Early America

Native American Inhabitants

• No written story exists– Archaeologists use artifacts to infer– Folklorists have recorded songs, legends,

myths

• Uncertain arrival– As recently as 12,000 years ago or as

much as 70,000 years– Regardless, at least 30 times longer than

Europeans not until late 1500s

European Settlers• 100 years after

European explorers landed in North America still no permanent settlements north of Florida

• 1607 English settlers- Jamestown, VA Picture from:

http://northamericadredge.com/loc.html

Settlers + Natives

• Natives usually greeted settlers as friends– Taught agriculture, woodcraft techniques– Introduced to maize, beans, squash,

snowshoes, canoes, etc. crucial to survival

• Entranced by natives– They did not realize that Native

Americans had own cultural values, literary traditions

Native American Tradition

• Oral Tradition: Stories spoken aloud rather than committed to paper; told by elders to younger generations

• Mainly viewed as folklore [unwritten songs, stories, etc. of a culture] for a long time– Thus, the song lyrics, hero tales, migration

legends, and accounts of the creation were studied more for their story value than literary

• It IS considered literature!

Alternatives to Written Accounts

• No religious texts like Bible, Koran instead, sacred symbols on animal hides, in beadwork, and woven into rugs or clothing

Picture from: http://sarweb.org/?news_stockman_grant

Native American Literature• Language of lyrics,

narratives that have been captured in writing often poetic & moving

• Diverse BUT commonality deep respect for nature– Tales, chants celebrate

wonders of natural world, interconnectedness with world of the spirit

Lack of Language

• Imagine you have just landed in a new country and this is what you see when you go exploring…

Since you have never seen one of these animals before, you would not have a name to call it!

Picture from: http://divaboo.info/

Borrowed Language

• Early colonists borrowed words from the Native Americans’ vocabulary

• Pronunciation was difficult for them Anglicized (shortened, simplified), e.g.:otchock = woodchuck segankw = skunk

Tití pigmeo or mono de bosillo (pocket monkey) Pygmy Marmoset- Native to South America countriesPicture from: http://jdobias.blogspot.com/2011/05/days-71-72-and-73-im-city-boy-get-me.html

Borrowed Language

• Some U.S. places originating from Native American words:

Picture from: http://wapedia.mobi/en/List_of_U.S._state_name_etymologies

-Shenandoah

-Rappahannock

-25 state names

-5 of the 6 Great Lakes

Native American Myths & Legends

Explaining Phenomena

• Native Americans asked same questions as anyone else: “Why am I here?” “How did Earth come to be?” “When did life begin?”

• Need for explanation myths, traditional stories passed down to new generations

• Origin Myths: stories that explain phenomena such as customs, religious rites, natural landmarks, events beyond our control

Oral Tradition

• These traditionally unwritten songs, stories, poems, etc. convey a people’s values, concerns, and history

• What did the Native Americans value in their culture? What things did they fear? What was most important for them to pass on to future generations?

The Earth on Turtle’s Back

•Onondaga-Northeast Woodlands–Lived in what is now central NY–Originally from Canada–Wood & bark long houses–Did not believe in fighting

• Retold by Michael J. Cadutoand Joseph Bruchac• Story about the creation ofthe world• Earth forms as an offshoot of a celestial place called Skyland

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When Grizzlies Walked Upright• Modoc– Lived in what is now Oregon and Northern CA– Farmers, fishers, hunters, weavers– Forced onto Oregon reservation– Some Modoc had hostile relations with US troops

• Retold by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz• Tells origin of all Native American people• Chief of the Sky Spirits’ creations,• interactions with daughter