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Thunderbird is a supernatural creature prominent in many Indigenous traditional stories. The thunderbird plays varying roles in different Indigenous traditions. Traditional stories of the thunderbird exist in cultures from the Pacific Northwest, the plains, and the eastern regions of what is now Canada (see also Northwest Coast Indigenous Peoples in Canada; Plains Indigenous Peoples in Canada).
In some Indigenous traditional stories, thunder and lightning are attributed to the thunderbird. It produces thunder by flapping its wings and lightning by opening and closing its eyes. In other traditions, the thunderbird is said to hunt whales, using its wings to shoot arrows. Among some Plains First Nations, thunderstorms are a contest between the thunderbird and a huge rattlesnake. Individuals who had been struck by lightning and survived often became Shamans, for they had received the power of the bird (see also Religion and Spirituality of Indigenous Peoples in Canada).
