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Native American Literature shows Ways of life Complex religious beliefs Sophisticated political systems Strong social values All reflected in their literature
Introduction American literature begins with the orally transmitted myths, legends, tales, and lyrics (always songs) of Native cultures. There was no written literature among the more than 300 different Indian languages and tribal cultures that existed in North America before the first Europeans arrived. As a result, Native American oral literature is quite diverse. Narratives from quasi-nomadic hunting cultures like the Navaho are different from stories of settled agricultural tribes such as the pueblo dwelling Acoma; the stories of northern lakeside dwellers such as the Ojibwa often differ radically from stories of desert tribes like the Hopi. Tribes maintained their own religions — worshipping gods, animals, plants, or sacred persons.
Native American Literature • Native Americans - 600 distinct groups • Spoke over 300 different languages • First “literature” was oral (storytelling and performances)
Systems of government ranged from democracies to councils of elders to theocracies. These tribal variations enter into the oral literature as well. Still, it is possible to make a few generalizations. Indian stories, for example, glow with reverence for nature as a spiritual as well as physical mother. Nature is alive and endowed with spiritual forces; main characters may be animals or plants, often totems associated with a tribe, group, or individual. The closest to the Indian sense of holiness in later American literature is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transcendental “OverSoul,” which pervades all of life. Theocracy: a system of government in which priests' rule in the name of God or a god.
Creation myths, trickster tales, Ritual chants and ceremonial songs Creation myths to explain Trickster tales to teach Native American Literature
The Mexican tribes revered the divine Quetzalcoatl, a god of the Toltecs and Aztecs, and some tales of a high god or culture were told elsewhere. However, there are no long, standardized religious cycles about one supreme divinity. The closest equivalents to Old World spiritual narratives are often accounts of shamans’ initiations and voyages. Apart from these, there are stories about culture heroes such as the Ojibwa tribe’s Nanabozho or the Navajo tribe’s Coyote. These tricksters are treated with varying degrees of respect. In one tale they may act like heroes, while in another they may seem selfish or foolish. Although past authorities, such as the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, have deprecated trickster tales as expressing the inferior, amoral side of the psyche, contemporary scholars — some of them Native Americans — point out that Odysseus and Prometheus, the revered Greek heroes, are essentially tricksters as well.
Trickster Tales To teach social values To teach norms of tribal culture
Human characteristics Represents the “underdog” Uses skill and cunning to outwit a superior Can be greedy, deceitful, pretentious or foolish Tricksters
Usually male but able to change his sex A threat to order Selfish or greedy Amoral Foolish Obscene Wandering/nomadic Tricksters
Tricksters Contradictory features Greedy yet helpful Foolish yet clever Immoral yet moral Society is taught rules for living successfully
Trickster Tales • Similar to a fable or parable • Example lesson: death is introduced so that people may truly know the value of life
Trickster Tales Etiological element does exist (cause and effect) Yet, more important is the didactical (teaching) element Example: because Coyote violated cultural norms, sickness or death was introduced into the world.
Examples of almost every oral genre can be found in American Indian literature: lyrics, chants, myths, fairy tales, humorous anecdotes, incantations, riddles, proverbs, epics, and legendary histories. Accounts of migrations and ancestors abound, as do vision or healing songs and tricksters’ tales. Certain creation stories are particularly popular. In one well-known creation story, told with variations among many tribes, a turtle holds up the world. Oral Genres
Creation Myths “Creation myth”- a traditional story passed through generations that explains how the earth and universe were created Events result from actions of supernatural beings Found in all cultures
In a Cheyenne version, the creator, Maheo, has four chances to fashion the world from a watery universe. He sends four water birds diving to try to bring up earth from the bottom. The snow goose, loon, and mallard soar high into the sky and sweep down in a dive, but cannot reach bottom; but the little coot, who cannot fly, succeeds in bringing up some mud in his bill. Only one creature, humble Grandmother Turtle, is the right shape to support the mud world Maheo shapes on her shell — hence the Indian name for America, “Turtle Island.”
