Thunderbird (mythology)



The thunderbird is a mythological bird-like spirit in North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength.

It is especially important and frequently depicted in the art, songs, and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, but is also found in various forms among some peoples of the American Southwest, US East Coast, Great Lakes, and Great Plains.

Archaeologically, sites containing depictions of thunderbirds have been found dating to the past 4,000 years.

Description
The thunderbird is said to create thunder by flapping its wings (Algonquian ), and lightning by flashing its eyes (Algonquian, Iroquois ). Across cultures, thunderbirds are generally depicted as birds of prey, or hybrids of humans and birds. Thunderbirds are often viewed as protectors, sometimes intervening on people's behalf, but expecting veneration, prayers, and gifts.

Algonquian
The thunderbird myth and motif is prevalent among Algonquian peoples in the Northeast, i.e., Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec, and eastward) and Northeastern United States, and the Iroquois peoples (surrounding the Great Lakes). The discussion of the Northeast region has included Algonquian-speaking people in the Lakes-bordering U.S. Midwest states (e.g., Ojibwe in Minnesota).

In Algonquian mythology, the thunderbird controls the upper world while the underworld is governed by the underwater panther or Great Horned Serpent. The thunderbird creates not just thunder (with its wing-flapping) but lightning bolts, which it casts at the underworld creatures.

Thunderbird in this tradition may be depicted as a spreadeagled bird (wings horizontal head in profile), but also quite common with the head facing forward, thus presenting an X-shaped appearance overall (see under §Iconography below).

Ojibwe


The Ojibwe version of the myth states that the thunderbirds were created by Nanabozho to fight the underwater spirits. Thunderbirds also punished humans who broke moral rules. The thunderbirds lived in the four directions and arrived with the other birds in the springtime. In the fall, they migrated south after the end of the underwater spirits' most dangerous season.

Menominee


The Menominee of Northern Wisconsin tell of a great mountain that floats in the western sky on which dwell the thunderbirds. They control the rain and hail, and delight in fighting and deeds of greatness. They are the enemies of the great horned snakes (the Misikinubik) and have prevented these from overrunning the earth and devouring humankind. They are messengers of the Great Sun himself.

Siouan


The thunderbird motif is also seen in Siouan-speaking peoples, which include tribes traditionally occupying areas around the Great Lakes.

Ho-Chunk
Ho-Chunk tradition states that a man who has a vision of a thunderbird during a solitary fast will become a war chief of the people.

Arikara
Ethnographer George Amos Dorsey transcribed a tale from the Arikaras with the title The Boy who befriended the Thunderbirds and the Serpent: a boy named Antelope-Carrier finds a nest with four young thunderbirds; their mother comes and tells the human boy that a two-headed Serpent comes out of the lake to eat the young.

X-shapes
In Algonquian images, an X-shaped thunderbird is often used to depict the thunderbird with its wings alongside its body and the head facing forwards instead of in profile.

The depiction may be stylized and simplified. A headless X-shaped thunderbird was found on an Ojibwe midewiwin disc dating to 1250–1400 CE. In an 18th-century manuscript (a "daybook" ledger) written by the namesake grandson of Governor Matthew Mayhew, the thunderbird pictograms varies from "recognizable birds to simply an incised X".

Non-indigenous scientific interpretations


American science historian and folklorist Adrienne Mayor and British historian Tom Holland have both suggested that indigenous thunderbird stories are based on discoveries of pterosaur fossils by Native Americans. However, it has also been noted by tribal historians, despite variations (note: much Indigenous references are verbal and difficult to reference), the typical design elements of the motif within different tribal groups across the continent appear distinct from the makeup of the suggested prehistoric flying reptile, such as eagle or raptor-like avian feathered wings and tail, along with a vastly different head shape, perhaps with the exception of some Pacific Northwest imagery.

In modern usage

 * The SSI (Shoulder Sleeve Insignia) for the 45th Infantry Division (Oklahoma Army National Guard) was a thunderbird patch.
 * Thunderbird is the name of an operator in the popular competitive shooter Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege.
 * The fictional native American X-Men character from Marvel comics goes by the name Thunderbird.
 * The Ford Thunderbird took its name from the Thunderbird.
 * The Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University takes its name from the WWII-era Thunderbird Field designed for training pilots.
 * In 1925, Aleuts were recorded as using the term to describe the Douglas World Cruiser aircraft which passed through Atka on the first aerial circumnavigation by a US Army team the previous year.
 * The Pokémon Zapdos is based on First Nations folklore surrounding the Thunderbird.
 * The Thunderbird is part of the Harry Potter franchise, and plays a significant role in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
 * Thunderbirds are the name used for the sports teams at Southern Utah University, in Cedar City, UT.
 * Thunderbirds are the name used for the sports teams at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus.
 * It is the namesake of the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League, as well as being depicted in the team's logo.
 * Thunderbird is a Bolliger and Mabillard Launched Wing Coaster that opened at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana in 2015.
 * The Thunderbird is a second to last boss in The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.


 * Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and open-source cross-platform email client.
 * Thunderbird is the sixth track on the album The Spine by They Might Be Giants.
 * One of the Miraculous in the Native American Miracle Box in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is the Thunderbird Miraculous.
 * The Thunderbird is the cap badge and symbol of the Canadian Forces Military Police since 1968.
 * Connetquot School District uses the Thunderbird as their mascot for their sports teams, which caused a lawsuit in 2023.