Blue Winds Dancing Whitecloud

Native American literature is considered by many as the traditional written and oral literature of Native cultures around the world. Many of these literatures are transmitted over periods of time by storytellers. This particular literature has many features that includes a mixture of oral tradition techniques along with tribal mythology. The majority of these historic manuscripts of the Native Americans is deeply rooted in symbolic and mythic standards. This assignment will focus on how Native American literature is rooted in storytelling. The selected text of choice for the assignment is

Throughout human existence, mankind has had to overcome difficult obstacles in order to prosper. In Diane Glancy’s “Pushing the Bear”, the reader discovers how the Cherokee Indians overcome their hardships and flourish into a new, thriving community. In this novel, the audience observe how these Cherokee Indians outlast the harsh environment during the Indian Removal Act. Additionally, Glancy creates a human experience during the Trail of Tears; giving a different perspective of various characters. Through the eyes of characters such as Maritole and Knobowtee, the reader is able to sense the desperation that the Cherokee endured. The upheaval of being forcefully removed from the land stripped the Cherokee of their identity. This disruption left the Cherokee confused, causing frustration to arise because they were unable to live their familiar roles. Men were no longer able to farm. Women had a loss of property and wealth. The bear symbolizes these struggles throughout this novel. Maritole explains, “The bear had once been a person. But he was not conscious of the consciousness he was given. His darkness was greed and self-centeredness. It was part of myself, too. It was part of the human being” (183). In other words, the “bear” is the personal dilemma each character is put up against during this removal. Furthermore, each character has their own personal struggles to overcome; whether that be Knobowtee’s loss of masculinity or Maritole’s loss of family. These struggles,

Although stories are a universal art form, they hold a more significant role in Native American culture, and literature. This occurs due to the millennia spent in isolation from the rest of the world, and having stories as the main source of entertainment. Thomas King’s statement, “stories can control our lives,” is an important notion, because it embarks on the idea of molding the diseased into more interesting versions of themselves. The statement is prevalent in many pieces of literature which fuse reality into the imagination, and cause people to lose themselves in the fictitious realm. Native literature is all closely related, and they all hold messages within their stories that show their great culture; both the good and the bad. Story

The first powwow that Sawaquat went to taught him that people viewed his heritage as a pastime. The powwow featured hobbyist who dressed up as Native Americans and acted like Native Americans would at a traditional powwow. This made Sawaquat feel ridiculous and it made it look like Native Americans were a joke. It was even harder for Sawaquat to see what the hobbyist were doing to his heritage because he was in a time of questioning and searching for his identity and this event was a step back for him. Sawaquat’s search for self-discovery led him down a path of disappointment.

Within the two passages, two Native American writers, N.S. Momaday and D. Brown, deliver two contrasting views on the Native American landscape and experience. Momaday’s awestruck diction and peaceful imagery revel in the seclusion of a scenario which promotes creation. On the other hand, Brown’s forlorn diction and passive tone mourn the lifeless landscape and loss of people forcibly detached from their land. While Momaday writes to explain the admirable beauty of Rainy Mountain, Brown writes to mourn the loss of life stripped in the barren landscape.

Popular culture has shaped our understanding and perception of Native American culture. From Disney to literature has given the picture of the “blood thirsty savage” of the beginning colonialism in the new world to the “Noble Savage,” a trait painted by non-native the West (Landsman and Lewis 184) and this has influenced many non native perceptions. What many outsiders do not see is the struggle Native American have on day to day bases. Each generation of Native American is on a struggle to keep their traditions alive, but to function in school and ultimately graduate.

