Grizzly Bear   - Cygnus, Milky Way
Shoshone Tribe
Wyoming, Southern Idaho

A grizzly bear (Cygnus) climbed up a tall mountain to go hunting in the sky. As he climbed, snow and ice clung to the fur of his feet and legs. Crossing the sky the ice crystals trailed behind him forming the Milky Way.

Coyote's Eyeball - Arcturus
Lummi Tribe
Pacific Northwest Coast

The Coyote liked to take out his eyeballs and juggle them to impress the girls. One day as he was juggling them he threw one so high it stuck in the sky (Arcturus).

Two Dogs – Cannis Major, Milky Way
Cherokee Tribe
Tennesee, Carolinas

There are two dogs (alpha and beta Canis Majori) who guard the path (Milky Way) to the land of souls. To get past the dogs one should bring food. Be warned, if you give food to the first dog (alpha) he will let you pass, but if you fail to save some food for the second dog (beta) you will be trapped between them forever.

Six Wives – Pleiades, Hyades
Western Mono Tribe
Central California

Six wives (Pleiades cluster) were hiking in the woods and discovered some wild onions. They ate the onions which gave them skunk breath. Their Husbands (Hyades cluster) threw them out of their huts. When the wives went up into the sky to live, the lonely husbands eventually followed but never catch up to them.

Walks All Over the Sky – Sun, Moon, Stars
Tsimshian Tribe
Pacific Northwest Coast

Back when the sky was completely dark there was a chief with two sons, a younger son, One Who Walks All Over the Sky, and an older son, Walking About Early. The younger son was sad to see the sky always so dark so he made a mask out of wood and pitch (the Sun) and lit it on fire. Each day he travels across the sky. At night he sleeps below the horizon and when he snores sparks fly from the mask and make the stars. The older brother became jealous. To impress their father he smeared fat and charcoal on his face (the Moon) and makes his own path across the sky.

Spider and the Sun – Sun,  Milky Way   

Cherokee Tribe
Tennesee, Carolinas

In the beginning there was only darkness and people kept bumping into each other. Fox said that people on the other side of the world had plenty of light but were too greedy to share it. Possum went over there to steal a little piece of the light. He found the Sun hanging in a tree, lighting everything up. He took a tiny piece of the Sun and hid it in the fur of his tail. The heat burned the fur off his tail. That is why possums have bald tails. Buzzard tried next. He tried to hide a piece in the feathers of his head. That is why buzzards have bald heads. Grandmother Spider tried next. She made a clay bowl. Then she spun a web (Milky Way) across the sky reaching to the other side of the world. She snatched up the whole sun in the clay bowl and took it back home to our side of the world.

The Fifth World – Sun, World   

Toltec Tribe
Central America

Five worlds and five suns were created, one after the other. The first world was destroyed because it's people acted wrongfully. They were eaten by ocelots and the sun destroyed. The second sun saw its people turned into monkeys due to lack of wisdom. The third sun had its world destroyed by fire, earthquakes, and volcanoes because the people didn't make sacrifices to the gods. The fourth world perished in a flood which also drowned its sun. Before creating the fifth world, our world, the gods met in the darkness to see who would have the honor of igniting the fifth sun. Tecciztecatl volunteered. The gods built a big fire on top of a pyramid and the volunteer prepared to throw himself into the flames. He was dressed in beautiful hummingbird feathers, with gold and turquoise. Four times he tried to force himself into the suicidal fire but each time his fear drove him back. Then the lowliest of all the gods, Nanautzin, dressed in humble reeds, threw himself into the fire. Teccitztecatl was so ashamed that he too jumped into the fire. The new sun rose into the sky giving light to the fifth world.

http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/legends.html#Coyote%27s