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Explore the rich history and values of Native American tribes from their migration to the introduction of settlers. Discover their food, entertainment, and strong bonds of kinship. Learn about their beliefs, land as a source of life, and the impact of European colonization on their culture. Dive into Native American literature and the oral tradition that has shaped their stories and myths.
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Native Americans* First Native Americans migrated from Asia across the Bering Strait 35,000 years ago. They migrated all over North and South America, forming hundreds of tribes.
Food and Entertainment* Native Americans introduce corn, squash, beans, and certain fish to the settlers. Cattle and pigs are brought from Europe. Native Americans played slight-of-hand games, dice games, lacrosse, and hoop-and-spear.
Values* • Bonds of kinship, or strong ties among family members, ensured a continuation of tribal customs. • Elders instructed the young and in return the young honored the elders and their departed ancestors.
Values* • They believed that land was a source of life not a commodity to be sold. • How is this an example of valuing the tribe over self?
More on the Native Americans* • Some beliefs: • All parts of nature are made up of animals • Everything is sacred, spiritual, and has life • The land is not to be owned • Polytheistic…many gods as seen in myths • Prominent roles for women • Cycles of nature ruled life.
Historical Background • Christopher Columbus reached North America in 1492 • Found the area inhabited by Native American tribes
Once explorers and settlers decided to stay and start building, the natives could do nothing although they usually tried to fight back. • Natives had a completely different set of values and traditions: - some wouldn’t fight back until they realized they would lose their land completely - *they lived off the land and held it in high regard; earth was the mother - *they never used more than they needed and they never wasted anything
The settlers flagrant ways and intruding methods of desecrating the land came as a huge blow to the Native Americans. • The Europeans also brought disease that natives were never exposed to before, which brought actual physical desecration to their people. • Over time (hundreds of years) land was progressively taken away from them and they were not only robbed of their sacred land and the traditions it embodied for them, but they were forced into assimilating into the emerging European-American culture.
Native American Periodpre-1620-1840* Native American literature is an oral tradition of song and stories. Much of Native American literature focuses on the natural world and the sacred world and the importance of land.
Native American Literature* • Magical and mystical elements • Types: • Creation/Origin stories: explain where people and things come from, why they exist • Historical narratives: passed down the history of their people and traditions • Trickster tales: used to teach lessons
The Native American Oral Tradition* Oral literature – stories passed down from one generation to the next as they were told and retold in the privacy of households and in tribal ceremonies. Myth – anonymous, traditional story that relies on supernatural phenomenon, to explain a natural phenomenon, an aspect of human nature, or a mystery of the universe. (Seek to explain why the world is the way it is)
Oral Tradition continued* . . . • Creation myths – tell how the world and human life came to exist • Origin myths – explain how natural phenomenon such as the stars, moon, and mountains came to be or why a society has certain beliefs and customs. (Many myths emphasize a bond b/w the Creator, humanity, and the entire natural world. They explain it is the duty of humanity to maintain a balance with the natural world.)
Oral Tradition continued* . . . Animals play an important role in Native American myths. • Totem – animal or object to which a clan is “connected”; revered by that clan • Trickster – animal characters with 2 sides to their personalities; rebels who often created chaos; curious, clever, creative; may exhibit wisdom (coyote, raven, mink)
Some Dominant Themes & Motifs*: • relationships between humans and animals • respect and reverence for mother earth and nature • land as the strength of the people • village/community/tribe as sovereign • cyclical patterns: renewal and continuance • importance of tribal traditions and history
Literary Terms* • Allusion: reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, sports, etc. • Myth: traditional stories passed down from generation to generation • Alliteration: Repetition of the initial consonant sound • Simile: extended metaphor using “like” or “as” • Anecdote: short story that teaches a meaning
