Stick Indian

A sort of Native American counterpart to the European fairies, elves, dwarves, goblins, etc., as mischievous nature spirits, so-called "stick Indians" because they live deep in forests ("the sticks"). They are said to communicate in voices like birds or wild animals, or sometimes they'll call a victim's name in a human voice to draw them deeper into the forest, into danger, and much like European fairies, these "stick Indians" are best avoided and ignored, and not spoken of, as getting their attention is certain to result in misfortune. Descriptions of these "little people" vary, much like their European counterparts, from small, dwarfish creatures, to large hairy giants (see Sasquatch), to beings that look more or less like peculiar or uncanny Native American people.