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NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE

NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE. MYTHS & POETRY. 35,000 BC—people begin moving across land bridge from Asia to North America First North American people were actually from Asia Native Americans believed: Land is sacred—no one can own it

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NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE

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  1. NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE MYTHS & POETRY

  2. 35,000 BC—people begin moving across land bridge from Asia to North America • First North American people were actually from Asia • Native Americans believed: • Land is sacred—no one can own it • Lives are organized around cycles of nature, not around past, present, future • Speechmaking and storytelling are important parts of life • Over 600 Native American cultures in the United States • Spoke several hundred dialects HISTORY

  3. Navajo • Largest nation; today occupy portions of Arizona • Pima • Village farmers in ancient times; Arizona • Ojibwa • Lived on the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Huron • Sioux • Lived along Colorado River • Cherokee • Occupied Southeastern US • Iroquois • Occupied New York area • Made up of 5 different nations; later added a 6th NATIONS

  4. Early Native American nations had no written language • Poems were sung and chanted by a group • Europeans copied down the sounds that the Native Americans made using the European alphabet ORAL TRADITION

  5. NATIVE AMERICAN POETRY

  6. Played a central role in their lives • Chanted and created poems whenever they felt the need to align with the mysterious powers that governed daily life POETRY

  7. Used for: • Celebrating • Praising • Explaining • Mourning • Communicating • Remembering • Helped in: • Hunting • Planting • Harvesting • Dancing • Making war • Overcoming trouble • Dealing with life and death USES FOR POETRY

  8. NATIVE AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY

  9. Centuries before Europeans arrived, Native Americans established 100s of nations with unique cultures and heritage • Each nation had own tradition of oral literature • Stories were passed down from one generation to the next • Told in privacy of households and tribal ceremonies MYTHOLOGY BEGINNINGS

  10. Traditional story that relies on the supernatural to explain a natural phenomenon, an aspect of behavior, or a mystery of the universe • Provides imaginative ways to help people feel at home in the world and make sense of it • Emphasize spiritual bond between creator, humanity, and the entire world • Emphasize duty of humanity to maintain balance within their natural world • 2 types • Creation Myths • Tell how world and human life came to exist • Origin Myths • Explains how natural things like stars, moon, mountains came to be OR why society has certain beliefs or customs DEFINTION

  11. Play a central role in traditional Native American culture • Used to give people sense of order, identity, to heal the sick, ensure plenty of food, initiate young people into adulthood, and teach moral lessons. PURPOSE OF MYTHS

  12. Animal characters that have two sides to their personality • Rebels who defy authority and create trouble • Curious, clever, creative • Coyote, raven, mink • Unexpectedly reveal wisdom TRICKSTER

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