Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster

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In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays pranks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and norms of behaviour.
While the trickster crosses various cultural traditions, there are significant differences between tricksters in the traditions of many Indigenous peoples and those in the Euro-American tradition:
"Many native traditions held clowns and tricksters as essential to any contact with the sacred. People could not pray until they had laughed, because laughter opens and frees from rigid preconception. Humans had to have tricksters within the most sacred ceremonies for fear that they forget the sacred comes through upset, reversal, surprise. The trickster in most native traditions is essential to creation, to birth".[1]
Native tricksters should not be confused with the Euro-American fictional picaro. One of the most important distinctions is that "we can see in the Native American trickster an openness to life's multiplicity and paradoxes largely missing in the modern Euro-American moral tradition".[2]

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From definition of Archetypes (above):

"archetype [ar-ki-typ], a symbol, theme, setting, or character type that recurs in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, dreams, and rituals so frequently or prominently as to suggest (to certain speculative psychologists and critics) that it embodies some essential element of ‘universal’ human experience."

The Trickster archetype in indigenous culture can be applied to deity, human, and animal. Very different from the European and Eastern concept of ‘God’ in that, for the latter, deities are held separate and independent of lower life forms.

I think it is interesting to think of the archetype as variable in forms. We say that God has many faces, yet I think it is usually in the context of different actions taken that we envision the different faces of God. For the ancient peoples of the Americas’, God may take different forms and perform any action. This is the definition of omni-potency.

I will not attempt to decipher First Nations Mythology. I am in no way qualified. My purpose is to show how archetypes exist in a variety of cultures and the similarities of them. I believe that in understanding and respecting beliefs of all cultures, we, as humans become more enriched and the circle of the human family draws closer.

Archetypes are familiar to cultures in a local theatre. Unless cultures cross paths, differences are seen by some as “strange” and “unusual”. I remember as a child when I first observed Eastern peoples involved in traditional celebrations. I was completely surprised by the colors, the costumes, the songs and dances of other, far away places. At that age, I couldn’t understand why people would worship those ways. I was so ignorant.

I’ve learned that I can be educated by others of different tradition. A right of passage. No more are those days of mocking and minimizing what at first appears different and strange.

If we are to transcend our differences, it is essential that we seek to understand each others culture and histories. Archetypes are one way to accomplish this mission.

“Trickster” symbolizes traits which dwell inside the soul of mankind. Tricksters’ stories are ancient and yet, still valuable today. I can learn much about the history of indigenous people, as well as learn about myself by studying the character type.

It’s important to note that the Trickster has separate definitions between Euro and Indigenous peoples. In European context, a trickster is considered somewhat of an annoyance, or a distraction away from that which is more critical and useful. My decipher relative to indigenous theory is that the Trickster may take the form of a Godhead, having above-human powers and even controlling our universe.

The stereotypical European might envision a child who plays tricks on his mother or teacher at school. Imagine a little prankster with that much control over the universe!

Indigenous mythology uses the English term ‘Trickster’(probably the closest to fit) to describe an entity present in daily and spiritual life. It appears that the early people of America saw no issue combining the Divine with the norm. How different would our own culture be if God was commonly referred to and easily recognized in our normal daily behavours? Instead, Europeans have sanctified God to almost unreachable heights beyond the grasp of average people. We must have qualified individuals to assist us or we fear error. Not so for the people of First Nations. For them, God, or Trickster, is available and present in all things.

Posting this now before it becomes a book. Thank you to everyone for reading and commenting.