Nanabush, or Nanabozo, is one of the most important figures in the legends of the Anishnaabe/Anishnawbe tribes. He is a Trickster god, half human and half spirit. He has many different and often contradictory characteristics—alternately selfish and helpful, sincere and petulant, cowardly and brave. Above all, he is playful, mischievous, and sometimes causes both big and little problems for the people around him. He is a shapeshifter and often appears to people in the guise of an animal, usually a rabbit.
There are many important things attributed to Nanabush. Some say he is a messenger from the Great Spirit. Some say he created Turtle Island, the continent of North America. One version of the story is this: the Creator had flooded the world to begin it anew, and Nanabush asked animals to swim down to the bottom of the sea and collect soil to recreate the world. They all failed except for a muskrat, which surfaced carrying a bit of wet soil. The animal died in the effort but Nanabush took the soil and put it on a turtle’s back to make the world.
Tricksters play an important role in Native cultures. The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that their stories range from “entertaining community members to transmitting traditional knowledge to teaching moral lessons. Many Indigenous peoples see Nanabozo and other Indigenous cultural figures as a way to bring back the traditional approaches to learning and storytelling that were suppressed by the forces of colonization.”
