Ancient Race of White Giants Described in Native Legends From Many Tribes

Several Native American tribes have passed down legends of a race of white giants who were wiped out.

Teardrop Arch in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Navajo legends speak of the Starnake, a race of white giants. Urosr/iStock

Several Native American tribes have passed down legends of a race of white giants who were wiped out. We'll take a look at a few such legends, including those among the Choctaw and the Comanches of the United States down to the Manta of Peru. 

Choctaw

Horatio Bardwell Cushman wrote in his 1899 book “History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez Indians”: “The tradition of the Choctaws . . . told of a race of giants that once inhabited the now State of Tennessee, and with whom their ancestors fought when they arrived in Mississippi in their migration from the west. ... Their tradition states the Nahullo (race of giants) was of wonderful stature.”

The tradition of the Choctaws told of a race of giants that once inhabited the now State of Tennessee.

— Horatio Bardwell Cushman