An Indian Story by Roger Jack describes the author’s childhood growing up in a non-nuclear family. The author discusses his experience moving in with his Aunt Greta a year after his mother died and his structure changed with a new stepmother and stepbrother. By moving in with a nonimmediate family member, Jack had a healthier emotional living environment. Jack worked at Eastern Washington University in American Indian Studies when his narrative was published. An Indian Story was published in Dancing on the Rim of the World: An Anthology of Contemporary Northwest Native American Writing in 1990, along with other works by Jack being published in multiple journals. This story tells how growing up in a non-nuclear family and the need for changes

The Spoken tribe, like many other Native American tribes, suffered considerably due to alcoholism, poverty, and racism. In order to combat the dire state that he is in, Spoken Indian Arnold “Junior” Spirit decides to leave the reservation and go to Reardan, a school full of whites. Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian paints a picture of life where racism, poverty, and alcoholism affects Arnold Spirit as he journeys through a completely different society. His decision endangers him not only in his reservation but also at Reardan where he is ostracized for being the only Indian boy in a school full of white people. Despite these dangers, Arnold is still willing to reject his family tradition and go to Reardan because he has hopes of finding a fulfilling and hopeful life. Due to his willingness to go through with his action of going to Reardan despite the hardships, Arnold is able to march inexorably towards finding a fulfilling and hopeful life. Through his perseverance of physical and emotional hardships, and his willingness to leave his family legacy behind and go to Reardan, it is revealed the extent that man is willing to go to in order to achieve his goals.

In the short story, Compatriots, one would read about Lucy and Hilda - two women who vastly differ from each other. Lucy has grown up on the reserve her whole life, where Hilda had just arrived from Germany and is seeking to observe “real Indian culture”. In comparison, David Goes to the Reserve also features two fairly diverse people of opposite cultures: the Aboriginal narrator of the story, and her Caucasian friend David.Within the story, David travels to a reserve to observe the culture of the First Nations people. Both stories contain wonder and excitement, but also presents a sense of culture that the First Nations have; it is this culture that the main characters struggle to grasp.

Native Americans make up less than .9% of the United States population. With this trivial number, it is difficult to keep its culture and traditions alive as generations progress. In the short story “War Dances,” author Sherman Alexie morns the loss of Native American identity through a deprecating tone which illustrate a divide between generations.

Like a coin dropped between the cushions of a couch, traditional oral storytelling is a custom fading away in current American culture. For Native Americans, however, the practice of oral storytelling is still a tradition that carries culture and rich history over the course of generations. Three examples of traditional oral stories, “How Men and Women Got Together”, “Coyote’s Rabbit Chase”, and “Corn Mother”, demonstrate key differences in perspectives and values among diverse native tribes in America.

     In Conclusion the author, Leslie Silko, displays the poverty and hopelessness that the Native Americans faced because of the white man. The Author elaborates this feeling of hopelessness in the Indians myth explaining the origin of the white man. As a result

The United States has been built on a land with a history of its own. Native Americans lived all throughout North America before colonization. Although some of them are long gone, they have not been forgotten. Native Americans have rich and diverse culture that has been preserved through stories, myths, songs, and legends; all passed down through generations. One of the most important themes in Native American literature is the relationship between people and nature. This plays a role in almost all of their stories. Two of these stories are “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Silko and “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by N. Scott Momaday. I will be comparing these stories and exploring similarities and differences in their

Native American literatures embrace the memories of creation stories, the tragic wisdom of native ceremonies, trickster narratives, and the outcome of chance and other occurrences in the most diverse cultures in the world. These distinctive literatures, eminent in both oral performances and in the imagination of written narratives, cannot be discovered in reductive social science translations or altogether understood in the historical constructions of culture in one common name. (Vizenor 1)

Tradition is a big part of a cultural identity. Traditions are not loved nor understood immediately, however with time the importance of tradition becomes evident as it makes people unique. As a kid, serving meals every thanksgiving may feel insignificant and tedious, but as an adolescent the small amount of time spent as a family doing something annually has a lasting impact on one’s values. Frank Waters’ fictional novel, The Man Who Killed the Deer, Martiniano struggles to find a faith after he illegally kills a deer. Neither the whites not the Indians seem welcoming because he offends both by breaking the law and not showing respect to Indian ideology. The deer continues to haunt him until he understands the role of nature and the cycle of life. The poem “I Have Killed the Deer”, written by a Taos Pueblo Indian, emphasizes the importance of equality and the mystical connection with nature. Both works highlight the unique Indian perspective of nature and its contribution their identity. Both Martiniano and the Taos Pueblo Indian use nature to provide life; Martiniano’s self-centered view on the old Indian traditions prevent him from finding peace in a faith, while the Taos Pueblo Indian fully appreciates and understands his role in nature.