Tricksters and Native American Beliefs

Maybe this is more an NPC (or even regular Chat) thread topic, but I'm putting it here because it seems the best fit. So, on topic, I've read some places that trickster spirits/deities were very common and held in high regard with First Nations religious/spiritual beliefs. How exactly do these compare to Norse mythology (especially Loki). I'm asking for a sort of ASB narrative idea, but I want more historically grounded info.

In particular I'm interested in the Coyote and Spider pair from (I think) Lakota (maybe Dakota?) beliefs (mostly because I saw a movie which included them and liked the characters shown).
 
Well, tricksters are a fairly common archetype all over the world, and not just in Native American or Norse myth; think of e.g. Hermes, or Puss in Boots, to take two very different examples.
 
My understanding is that while "very common" is accurate, "held in high regard" varies wildly by culture. For example, the Ute tradition sees Coyote as a malevolent and destructive figure (in many ways parallel to Loki, or even Satan), while the Navajo tradition sees Coyote as irresponsible and trouble-making but nevertheless a mostly-positive figure (more like Puck, Nasrudin, or Brer Rabbit). On the other hand, there were traditions such as the Miwok where Coyote, while remaining a trickster, was the primary hero of the mythology.
 
Top