star dancers

Young dancers rising into the sky and becoming the Pleiades star cluster

The Pleiades as Lost Dancers

by Elizabeth Fabowale

March 16, 2026

American Myths·Native American Sun, Moon & Star Myths

Across the vast grasslands of the northern plains, the Lakota people preserved many stories that explained the mysteries of the natural world. These stories connected the land, the sky, animals, and people through shared meaning and tradition. Among the most beautiful of these stories is the legend of the young dancers who rose into the sky and became the shining

Parchment-style artwork of the Sun and Moon facing each other in the sky, Cherokee folktale scene.

The Sun and the Moon Are Man and Wife: Cherokee Folktale (United States)

In the ancient days, before the world found its rhythm of day and night, the Sun and the Moon lived together on

Parchment-style illustration of Rip Van Winkle waking on a Catskill Mountains slope, American folktale.

Rip Van Winkle, The Man Who Slept for Twenty Years: American Folktale of Time and Change

At the foot of the misty Catskill Mountains in colonial New York, there once lived a good-natured man named Rip Van Winkle.

Parchment-style illustration of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in snowy woods, American folktale.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend

Long ago, in the rugged northern forests of America, where towering pines whispered to the wind and the snow stretched farther than

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star dancers

The Pleiades as Lost Dancers

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The Sun and the Moon Are Man and Wife: Cherokee Folktale (United States)

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Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend