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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of indigenous short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

340+ Indigenous Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From folklores to modern tales of native people’s struggle to be heard, our indigenous stories have something for everyone.

Indigenous Short Stories – Page 17 of 23

MUKONYO

Submitted to Contest #88

Run! Run! Run! A pride of lions is coming to devour our cows, sheep and goats! run for your dear lives! shouted Mukonyo! the village fibster. Everyone in the village got into a frenzy, trying to save their domestic animals and their lives from the lions. Women running as fast as their thin legs would carry them and of course carrying their children on their backs and screaming on top of their voice! men trying to force the animals into their stables! it was a total commotion! everyone was on panic mode. Then suddenly Mukonyo falls down laug...

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The Tale of a Woman with a Stone in her Womb

Submitted to Contest #88

THE WOMAN WITH A STONE IN HER WOMB But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all beggars, the most impudent of all offenders, yea the very fiend himself – that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of my own kindness, that I myself am the enemy who must be loved – what then?   Carl Jung This is a tale from long, long ago that was also told just yesterday…There once was a young woman named Tara, with skin so perfect, that her face looked like it was made of fine stone. Her mothe...

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Tribal and Religious Sanitation

Submitted to Contest #88

Even during her time in junior secondary, she had seen them returning from the same meeting she don't want to be part of now as adult. She was wondering if those educated women among them for years couldn’t bring about the change, is she the one to do that?. No, the right thing remain to focus on her dreams and prayers and be strong in resisting the advances of the suitors and pressure from her parents and siblings. For years now, she have been able to do that and its getting intense nowadays.  Bilya Muhammad don’t even want...

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The Invisible Friend

Submitted to Contest #87

The soft chapping of the geckos and the chorus of crickets reverberated through the forest. An owl hooted in the distance. A soft wind was blowing. Leaves rustled. Tok Abu, the village shaman, used to the nocturnal sounds of the jungle was on a mission to retrieve a special herb that gave out maximum aroma during the full moon. This particular herb was used as an antiseptic for a mass circumcision ceremony that was scheduled the next day. When he heard the demonic call of a barking deer, Pak Abu knew it prophesied a bad omen, but he ignored...

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Fox and Rabbit: A Trickster's Tale

Submitted to Contest #87

Rabbit and the Fox  A Trickster Fable written by:  Jennifer M. Engel The worm moon was high in the silent March night sky, making it easier for Fox to see while digging his burrow.   It had been a long, harsh winter.  Much of his food supply perished underneath the bitter snow, which seemed to laugh every time it heard Fox’s growling stomach.  Fox’s natural personality was not malicious.  It was just that Mother Nature seemed to force him into situations that caused him to perform acts of devilish means, i...

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The Postmaster

Submitted to Contest #87

"The Postmaster might have left for his house, by now", she thought as she began walking towards the road. "Even he has his own children and he would like to spend some quality time with them too, I don't want to make him late." She increased the pace at which she walked in the gloomy wet afternoon. She walked past the cowsheds coming onto the path that connected the village to the main road. This path was full of mud which immediately molded into the footprints of the people who walked through it. The cold winds brushed against her cheeks a...

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Olugwu

Submitted to Contest #87

Walking down the narrow path away from the village cursing myself for waking up so late, i took the left turn towards olugwu and hastened my steps hoping to get clean drinkable water since water from the nearby streams are rather salty... The walk to olugwu is a 5 miles walk..not something to toy with and if one eventually gets there late the whole water would become brownish from the constant and careless dipping of different clay pots into the stream by those that came earlier. It was a cold harmattan morning and the day was barely bright...

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Yéil Tl’éetl’i

Submitted to Contest #87

North of the tallest peaks,In land dusted with snow,People of the Tides metIn the night with fire aglow.Young and old, near and far,The kwáans from all across,Found their way to the fireTo listen to storied love and loss.Faces around the flame dancedAs embers crackled and burst.The elders telling epic talesTo those with knowledge-thirst.Yet all know the Beginning,And how the world came to be.About the Great Spirit, the Raven,And the greedy Gull of the sea. For those who have not heard,Please listen fast and listen well.I shall speak it ...

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The Beat of Bongos

Submitted to Contest #87

Ba da, bum ba. Ba da, bum ba. Ba da, bum ba. Sea lions poke their heads out of reverberating ocean waves, a glint of amusement in their rounded eyes. Grand, chestnut males and elegant, tan females dart through the sea from all directions, and some swim in swirls that seamlessly flow with the water. They scramble to shore, their barks like halting trains frightening nearby life.Tabora chortles, the bongos limp in her arms, and Fonzi beams with a faraway look. He tends to do that, particularly when enjoying the view of La isla de la vida. The ...

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Raven Kills Everybody

Submitted to Contest #87

Raven Kills Everybody  People don't talk about it any more, about the first man to break the rules. Was he even a man at all? Perhaps, he was moreso a god, before the gods were ever conceived...a people who have been incarnated in the forms of celestial beings and ethereal creatures, the inspiration behind them all.   Excuse me, as I sip my tea. Ah, yes, now, where were we.  Well, as you know, in a time long ago, it was the Changing Times. Falcon had been soaring the skies all day, in search of his p...

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U LE NA HIDV USDI (LOST BABY)

Submitted to Contest #86

Once upon a time in a far away land, of daffodils and dragonflies, lived a Cherokee girl, she had fallen off the wagon, when her family was being moved, and no one had noticed, the little bundle fall out, and roll down the hill ,since they were traveling at night. She landed at the foot of momma yona's cave. Momma yona heard the whimpering, and cautiously went out to see what it was. She saw the human cub wrapped up, and looked around for the others, but didn't see anyone. She didn't know what to do, but knew she couldn't leave her out there...

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WREATH VERSUS BOUQUET

Submitted to Contest #86

Muthu Karuppan alias Muthu was unhappy as his father declined to render monitory assistance. Muthu wanted Rs 15000/- His father was angry because instead of getting multiple times of 15000/- from his wife’s side as dowry, his stupid son married a girl from a poor family without a paisa in the name of dowry. Now he was begging from others for assistance. A man without any common sense! The worst thing ever to happen was that the new bride was a dumb girl. For that very reason Muthu should have demanded lakhs of rupees as compensation. But on ...

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The Terrace

Submitted to Contest #86

As she stepped out on the terrace, the cool breeze of an early March morning caressed her face. She and Amit loved this part of the year; the winter was gone but the severe summer was still some way off. She breathed long the fresh air and turned to look at her flowers. The winter this year had been very severe and so the arrival of spring was eagerly awaited. She wondered how these tender flowers and herbs that she had so fondly planted on the terrace of her new apartment had survived this harsh winter. She had many flower pots on her terra...

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AFTER MISFORTUNE STRUCK

Submitted to Contest #86

I was back home after 24 months. I liked the feeling of being free and at home. My son had picked me up at the appointed hour which was 3 PM. I surveyed my garden. The plants were in good shape. A gardener saluted me and I acknowledged. He was new. The old fellow must have quit I thought. I knew an honest couple had taken care of my house in my absence. I got a phone call which my son passed on to me as I had as yet no phone of my own. It was the head of a religious organisation which I had sustained during my years in power. I thanked the c...

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A Burden to Bear

Submitted to Contest #86

           It was a cold afternoon in late December as Ted trudged his way through the deep, wet snow. His heart pounded and his mind raced as he recalled the events that brought him to this moment.           Ted was a quiet man, though he knew that deep inside, a rage was being held at bay. That rage surfaced as Ted returned home from work the previous evening and witnessed his neighbor beating his twelve-year-old son senselessly on...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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