Nokomis

spirit · United States · North America

Nokomis is the grandmother of Nanabush (Nanabozho) in Ojibwe tradition, her very name meaning 'my grandmother' in Anishinaabemowin. She raises the trickster culture hero after the death of his mother and guides him through his adventures. Cognate grandmother figures include Nukumi of the Mi'kmaq and Grandmother Woodchuck of the Abenaki. Longfellow popularized her as Hiawatha's grandmother.

Open in the interactive archive →