According to scholar Joseph Campbell, creation myths have four purposes: To instill awe To explain workings To validate social customs To guide humans through trials Creation Myths
Multiple causes and effects Lack of precision in the telling: “No one knows just how this came to be. Some say…” Aspects of culture Creation Myths
Creation Myths • Found in all cultures… in all parts of the world
The songs or poetry, like the narratives, range from the sacred to the light and humorous: There are lullabies, war chants, love songs, and special songs for children’s games, gambling, various chores, magic, or dance ceremonials. Generally, the songs are repetitive. Short poem, songs given in dreams sometimes have the clear imagery and subtle mood associated with Japanese haiku or Eastern-influenced imagistic poetry. A Chippewa song runs: A loon I thought it was But it was My love’s splashing oar. Vision songs, often very short, are another distinctive form. Appearing in dreams or visions, sometimes with no warning, they may be healing, hunting, or love songs. Often they are personal, as in this Modoc song: I the song I walk here.
Native Americans contribution to the language • Indian oral tradition and its relation to American literature as whole is one of the richest and least explored topics in American studies. The Indian contribution to America is greater than is often believed. The hundreds of Indian words in everyday American English include “canoe,” “tobacco,” “potato,” “moccasin,” “moose,” “persimmon,” “raccoon,” “tomahawk,” and “totem.”
Many theorize that the first migrations took place from East Asia to present-day Alaska by means of the natural land bridge, Beringia. It has been said that several waves of migrations took place over the course of thousands of years. There are also other theories of migrations taking place from across oceans and traveling upward from South America How do historians speculate the Native Americans first reached the continent?
SURVIVAL How did a typical tribe take care of themselves as a community? Native American civilizations often had skilled hunters, gatherers, fishers, and farmers in their communities. Tribes were often unified with a communal support system of families and clans. Many were also known for frequently migrating in order to find the best conditions during severe weather changes or natural shortages.
Beliefs What were some common religious or spiritual views of the Native Americans? Native American cultures had a wide range of beliefs. Common features included reverence for nature and viewing spirits in connection with all things. There are many creation stories ascribing existence to one or many deities or viewing all things as divine (pantheism). The principles and ceremonies were mainly taught by oral tradition rather than sacred texts.
ONONDAGA: • Who were these Native Americans? What was their civilization like? The Onondaga people were a member nation in the Iroquois Confederation. Their civilization was in the Northeast region of North America, within the territory of modern New York. They were known for being made up of people who acted hospitably among each other and even toward outsiders. There are many ceremonies that they were known for, especially associated with gratitude. Many even spoke French due to migrating from the Canadian territory. They were known for their villages being settled on defensive high points. The people produced houses, tools made of stone and bone, and pottery. The government’s leadership, the chiefs, were selected by clan mothers. Today there is a reservation for the Onondaga people in New York
MODOC • Who were these Native Americans? What was their civilization like? The Modoc people had a civilization that lived on the west coast of North America, within the territories of modern California and Oregon. They were known for their skills in hunting, fishing, and farming. The people often migrated based on the seasons. Their villages were known for being a lot more independent of one another, even having their own separate governments. However, the people would unite when there was a conflict with outsiders. The people eventually faced hostilities with United States troops and many were eventually relocated to Oklahoma. To this day the Modoc people are divided into two different federally recognized tribes, the Klamath Tribes in Oregon and the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma (known as the Modoc Nation).
NAVAJO Who were these Native Americans? What was their civilization like? The Navajo people had a civilization that lived in the Southwestern region of North America. Historically, the people were known for being expert warriors and hunters for their communities. They eventually intermarried with the Pueblo people. The Pueblo taught them new skills such as weaving, herding, and how to grow new crops (squash, beans, and corn). With regard to herding, goats and sheep became a major commodity for trade. Owning many sheep was a sign of great wealth and status for one’s family. The art that was produced also became valuable commercially. Eventually, like many Native Americans, the Navajo people faced hostilities from American troops and scattered. Today many live in the Navajo nation, the largest Native American reservation.
IROQUOIS • Who were these Native Americans? What was their civilization like? The Iroquois people had a powerful confederacy in the Northeastern region of North America, within the territory of modern New York (with five founding member nations, including the Onondaga). They were historically known for tribes warring against each other, until they finally banded together in the confederation. Villages were known for their longhouses made from logs and bark. Because they depended so much on wood, many of these villages migrated every couple decades due to depleted resources. The people divided labor into jobs such as hunting, gathering, fishing, and farming. Their governments were known for being more democratic, with leaders being elected by the people. Today there are several reservations in existence.
