The World On A Turtle's Back Summary

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 novel “The Back of the Turtle” by Thomas King is relevant to Canada in both present day and history. Through the setting, characters and theme the story is portrayed in a way that makes it sound like a calamitous prediction for the future of Canada’s treasured natural world. Riddled with corporate greed and environmental disaster, the story follows those involved and affected by the catastrophe that destroyed Samaritan Bay. His lifelike characters are tangled with labyrinthine emotions that add another layer of complexity to the story. In my opinion, the novel “The Back of the Turtle” by Thomas King is a great novel because of the depth of storytelling that the author can achieve, and deserves to be recognised as a “Great Canadian Novel”.

"I am sad that you had this dream. It is clearly a dream of great power and, as is our way, when one has such a powerful dream we must do all we can to make it true. The Great Tree must be uprooted." (Turtles Back) Native Americans did not have any way such of writing. So the elders taught the youth and eachother stories and life lessons by word of mouth. The Native Americans depended on nature to survive so much so that their way of life was depicted by nature. The sources When Grizzlies walked upright (source A), World on Turtles Back (Source B), and Navajo (Source C) all depict their way of life and nature in a common way. Source A was about the Sky Chief moving from the sky to the Earth which he creates yet at the same time, some of his creations like the Grizzle Bear symbolizes rules and culture. Source B represents determination and life. Source C represents life and strength. Although, Sources A, B, and C depict the Native Americans different views of life, they all show how nature has a part in them.

Do Native American myths have any similarities to 21st-century writings? A myth is an original story that deals with early history. Some 21st-century writings are about the past, but mainly are fiction. Both types of writing styles create a special meaning for the background of their story. “The Navajo Origin Legend” and “White Buffalo Woman” are two types of Native American myths. These two myths show how the Native Americans saw the world. Even though the Native Americans lived in the wild, they believed that the world and the creatures on it were honorable. This allowed them to become one with the land. The Native Americans discovered a new writing style through the process of becoming one with the land. This process

As humans we always ask ourselves some three questions about us. Who are we? Why are we here? And why should we continue to live in this place? We come to these origin tales and myths for answers to these questions. In the Native American myths “The Walam Olum” and “The World on Turtles Back” it clearly shows just how the Native American tribes started there, and should continue to live at the places they started at.

Cherokee Women, Gender and Culture Change 1700-1835, written by Theda Perdue, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln & London, 1998. First Bison Books printing: 1999.

The  status of women in Algonquian and Iroquoian society. The Europeans viewed the structure of Native American society lacking the complexity of their own community.  Their drawings and accounts  of the Indian people reveal that the tribe's division of labor and gender roles were actually very advanced, especially where the status of women was concerned. Since  married women in Europe held few rights to their property, family wealth, or even children, women of the tribes had  greater independence and discretion over their produce, conditions of labor, and property.  Native women even served as representatives in the tribal councils, and held  rights over the land they worked.  This  demonstrates that although “women’s work” was belittled in European cultures, Native women’s daily contributions were recognized by Native men and the tribe as a whole as vital to the prosperity of the community and worthy of respect. Analyzing the condition of women in America, a  woman's status in their community was directly related to the social hierarchy, religious culture, and natural environment in which they lived, and that the combination of those ingredients varied vastly  across the continent.

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,

In Unit 1, we have read, discussed and thoroughly shared our thoughts on multiple texts and theories, even the derogatory John Smith. These texts have provided insight on many indigenous populations, their cultures and interactions with each other. “The World On The Turtle’s Back” also know as “Women who fell from the sky” is a tale of creation from the Iroquois nation, I chose this tale and the gender criticism view.

Antelope Wife is a short story by Louise Erdrich. Antelope Wife is about a Native American man belonging to the Chippewa tribe in Minnesota who is a teacher. One day he laid his eyes on four women: three daughters and their mother. He was determined to have the mother and he ends up kidnapping her. He gets her (the antelope) to fall in love with her, but he was warned by Jimmy Badger that these women are generally curse the men who go after them. Towards the end of the story, she becomes overweight and ugly and the man did not expect this to happen to him. There is already a connection to native culture in the title of this short story, ‘Antelope’. Antelope is a spirit animal in the native heritage. Antelope symbolizes being on the movie and action oriented. “Deep in the fields of tall golden grasses in the desert the Antelope thrives, ever watchful and discerning ready to move in an instant. The Antelope perceives subtle body movements and signals from the other members of the herd. When danger is near they move as one, quickly and confidently with finesse and confidence, their maneuverability allows them to disappear into the vast expanse of wilderness with no more than a moments notice.” (Universe of Symbolism, Antelope). This symbolism is referred to towards the end of the poem by Jimmy Badger. “If you see one

Martha Garcia and Paula Gunn Allen both write in their essays of the challenges that Native American women have historically faced and continue to confront to this day. Major contributors to these challenges are the stereotypes and misconceptions by white male anthropologists and missionaries who studied the Native American tribes and found the women subservient and passive. Both of these authors strongly disagree in this characterization of Native American women and instead portray them as important and honored members of their tribes who will struggle but will continue to have a tremendous impact on the future of their tribes.

As a student engaged in the American Education System the only time I was exposed to Native American folklore was when I was fortunate enough to take an American History course or read their stories in English class as examples to analyze. What we often times did not read, however, were the roles these folktales played as crucial to the customs of Native American society. Although, as I have begun to read more Native folktales within my undergraduate English course I can analyze the impact of folklore on the Native American Culture.

After reading “The Earth on a Turtle’s Back”, I learned that different cultures have different beliefs whether they are truths or myths. In this story, a chief’s wife had a dream. It was their belief that dreams foretold the future and they must act upon their dreams to make them come true.

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.

When European settlers arrived, they had a pre-decided vision of what women ought to behave like based on the European women, which the indigenous women didn’t align with. Indigenous women were comprehended and characterized in ambiguous and conflicting terms. They could firstly be viewed as “noble savages” where they were seen as classic Indian Princesses, virginal, childlike, naturally pure, beautiful, helpful to European men, and open and willing to