Pictographs Native Americans

The Girl Who Helped Thunder Long ago, in a village near the Mahicanitewk, the River That Flows with the Tide, a young woman named Pretty Face lived with her parents. Everyone said that Pretty Face was very attractive. The problem was the she also thought she was beautiful. “None of the young men of this village are good enough for me,” she said. So the years passed and she remained unmarried.

Then, one day, a strange person came to the village. He was a tall, slender young man whose clothing glittered with wampum beads. The stranger went straight to Pretty Face’s wigwam. “I have come to marry you,” he said. “Come with me.” “Daughter,” Pretty Face’s father said, “We do not know this person.” “We have not met his family,” said her mother. But Pretty Face was as stubborn as she was beautiful. “I like the way he looks,” she said. “I will marry him.” Then Pretty Face left the village with the young man. The stranger led her straight to the river. “Follow me,” he said and walked into the water. Although she was surprised, Pretty Face followed him. When the water closed over her head, she thought she might drown. Instead, she found that she could still breathe. She looked around and saw no trees or bushes/ There was only a trail that led down through the rocks to a place where many stones had been piled together.

“This is my village,” the strange man said. He led Pretty Face to the largest pile of stones. “And this is my wigwam.” An old woman came out of the stone wigwam. “My son, Amankamek, you should not have brought this girl here. She is not one of us.” But Amankamek, for this was the strange young man’s name, paid no attention to what the old woman said. “Go inside,” he said to Pretty Face. “I will go out and hunt for us.” Pretty Face did as she was told, even thouh the old woman hissed at her as she entered the stone wigwam. But she was beginning to feel uneasy. Everything was so strange and Amankamek’s name sounded familiar to her. When she looked back over her shoulder to see how far he had gone, she truly became afraid. What she saw was not a tall, slender young man, but a huge snake with glistening scales. Pretty Face realized now what she had done. Amankamek was the great snake who lived beneath the river. It was said that he could take the shape of a man to deceive humans. Had she been brought here to be Amankamek’s wife or to be eaten after she fattened up?

Pretty Face knew that she needed help. But what could she do? Then she remembered that the Thunder Being was the enemy of the great snake. When Thunder rumbled across the sky, he was hunting creatures such as Amankamek. Pretty Face stepped outside the stone wigwam. “Grandfather Thunder,” she cried out, “please help me.” As she spoke those words, a strong old man appeared before her. “Granddaughter,” the old man said, “follow the path beneath your feet. If you run fast enough, you may save yourself and help me.” Then he was gone. Pretty Face began to walk and then run along the path. As she did so, Amankamek’s people came out of the other wigwams.

“Stop,” they hissed, but Pretty Face only ran faster. When she looked back over her shoulder, she saw that they too were huge snakes. As Pretty Face ran, the path began to go uphill. Then she heard a voice. “My wife,” it hissed, “come back.” Pretty Face looked over her shoulder. A huge serpent with glittering scales was not far behind her. It was Amankamek. She did not do as he said, but instead ran faster toward the top of the hill. Suddenly, she was no longer running, but thrashing about in deep water. The head of the great serpent ose out of the water behind her. “I warned you not to run away,” Amankamek hissed. “Now…”

Suddenly, there was a great flash of light followed by a huge clap of thunder. Strong hands pulled Pretty Face from the water. She looked up at the strong old man who had just saved her. “Granddaughter,” Thunder said, “you have helped me destroy the great snake by bringing it to the surface where I could strike it.” Pretty Face turned to look at the river. The huge body of Amankamek was floating there, killed by the lightning arrow of Thunder. Then Pretty Face looked back toward her own village. She knew she could not return there. “What shall I do now, Grandfather?” she said. “Because of what you have done, you can come with me to the sky land. You may live among the Thunder People and be one of us.” And so it was. To this day, when thunder rolls across the sky, the Lenape people say that the girl who helped Thunder is calling to remind young women to be careful whom they choose.

Creating your pictograph Choose seven events in your life that have been significant and list them on your piece of paper For example: A birthday that stood out to you – tell what age Parents’ divorce – tell what age A teacher that stuck out to you – tell what grade Moving to a new house Learning how to do something for the first time – riding a bike, playing an instrument

Creating your pictograph Now, put numbers beside each event to put them in chronological order. 1 should be beside the event that occurred at your youngest age 7 should be beside the event that most recently occurred

Creating your pictograph Next, on your piece of paper, map out the events. It should look like a line graph with the good events or memories at a high point and the events or memories that you struggled through at the low points. Finally, illustrate each event with a picture because remember, these are pictographs! (Also remember to use limited words. On a separate sheet of paper, you will explain each event to me and why it was significant.)