1. Native American Literature
Key Characteristics

2. Oral Storytelling
Myths and stories were not written down until the 19th century
Stories were passed on from generation to generation through oral storytelling
Many cultures have stories about the same topic but vary in their details
Modern Native American Literature utilizes similar techniques
Repetition
Structure

3. Does any of this sound familiar?
Biblical stories
Greek and Roman mythology
Shakespearean plays

4. Modern NA Authors have revived this ar of literature…
N. Scott Momaday: “We have no being beyond our stories.”
In what ways are we, as people, products of the stories we tell?
What function do stories serve in our society? (ranging from those we tell each other to blockbuster movies)
How has storytelling changed? How has it remained the same?

5. Native American Perspective: The Oral Tradition
Words are powerful and magical.
Words can bring about physical change in the world.
Words are sacred and rare, and must be spoken with great care.
The speaker must be careful in choosing what is said, for it will be taken as a reflection upon him or herself.
There is a connection between the sacred and the verbal. Careless use of language is a poor reflection on character and breaks the ethical bond between the sacred and the verbal.

6. The Power of Words
“The belief that words in themselves have the power to make things happen—especially words in extraordinary combinations—is one of the distinguishing features of native American thought; and it may be said that for the people who share this belief a connection exists between the sacred and the verbal, or to put it in more familiar terms, a connection between religion and poetry.”
John Bierhorst, The Sacred Path
How does our modern world still hold to this idea of the power of words?
Do you believe that words possess this power? If not, why do we feel the need to speak them?

7. KEY CONTENT TERM: Archetype
The original or ideal upon which later versions are based; the original that has been imitated
For example – The tree in “Sky Tree” (a Huron creation story) is the archetypal “world center” – the point from which life originated. Many ancient religions have a tree that is central to their creation story.
Many different types of archetypes including:
The hero (Neo, Odysseus)
The mentor (Morpheus, Yoda, Gandalf)
The seducer (The One Ring, the Ice Queen)
The Trickster (Hermes, Coyote, Aladdin)

8. KEY CONTENT TERM: Myth
A story should have the following qualities in order to be categorized as a myth:
Emerges from a particular cultural group (without a specific author)
Explains the unexplained workings of the universe or passes along guidelines, morals, advice, wisdom, etc for dealing with life
Must focus on the exploits of a god or on the interaction of a mortal with a god
Originate in oral traditions, then are written down after many retellings (during which numerous change occur to the story)

9. Common Characters Trickster Female characters Flawed Heroes
Coyote
Spider
Female characters
Grandmother
White Buffalo Woman
Spider Woman
Flawed Heroes
Monsters / Beasts

10. Tolowim Woman and Butterfly Man, Page 290
What is your interpretation of this story? What does it tell us about language?
What causes the woman to lose her child? And her husband?
What point is this story making? What is the lesson?

11. Your turn!
You will find two stories out of the book American Indian Myths and Legends.
For each story you read, you will answer the questions on the handout.
This is due Monday.
I have a class set, but you can check one out from the library.