Creating the mythic world of Middle-earth, JRR Tolkien drew inspiration from well-known Northern European traditional literatures. But Tolkien in Pawneeland points to an obscure book never mentioned by Tolkien - a book unknown to lovers of Middle-earth. Comparison of textual elements shows that Tolkien drew inspiration from a 1904 book, Traditions of the Skidi Pawnee. He used this material to invent his creation story and to colorize such characters as Ungoliant, Tom Bombadil, hobbits, Gollum, Gandalf, stone-giants, Beorn, and Smaug. This unexpected journey into a hidden story suggests that Pawnee traditional history served as one of JRR Tolkien's most important sources for the making of Middle-earth. This secret means that actual historical narratives lay at the foundations of Tolkien's fictional tales, and Tolkien's mythmaking has given rise to a truly global mythology.