Tricksters

Trickster
Article by Amanda Robinson
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/trickster
Trickster is a word used to describe a type of supernatural figure that appears in the folklore of various cultures around the world. In Canada, the word has been popularized by anthropologists studying the role of these figures in Indigenous teachings and oral histories. Indigenous peoples call tricksters by their own names, such as Glooscap or Glooskap (Algonquian), Wisakedjak or Weesageechak (Cree) and Nanabush or Nanabozho (Anishinaabe).

Origin of the Term

Creek-Cherokee author Craig S. Womack argues that tricksters are not inherently Indigenous; rather, they were “invented by anthropologists.” Womack is referring to the fact that often non-Indigenous scholars (starting generally in the 1800s) created a convenient, catch-all phrase — the trickster — to label Indigenous figures and stories that might not always fit into this category. It is therefore important to recognize and appreciate that Indigenous communities construct tricksters in different ways.