The level of which colonization has affected cultures varies among the different indigenous peoples of the Aridoamerica region (Northern Mexico and Southwestern United States). Of interest to me is the reconstruction of [Proto-]Uto-Aztecan (PUA) mythology. Below is my attempt to reconstruct the Southern PUA pantheon based on linguistic cognates and the surviving elements of pre-columbian mythology in modern indigenous communities.
| Deity | Grandfather Fire | Grandmother | Father Sun | Mother Earth | Mother Maize | Mother Moon | Elder Brother Morning Star | Younger Brother Evening Star |
| Other common attributes | Creation | Mother of gods; Creation | Dismembered body | Night sky, Underworld, Waters | East, Guardian of the stars | |||
| Cora | Tayasu | Uxu’u | Tayá’u Xüká | Tanana | Tatei Nakesari | Tatei Tahete Uakan / Tatewan | Taha’a tu Vasta Ha’atsikan / Tahatsi | Taha’a Tupari Sautari |
| Wixarita | Tatevarí | Nakawé | Tawexíküa Tayéu Takáü | Nakawé | Tatei Niwetsika | Tamatsí Máxa yuawí ‘Blue Deer’ | ||
| Raramuri | Onorugame | Iyerugame | Chirisopori ‘Morning Star’ (lit. ‘Hidden-Star’) | Arisopori ‘Evening-Star’ | ||||
| Yoeme | Achai O’ola | Achai Taa’a | Mala Meecha | |||||
| Mexika | Xiuhtecuhtli ‘Lord of Fire’ Huehueteotl ‘The Old God’ Tōnacātēcuhtli ‘Lord of Sustenance’ | Toci Tōnacācihuātl ‘Lady of Sustenance’ | Tonatiuh ‘The Sun’ Piltzintecuhtli ‘Child Lord’ God of Rising Sun | Tlaltecuhtli ‘Lord/Lady of the Earth’ [dual-gender deity] | Chicomecóatl ‘Seven Snake’ | Metztli ‘The Moon’ | Tlāhuizcalpantēcuhtli ‘Lord of the Dawn’ Quetzalcoatl ‘Feathered Serpent’ | Xolotl Nanahuatzin ‘Full of Sores’ |
Elder Brother is an almost universal figure among Uto-Aztecan peoples. This deity tends to straddle the worlds of the gods and people, often actively teaching people. For tribes that were converted to Catholicism, this figure often became associated with Jesus Christ. Elder Brother is also known as the Morning Star, and is associated with the morning appearance of the planet Venus. In addition to the communities listed in the table, Elder Brother is found in the mythology of the O’odham people as Si’ehegǐ ‘I’itoi.