Native American Stories Of The American Indian Stories By Zitkala Sa, Momaday, Alexie, And Silko

Native Americans had their own way of passing down wisdom of their culture. They passed their stories orally, that today is read in history books. Even after the written word had spread across the globe, Native Americans still primarily used storytelling to pass down their spiritual, mythological, and historical beliefs. Many people have heard one of these passed down stories, also known as myths or folktales.

Throughout history, and all over the world, mythology has been developed as a way of explaining the unknown and coping with one’s existence. Why does the sun shine? Well, seemingly, to generations past, something is controlling the universe, so there must be a god in charge of the sun and many other natural phenomenon. During the creation of Native American myths, “there was much in the way of free-range food, but hunting wasn't as easy as getting up in the morning, taking a stroll and shooting a few passing bison with your bow” (Godchecker). Times were tough, “even Plains societies who lived off the prolific buffalo fell under the threat of starvation at times” (Godchecker). Finally, “when herds were found, the people were grateful and

"Double-consciousness this sense of always looking at one 's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one 's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity" (Dubois, 8). W.E.B. Du Bois had a perfect definition of double-consciousness. The action of viewing one 's self through the eyes of others and measuring one 's soul. Looking at all of the thoughts good or bad coming from others. This is present in the main character of the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. The Absolutely True Diary is about a boy named Junior that is fourteen years old and living on the Spokane Reservation. Junior was born with too

In her book American Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa's central role as both an activist and writer surfaces, which uniquely combines autobiography and fiction and represents an attempt to merge cultural critique with aesthetic form, especially surrounding such fundamental matters as religion. In the tradition of sentimental, autobiographical fiction, this work addresses keen issues for American Indians' dilemmas with assimilation. In Parts IV and V of "School Days," for example, she vividly describes a little girl's nightmares of paleface devils and delineates her bitterness when her classmate died with an open Bible on her bed. In this groundbreaking scene, she inverts the allegation of Indian religion as superstition by labeling

Once Zitkala-Sa begins her transformation at the missionary, she notices the whitewashing of many Indian girls, “a line of girls who were marching into the dining room. These girls wore sleeved aprons and shingled hair” (p. 1134). This shows the atmosphere of the school. The description of the girls, was the first instance when Zitkala-Sa experienced culture shock. Zitkala-Sa has never seen something so inappropriate, “I looked at the girls, who seemed not to care that they were even more immodestly dressed than I, in their tightly fitting clothes” (p.1135). This also proves that the missionary was ignorant to understand that it takes time to adjust the children into a culture that they are not familiar with. White missionary used unhuman techniques in order to force an entire civilization into a more ideal one. The significance of the “Shingled hair” plays a huge part in “The Impressions of an Indian Childhood” because it indicates bravery, and honor within Zitkala-Sa’s tribe. When Zitkala-Sa is forced into getting her hair cut, was the final indication of loss of identity. The removal of her

“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.-Native American proverb” This is a Native American proverb that shows how important storytelling and stories are to the Native Americans and their culture. Storytelling was a big way of teaching their lifestyle to their younger generation. Storytelling is very important to the Native American culture because it helps explain their way of life, faith, and helps teach life lessons to the younger generation.

In his story “The Lakota Way; Joseph Marshall III adequately convinces the reader to persevere through a series of stories that allows the reader to develop a personal connection with characters. Marshall achieves this by informing the reader and using formal diction. This allows his readers to experience how perseverance can have a positive impact on one’s life. Marshall teaches us that Perseverance represents a quality in human beings that allows us to be steadfast despite the difficulty. In the folk tale “The Story of the Giant,” perseverance is abundant; Marshall utilizes the skill of teaching to persuade his audience to persevere through the story. Marshall‘s unique way of writing allows the reader to take lessons from a story and influence them to use it in their own lives. From lya the giant terrorizing people to Indians having to leave their land because of the government to Marshall’s grandfather’s stories of hardship, Marshall shows his audience how the Native Americans have always had it rough but more importantly how they persevered.

Freedoms taken away from her in the hope for education and opportunities. Is it worth it? Is it worth it to give up freedoms, maybe a little bit of ourselves? Do we endure these difficulties now to then better ourselves in the future? I’m sure that’s something Zitkala-Sa thought about. She wanted to be educated like the “paleface” Maybe she thought to be like the “paleface” was to be American. For Zitkala-Sa the ending is a bitter-sweet moment. “There were two prizes given, that night, and one of them was mine! The little taste of victory did not satisfy a hunger in my heart. In my mind I saw my mother far away on the Western plains, and she was holding a charge against me.”

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will

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

Three friends were taking a hike in the woods. One of the friends said he was hungry. They were searching for wild onions one of the friends found one. As he dug up the onion he noticed something in the corner of his eye, but he ignored it. What he did not know that could have changed his life. The thing he saw was him teleporting. As he bit into the onion everything changed. His whole world changed.

Institutional structures have the power to configure adolescent growth through repression and liberation. The capability that adolescents have to create their own destiny and choose their own social institution can be limited, but not impossible. In Trites article, “Do I dare disturb the universe?” the author argues that kids have personal power, whether they acknowledge it and use it to their own advantage or not. Michel Foucault declares that “Power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere” (Trites). Power is inevitable, there will never be no such thing as power in this world; it will never diminish or fade. Trites also conveyed that, “power not only acts on a subject but, in a transitive

The ways of Native Americans have been both a cultural and societal sustainment within the United States today. However, not in the way traditional sustainment is seen as. In Phillip J. Deloria’s book, Playing Indian, he asks how across American history “has the notion of disguised Indians dumping tea in Boston harbor had such a powerful hold on Americans’ imaginations?” (9) What is it exactly that captivates the minds of Americans’ over the culture of our Native American predecessors? Before the passing of the Stamp Act in 1795, American colonists started mentioning of Tamenend, a Delaware chief who allowed William Penn to pass through his lands. The Shuylkill Fishing Company started a trend of clubs commemorating to the event with dancing, parades with people cladded in Indian costumes, “longtalks”, and maypoles being erected every first day of May to celebrate the beginning of spring and eventually being called “King Tammany’s Day.” Deloria makes the case of how the Roman Catholic holiday of Carnival makes the minstrel appearance of a “double life” (15) with both French and English celebrations and how the concept of “mocking” different cultures to be an Old World concept and something that has made itself well known as concrete in the holiday and the nations that take part in it. The Americans thus continued this timely tradition by taking part in celebrations with Indian wear and rituals without truly immersing themselves with any contact with the Native

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.