Native American Native American LiteratureLiterature

English III English III

• Our American identity as we know it is a product of our past. Our class will focus on literature which reveals how we arrived at our society and culture today.

• We study Native American literature out of a respect for the indigenous cultures who were here before the European explorers as well as a respect for their cultural and literary influence throughout the years.

Historical & Cultural Context Historical & Cultural Context

• Indigenous Americans inhabited this continent before anyone else. They endured many invasions from the Spaniards for the following primary reasons:

1. land

2. gold

3. crops

(all of which were plentiful)

• Before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century, The Americans were already home to thriving populations of American Indians– “Columbus did not discover a new world; he

established contact between two worlds, both already old” (J. H. Parry)

• Indian removal was legalized with the Removal Act of 1830, which stipulated:

1. the tribe “consent” to move

2. new land was to replace the old

• Initially, American Indians vastly outnumbered the colonists; however, the settlers exposed the native population to diseases to which they had no immunity, such as small pox

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Some Dominant Themes & Motifs:Some Dominant Themes & Motifs:

• relationships between humans and animals

• respect and reverence for mother earth and nature

• land as the strength of the people

• village/community/tribe as sovereign

• cyclical patterns: renewal and continuance

• importance of tribal traditions and history

Oral TraditionOral Tradition

• The languages of Native American tribes were never written down before the English arrived from Europe.

• Their stories were passed verbally from generation to generation.

• The Oral Tradition– These stories were reliant upon repetition– Used in ceremonial situations– Repetition aided in memorization– Provided narrative cohesion– Participatory– Powerful and unifying

Imagery & RepetitionImagery & Repetition• Imagery- images formed in the reader’s

mind relating to a story– Example: tree, water world, turtle

• Repetition- repeating something over and over– Shows importance and meaning; also helps

listeners since they were oral stories

• Symbolism- items representing something else; hold great value

MythsMyths

• The purpose of myths is to seek to explain or rationalize one or more aspects of the world or a society.

• Myths usually have religious or supernatural elements and have a character that is immoral.

• Origin myth-a myth that explains how something bega

Common ThemesCommon Themes

• Creation

• The trickster

• The gambler

• Abduction

• Migration

Trickster TalesTrickster Tales• One form of creation story• Vary from tribe to tribe, but contain the• same basic qualities:• – Trickster are more than deceivers who make

us laugh• By crossing social boundaries, they both break

rules and show how important rules are

– Tricksters are creators in their own rights

Creation StoriesCreation Stories• Similar to the account in The Bible• Similar from tribe to tribe• Used to explain how the world/universe was• created• Explained the origin of man

– Sometimes had animal characteristics

• Sometimes non-gender, or only one gender– (usually female—mother earth)

• In every case, there is a sense of birth—both of the world and humans

Code Talkers in WWIICode Talkers in WWII

• During WWII, bilingual Native Americans, mainly Navajo, transmitted messages through codes for the United States Army.

• The codes were never broken by the enemy.

Native American WisdomNative American Wisdom

• “The earth was created by the assistance of the sun, and it should be left as was…The earth and myself are of one mind.” --Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

• “All things are connected…Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth…This we know. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself.” --Chief Seattle