Stories abound in the folklore and myths of numerous cultures around the world of Little People. Places such as Ireland, Hawaii, Greece, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Flores Island all have their own stories and legends.

This article post will focus on the Little People of Native American beliefs and folklore.

Descriptions

Some stories describe the Little People as “hairy-faced dwarfs.” In other places, petroglyphs depict them with horns on their head. They often travel in groups of five to seven, sometimes on land or by canoe on waterways.

Legends told by the Cherokee say the Little People love music, especially drumming, singing, and dancing. Sometimes a person will hear their drums in the mountains. It is, however, unsafe and unwise to follow that sound. The Little People are known too to put a spell or enchantment on a person, causing them confusion and getting lost. Even after a person makes it back to their settlement, they will remain in a daze forever. Any item or trinket such as a knife found in the forest, a person must ask the Little People if they can have it. If permission isn’t asked, the least of a person’s worries is to have rocks thrown at them on the way home.

Habitats

Legends of Little People say that they live in the woods near sandy hills and rocks alongside large bodies of water like the Great Lakes. If the Little People were known to live in caves, those places would be avoided so as not to disturb those living there.

Pranksters

Several Native American legends speak of the Little People as pranksters. Some will sing and then hide when someone comes looking. Any type of distraction or mischief. The Little People are known to love children and take them away from abusive parents or if the child is out left alone. If an adult was encountered, the Little People would plead for their existence not to be spoken of and reward or aid their family in times of need.

All of this varies from tribe to tribe as to who and what the Little People are like if they were friendly or considered evil and best avoided. Some tribes would leave a gift for the Little People to try and stay on their good side.

Reality Behind The Myths?

When you get out to the parts of the United States for Montana and Wyoming, there are legends about the remains of the Little People having been found. Descriptions often state that these remains are “perfectly formed” and dwarf-sized, etc.

Archeologist Lawrence L. Loendorf comments that such remains and burials are sent to a local university for study. Loendorf further comments that two mummies found were of anencephalic infants in the first half of the twentieth century and that the deformities would cause people to believe those were adults and contribute to a belief of a group of small or tiny people from prehistoric times.

Lewis & Clark – These early explorers recorded in their journals that the Native Americans living near Spirit Mound, South Dakota believed that Little People lived within and refused to go near it for fear of them, citing they were dangerous.

Coshocton County, Ohio – In the 1830s a graveyard was unearthed and believed to hold the skeletons of a pygmy race. The graves were noted to be approximately three long were “bone burials” where several bent or disarticulated bones were packed together.

Pryor Mountains, Montana & Wyoming – The Pryor Mountains are known for their “fairy rings” much like in Irish and Celtic folklore and for stories where strange things happen.

Pedro Mountain Mummy

This is an interesting one. Like many Native American tribes, the oral traditions of those like the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow, Shoshone, and Sioux all tell of the “little people” who stand anywhere from just 20 inches up to three feet tall. Some of the tribes will call these little people “tiny people eaters.” Other tribes have referred to the little people as spirits or healers. Plus, long before the arrival of Europeans, there are many stories of encounters with the Little People that are like those of Celtic fairy lore.

Proof of these beings appears to come with the discovery of a 14” fully formed mummy found in 1932. It was found by two men prospecting for gold in the San Pedro Mountains. While blasting a section of the mountain, it opened up a small cavern about 15 feet long and 4 feet high and it had previously been sealed off. Inside, the men discovered the small fully formed mummy in a sitting position with brown wrinkled skin. The forehead was low and flat with a flat nose and heavy lidded-eyes, a wide mouth, and thin lips. Overall, the mummy looked like an old man and was remarkably well preserved.

When they found it, the men took the mummy to Casper, Wyoming where scientists from all over the nation came to look at it. Tests and x-rays showed the mummy to be real, that it had been killed violently by a blow to the head, explaining a damaged spine and broken collarbone. An odd thing noted about the mummy is that the teeth were overly pointed and had a complete set of canines. Scientists judged the mummy to have been 65 at the time of death.

Accounts vary on who did the testing and examinations. The American Museum of Natural History was certified as genuine by the Anthropology Department of Harvard University. The University of Wyoming however gave another report, stating the remains were that of an anencephalic infant after Dr. George Gill, a professor of anthropology, was given a set of X-Rays in 1979 to examine.

The mummy was on display in sideshows for years before getting bought by a Casper businessman, Ivan T. Goodman. Later, in 1950 after Goodman died, the mummy was passed on to Leonard Walder, a businessman from New York. In 1980, the mummy disappeared after Walder passed away and its location is currently unknown.

Other Mummys & Skeletal Remains

There have been other skeletons of “Little People” found in other places in the United States. Places such as Coshocton, Ohio have a burial ground where numerous remains of a small, pygmy race standing around three feet tall have been found.

Another graveyard was found in 1876 in Coffee County, Tennessee. The remains of thousands of small, dwarf-like people were found and said to be buried there.

Conspiracy Theories

There are still people who insist that the remains of other “Little People” have been found in caves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Some of these may have been infants with anencephaly. Others persist that any testing on these mummified remains has been kept secret and that these mummies disappear after they’re turned over to authorities. One conspiracy theory claims the Smithsonian Institute will hide or destroy these remains.

Occam’s Razor says that any remains were likely returned to the tribes for reburial, especially with infant remains.

By Any Other Name…

Given the numerous different cultures and tribes of the various Native Americans, there are bound to be just as many different names. For comparative folklore, going into Celtic or Irish fairy lore, there are numerous different types of Fae that would be collectively referred to as the Little People so as not to invite their attention or offend them.

So whether we’re seeing different names for them in different languages or different types of Little People can be hard to say as it varies by region.

Some tribes like the Ojibwe have stories of the Memegwaans, or Memegwaanswag who are shy of adult humans but love children.

Another tribe, the Crow see the Little People as spirits of their ancestors and will leave an offering for them when entering an area.

• Alux – Maya
• Canotila – Lakota
• Chaneque – Aztec
• Geow-lud-mo-sis-eg – Maliseet
• Ircinraq – Yup’ik
• Ishigaq – Inuit
• Jogahoh – Iroquois
• Makiawisug – Mohegan
• Mannegishi – Cree
• Memegwesi/Memegawensi/Memengweshii/Pa’iins – Anishinaabe
• Nimerigar – Shoshone
• Nirumbee or Awwakkulé – Crow
• Nunnupi – Comanche
• Popo-li or Kowi Anukasha
• Pukwudgie – Wampanoag
• Yehasuri – Catawba
• Yunwi Tsunsdi – Cherokee
• Canotila – Lakota
• Popo-li or Kowi Anukasha – Choctaw