Native American Literature Section 1: Background

Question #1 Who was the first person to discover America? (think Kindergarten)

Answer  If you put Christopher Columbus you are WRONG! Christopher Columbus was the LAST person to discover America.

Columbus Discovers America

Visitors to America 1,000+ years ago, Norsemen traveled to North America (11 th Century Newfoundland) years ago, the Chinese traveled to North America 700-1,000 years ago, Phaecians traveled to North America ristopher-columbus/videos/ask-history-- did-columbus-really-discover-america

Population of the “New World” First Estimates : 4-6 Million Some Scholars Estimate : Million Most People Agree : around 10 Million

Key Definition Ethnocentrism: The belief that one’s own culture is superior to the culture of another people. It is important for us to maintain a level of cultural relativism when discussing other cultures as well as studying the history of our own culture.

Languages There were about 1,000 different languages spoken in North and South America. Native Americans didn’t have any written language, instead information was passed along through the oral tradition.

Map of Native American Groups

Why do you think…. Native Americans did not have written language? Telephone Game

Telephone Answer

Section 2: Differences Between Oral and Literate Societies I. In an oral society, all history and literature is memorized. Europeans had the Printing Press. This beneficial invention allowed information to be spread over vast areas relatively quickly. How do you think European literature will be different than the Native American’s?

Oral Tradition vs. Literacy II. Being literate means more than being able to read. People who are not in a literate society have some difficulty with abstract terms.

Abstract Terms  Love  Justice  Honor  Freedom  …  To compensate, in the oral tradition storytellers express these things in concrete terms.

Do you… remember these guys?

The Oral Tradition (cont’) III. The oral tradition relies on performance, not the printed word. Much of the significance is lost on the reader.  Also, the stories require prior knowledge of people, places or events for complete understanding.

This is why sand painting and Native American circle dances are so important… All required knowledge is in the circle.

The Oral Tradition (cont’) IV. Because things were not written down, most Native American stories have been destroyed. What is left was collected in the 19 th century.

Section 3: Types of Native American Stories I. Origin and Emergence Stories A. Explain origin of earth and it’s people. B. Explain relationship between people, animals, the Earth, and the cosmos. C. Define gender and social roles. D. Account for tribe’s unique topography and climate.

I. Origin and Emergence Stories (Cont’) E. Tells the origin of the tribe’s most significant social institutions and activities. F. Chaos  Order Dark  Light Undetermined form  Humanity

II. Cultural Hero Stories (Native American version of the Epic) A. Cultural hero forms and creates social norms. B. Generally, Native Americans didn’t believe in the return to chaos. *** norms? *** return to chaos as in Western epics?

III. Historical Narratives A. Tells the story of major historical events and major movements of the tribe B. Memory stories are very accurate. C. However, because of a lack of time keeping, it is hard to determine time span.

IV. Trickster Tales A. Test limitations of culture, customs, and social roles. B. People appear in animal forms. (bear, coyote, buzzard, raven) C. Feature humorous and scandalous attempts to violate customs and values of a tribe.

IV. Trickster Tales (cont’) D. Trickster is a wanderer on the fringe of society E. The two goals of the trickster: Food and sex Now, lets look at some examples. As you read, look for these elements. *Quiz Friday*