Algonquian Pantheon Mythology Chart

Includes 2 files in a Zipped Folder: 1 Copy with Spirits Colored by Archetype (i.e. Day, Night, Sky, etc) and 1 Copy in Grayscale Optimized for Black & White Printing.

DISCLAIMER: This poster is a comparative, cross-nation synthesis of Algonquian-speaking spiritual cycles for educational and artistic reference; it is NOT a ceremonial teaching and does NOT represent any one nation’s authority.

I (Joshua Kes) am passionate about geography, anthropology, linguistics, and also what is generally referred to as "mythology" and "paganism". I have a B.S. in Geography and Sociology; the study of places and people, respectively. But I'm also a practicing "neo-pagan" of usually reconstructed practices and conceptualizations using bits and pieces from surviving traditions across the globe. I've been working on a database for comparative mythological studies for a few years now, and thought I'd put together some slick informative charts/posters of family trees for various pantheons based on language families around the world, living and ancient.

As a practicing "pagan", I wear the term "pagan" with a badge of honor. I understand, however, that not all spiritual or religious communities wish to identify with such a term. The same goes for the terms "mythology" or "pantheon". I still call my own spiritual-religious stories "myths" and their host of spirits/deities as "a pantheon". But I understand that "myth" implies a kind of disbelief for some, and "pantheon" implies a kind of Greco-Roman projection of structure. That being said, I still use these terms because 1) they're academically ingrained into the field of comparative mythology, 2) "belief" is, in my view, a Judeo-Christian invention/purity test that would not otherwise matter in actual practice, 3) I am fundamentally a humanist, choosing to see the commonality between us, rather than merely the differences, and 4) studying human migrations, macro-linguistics, comparative mythology, and archetypal psychology has led me to see connections between traditions from around the world which I cannot in good conscience ignore.

My Euro-American roots are frankly too recent/shallow to be interesting, so I often imagine what it would have been like before my colonizer ancestors got here. I wonder what it would be like to live next to or to pilgrimage to a local holy site or ancestral village that weren't continents away. And when I began reading about the Anishinaabe nations (often called "Ojibwe"), and the Dakota, who used to live on many of the lands that I grew up on, I realized just how deep and sacred their roots are in this land. Since I became a pagan, even if my ancestors were "European", I've wanted to pay my respects to the local sites and spirits of THIS land - the Great Spirit above, the Great Rabbit in our eerie woods, the Great Turtle upon whose back we live... Like any respectful traveler through distant lands, we must pay our respects to the local gods and spirits, whether blood-bound or not.

My team and I have tried to be as thorough, respectful, and inclusive of Algonquian-speaking peoples' named spirits as our available sources allow us to be, within the limits of a cohesive artistic expression, which this ultimately is. Our goal is ultimately to provide a chart for every 'pantheon' on this good Earth, so we elected to represent all Algonquian-speaking divinities in this edition, together. This means that we had to choose certain more popular names or epithets from some nations over others (like Gitche Manitou "Great Spirit" in Ojibwe, rather than Apistotoke in Blackfoot, Gici Niwaskw in Maliseet, Kisulk "Creator" in Mi'kmaq, Ahone in Powhatan, Kishelamakank in Lenape, and so on). There are countless other name-epithet choices throughout the chart. In many cases, this work is parallel to what linguists do when they reconstruct a Proto-Language, like Proto-Algonquian... We can try to reconstruct a whole 'pantheon' with aspects from many First Nations in the Algonquian language family, but, inevitably, that means making some complicated choices about which names and depictions we ended up going with. If anything, we hope that this chart spurs your curiosity to enthusiastically search and inquire the following First Nations for their own versions of the story: Anishinaabe/Ojibwe, Cree, Illinois, Menominee, Meskwaki/Fox, Shawnee, Lenape, Mohegan, Powhatan, Abenaki, Maliseet/Malecite, Mikmaq, Penobscot, Wampanoag, Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne...

If there are more First Nations who we have left out, or you have any other concerns, questions, or suggestions, please send us a message. If you are a member of one of these First Nations, and have suggestions, feedback, or wish to help us on past, present, or future First Nations studies, please send us a message, too! We have a Discord server of dedicated students and practitioners who are always looking for more perspectives to consider. This is by no means a final edition. And every cent goes toward better research and more time spent on projects like these.

I figure, if we didn't start somewhere, something like this might never be done. In my opinion, not enough attention is given to First Nations and their own unique spiritual-religious views, especially concerning what entities and practices the colonizers have hitherto called "pagan". The colonizers colonized their own people first during the pogroms against "pagans" in Europe, Africa, and Asia. We who remain ought to work together to redeem, reclaim, and rebuild our collective roots, both ancestral and panhuman.

My methodology of comparison for mythological motifs usually involves a coding system including 11 motifs/archetypes/codes, each color-coded and in order from left-to-right:

1. HEARTH - Fire, Blacksmithing, or Domestic Spirits like Chokanipok.
2. EARTH - Earth, Fertility, or Wild Spirits like Mondamin and Kukna.
3. SKY - Sky, Storm, or Wind Spirits like Bibon and Wabun.
4. WATER - Sea, River, or Wellspring Spirits like Maushup.
5. CHTHONIC - Death or Underworld Spirits like Chibiabos.
6. DAY - Sun or Light Spirits like Napoia.
7. NIGHT - Moon, Night, or Dusk Spirits like Nokomis.
8. LOVE - Dawn, Love, Muse, Justice, or Social Spirits like Glooskap.
9. WAR - War or Evil Spirits like Malsumis.
10. DEMIGOD - Demigods or Heroes like Hiawatha.
11. SPIRIT - Beasts or Animal Spirits like Nanabozho and Gitaskog.

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