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The Wisconsin Gnomelore Database
The Canoti
"Iktomi saw them and they lured him into the gloomy depths of the woods and led him here and there until even he was bewildered when they disappeared."
From There Be Hodags, by C.A. McAllister:
The čanoti are a type of magical little people from the legends of the Dakota Sioux. They are referred to as either the “čanoti,” meaning “tree-dweller,” or the “čanotila,” meaning “little tree-dweller.” English translations sometimes refer to them as “elves” or “wood elves.” Čanoti are portrayed as small and thin, with greenish skin and wild, unkempt hair, who dwell within the trees of the forest. They were mischievous, and delighted in luring people into the gloomy woods to bewilder them. Čanoti also served a role as the messengers of the spirit world, and would often impart these messages through dreams.
It is said the čanoti were originally raccoons. The trickster-figure and spider spirit Iktómi struck a deal with the raccoon species, agreeing not to victimize their kind with his trickery in exchange for two of their infants. Iktómi attempted to turn these two infant raccoons into humans, but because of their original form, even as adults they never grew larger than the size of a raccoon. Because of their connection with Iktómi, the čanoti were also just as cunning as the trickster himself.
The čanoti can be compared with other Native American spirits that serve as dream messengers, such as the wakacuna, the mesingw, and the Butte des Morts skeleton warriors. Of those three, the wakacuna from Ho-Chunk folklore are the spirits with the most in common with the čanoti, as they are also tree-dwelling wood spirits, albeit ones with a more feline form.
The čanoti can also be compared to other raccoon spirits throughout the legends of various Native American tribes, such as the Ho-Chunk meteor spirit, Wojijega. They also have similarities to the wemategunis, the anserbaks, and the fleshgaits, which are all said to use their voices and mimicry abilities to deceive and confuse forest travelers.
From "Wood Spirits (Wakącųna, Wakaįcųna)" by Richard L. Dieterle
The Lakota have a similar concept to the Noci, the Can Oti, "Wood Dwellers." The Lakota Trickster, Iktomi ("Spider"), promised not to victimize the raccoons with trickery if they were give him two of their number as companions. They gave him two infants, and he agreed to turn them into the superior Pte people. He covered them over and sprinkled them with water. When they emerged, they were like the babies of the Pte. However, he did not know how to take care of them, so he gave them to the goddess Wakaŋka to raise. She foretold,
"'... [inasmuch as] they are offspring of raccoons, they will grow but as long as raccoons grow and when full grown will be of the stature of little children. Because you made them, they will be cunning as you are and because Škan has imparted no spirit to them, they will live in the woods as did their ancestors and will be called Can Oti (Wood Dwellers) and their delight will be to lure others into the depths of gloomy forests and bewilder them there.' ... [Later Iktomi] went into the forests searching for them. He saw them and they lured him into the gloomy depths of the woods and led him here and there until even he was bewildered when they disappeared."" (James R. Walker, Lakota Myth)
The Lakota version of Wood Spirits are dangerous and hostile by nature, but do not approach the terrifying lethality of their Hocąk counterparts.
From "Canoti: The Sioux's Malevolent Little Tree Dwellers" by Ken Jeremiah
The canoti (or canotila) are small creatures found in Sioux culture, canoti meaning “tree-dweller” and canotila signifying “small tree-dweller.” Considered tiny messengers of beings who exist in the spirit world, they allegedly appear in dreams to impart information and knowledge. Tiny creatures similar to the canoti appear in worldwide cultures, and one of the most famous is the Irish leprechaun, who is thought to be a solitary being that looks like a small human, and typically, it is mischievous: not necessarily evil, but it does not like to leave human beings alone to their own daily routines. Gnomes and fairies are also found throughout the world under different nomenclature. The first known mentions of such creatures were in medieval stories in Europe, but the idea behind them is much more ancient.
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