may be some sort of intentional or accidental mutation of wild animals?  Has someone, private geneticists, the military or some other organization deliberately created these creatures and turned them loose in remote areas when the experiments didn’t work out as they’d planned?  Or is the Chupacabra a figment of man’s overactive imagination?  We have yet, to find the answers, but it’s a fact that something is feeding off of many farm and ranch animals without ever being caught in the act.  Until answers are found, Chupa must remain in the mythological category of creatures.

The “Yeti”, an apelike creature that seems to sometimes walk upright as a human being does.  Yeti are often spotted in remote or wooded areas of the country; they are gifted at dodging both humans and cameras, but a few photographs have been snapped and a slight amount of film footage of something ape-like and walking upright.

People often report a horrible and pungent odor when a Yeti is around and sometimes find branches of trees that have been snapped off as the Yeti passed through a wooded area. 

People have taken plaster casts of giant footprints, 1 ½ times the size of the largest human footprint and sometimes containing 4-5 toes.  Still, the Yeti continues to be categorized as a myth.  No one has ever been known to catch or kill one; no one has ever actually been attacked by one and we have no skeletal remains to prove their existence. 

Film footage is questionable, as is still photographs and none of these are ever clear enough to determine what they contain.  Like the other creatures, Yeti are elusive and if they do exist somewhere, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to argue with one!

Sources:

http://www.cryptozoology.com/cryptids.php

http://paranormal.about.com/od/thunderbirds/tp/thunderbird-sightings.htm

http://www.burlingtonnews.net/thunderbird.html

http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Mothman

“Hunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained at a Remote Ranch in Utah”, by: Colm Kelleher and George Knapp, Pub. Paraview Pocket Books (2005); ISBN# 1416505210, (Available at Amazon.com)