Resources on American Indians for Children and Teachers

Welcome to Native Languages of the Americas! We are a non-profit organization working to preserve and promote American Indian languages. This "Facts For Kids" section was designed to provide simple online information about American Indians in an easy-to-read question and answer format. We encourage students, especially older kids, to look through our main information on American Indian tribes to get the best feel for the cultures they are studying. 

What is a cradleboard?

Chippewa mother with cradleboard

A cradleboard is a traditional kind of Native American baby carrier. The baby is swaddled (wrapped tightly in a small blanket) and strapped to a specially designed flat board, usually made of a wood plank (although some tribes wove them from basket fibers.) The cradleboard can then be carried in the mother's arms, worn on her back like a backpack for travel, propped up on the ground like a baby chair, or secured to a sled or travois for longer journeys. After horses were introduced to the Americas, cradleboards in some tribes began to be designed to hang off the side of a horse as well. Apache Mythological Figures Click on each character's name for more detailed information about his or her role in Apache mythology.  Coyote (or Fox): Coyote is the most common trickster figure among the Apache tribes (though in some communities, the same stories attributed to Coyote instead feature Fox as the hero.) Like the trickster figures of other Southwestern tribes, Coyote/Fox is occasionally helpful to humans, but at other times his impetuous and foolish behavior causes trouble for everyone around him. Frequently he is killed through his own recklessness, but always comes back to life afterwards. Like other legendary Apache beings, Coyote is sometimes described as having human form, and other times animal form.  Big Owl (or Owl-Man): A malicious and dangerous giant often used as a "bogeyman" in children's stories. Like other legendary Apache beings, Big Owl is sometimes described as having human form (in this case a man-eating ogre) and other times animal form (in this case a horned owl large enough to carry off a child.)