# The Indian Princess legend **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [August 28, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552 "2025-08-28T16:42:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/1 "2025-08-28T16:42:35Z")
My hometown of Spirit Lake is supposedly named after the legend of an “Indian Princess”(Indians have princesses??) who fell in love with a forbidden “brave from another tribe”, so they decided to meet in the middle of the lake for so dumb reason but they both drowned and haunt the lake to this day. How many variations of this “Indian Princess” tale are there? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/2 "2025-08-28T16:50:57Z")
I’ve heard it about a high cliff where the princess supposedly leapt from. I even think from multiple places. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/3 "2025-08-28T17:03:14Z")
In song, Running Bear loved little White Dove. (1959) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/4 "2025-08-28T17:06:53Z")
She lept from multiple places? Wow!! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/5 "2025-08-28T17:07:35Z")
In terms of the question of whether there were such thing as “princesses”, there were hundreds of different tribes with all sorts of political and inheritance structures. For whatever you might view as being the defining characteristic of a “king”, there was probably some tribe with some chief that fit that paradigm, and so any daughter of his would have been a “princess”. More widely, human nature is that some people are going to be more influential than others, and there will be political advantages to marrying into that family. You may as well call the daughter of wealthy industrialist a “princess”, unless you subscribe to the idea that the royal family has to descend from the gods. There were probably lots of women who could, under one definition or another, be reasonably titled a princess by outsiders. And, I’d expect, that there were lots of rivalries and long-standing enmities among various families and tribes since, again, we’re ultimately talking about human beings. I’d expect that there were lots of frowned upon, scandalous, and forbidden relationships through the millenia. Of course, the other great truth in life is that nearly all legends _ain’t_. So…princess or no, forbidden love or no, it’s still probably just some pond. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/6 "2025-08-28T17:07:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > She lept from multiple places? Wow!! You beat me to it. I was going to post, ‘Did she climb back up?’ 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/7 "2025-08-28T17:11:44Z")
Anything worth doing is worth doing well… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/8 "2025-08-28T17:21:56Z")
Creve Coeur, Missouri. The princess fell in love with a French fur trapper, who did not love her. Heartbroken, she threw herself off a bluff into the lake. The lake and surrounding area was named for this event – creve coeur being French for “broken heart.” ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/9 "2025-08-28T17:22:03Z")
This is a ‘Measure Twice, Jump Once’ situation. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/10 "2025-08-28T17:30:28Z")
Devils Tower: Lakota legends tell of seven girls playing who prayed for help when chased by bears, and a sacred hill rose to protect them, leaving the claw marks on its sides today. Not exactly princesses, but probably because no white man thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/11 "2025-08-28T17:48:08Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’ve heard it about a high cliff where the princess supposedly leapt from. I even think from multiple places. [“I want to hear about the Maid of the Mist.”](https://youtu.be/J00Cd3-K97A?si=vC78tk4ibEhzrcKb) > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Creve Coeur, Missouri. The princess fell in love with a French fur trapper, who did not love her. Heartbroken, she threw herself off a bluff into the lake. Uh huh. Anybody check his alibi? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/12 "2025-08-28T18:12:47Z")
Not one of these “legends” I’ve ever encountered pass the “smell” test. I don’t think there’s a legend about a lovelorn Native American woman fitting the mold of these stories that derives from anything told by members of a real Native American Nation. They all have the air of stories made up by tour guides to beguile tourists out on a summer vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/13 "2025-08-28T18:38:42Z")
I think Kurt Russell’s character tells a similar story in the movie _Overboard_. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/14 "2025-08-28T19:49:31Z")
Yes, he does. Love that movie. Arturo and Katarina… > **[Arturo and Katarina-](https://stevevanhorn.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/arturo-and-katarina/)** > > There is a similar legend across many different lands. Some of the names are changed yet the stories have an eerie similarity to them. Perhaps one of the most prominent of legends is that of Arturo… At the end of the movie Kurt and Goldie recreate the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/15 "2025-08-28T20:24:17Z")
I suspect the story dates back to a 16th Century Native American storyteller called Shakey Spear. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/16 "2025-08-28T21:00:05Z")
There are two lakes not far from where I grew up in South. > Punished Woman Lake is named for a Sioux Indian legend that tells of a young woman who ran away with her forbidden lover, defying her father’s wishes for her to marry a clan chief. When the woman and her lover were returned to the tribe’s camp along the lake’s shore, the enraged chief killed his opponent, and then shot an arrow through the heart of the young woman. It’s next to Enemy Swim Lake, which has its own legend. As a child, we went wading there, only to discover it really should be named Leech Lake, based on the number of leeches on our legs. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/17 "2025-08-28T23:46:34Z")
There’s the Maid of the Mists at Niagra. > **[The Real Maid of the Mist: Niagara’s Famous Legend](https://thebrockhotelniagarafalls.com/blog/2015/01/real-maid-mist-niagaras-famous-legend/)** > > The Real Maid of the Mist ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/18 "2025-08-29T00:02:11Z")
The word “Real” is doing some heavy lifting there, even according to the article: > _The tale of the maid of the mist has changed with each retelling, and many scholars have unearthed different versions that paint a different picture. For example, a European deviation says that Lelawala did not willingly careen over the Falls, but rather that she was given to the gods in human sacrifice. Researchers continue to delve into histories to determine if any portion of the myth is derived from true events; however, no matter its veracity, this bit of Niagara folklore is as fascinating and epic as the three waterfalls themselves._ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/19 "2025-08-29T00:12:53Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The word “Real” is doing some heavy lifting there, even according to the article: They mean “real” as in opposed to the boat named after the legend. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552/20 "2025-08-29T01:39:12Z")
While we’re at it, a large percentage of modern Americans have some trace of native ancestry… but to hear the family legends, in most cases that trace was in the form of an “Indian princess”. (In my own case, there are genealogical records of a Shawnee woman in my ancestry, but no indication whatsoever in the records of her sociopolitical status) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indian-princess-legend/1022552.md?page=2)