In Harmony with Nature

The first American literature was created by the first people to live in North America, the Native Americans

Inhabited the land thousands of years before the first Europeans

Didn’t consider the land to be a single nation Belonged to more than 300300 distinct groups Spoke more than 200200 languages Lived a life connected with nature Had complex religious beliefs, sophisticated

political systems, and strong social values

Native American literature was oral Passed down from generation to generation in the form of

storytelling and performances Pictographs, knotted strings, and coded wampum belts aided

in memorization

All stories and songs were attributed to the Great Mystery

The Great Mystery gave the words to the singer or storyteller Words possessed magic and power

Could help the hunter capture game, influence the crops to grow, etc.

Native Americans also believed the living could communicate with inanimate objects

Example: People could assume the form of animals and vice versa

There is an emphasis in Native American lit. on the importance of living in harmony with nature

They believed humans had a kinship with animals, plants, the land, the heavenly bodies, and the elements

They believed human beings did not have control over nature and was actually a part of nature that needed to maintain a proper relationship with the surroundings

Types of Native American LitMyth

A traditional story, religious in nature, that explains a belief, ritual, or natural phenomenon

Most myths contain archetypes Archetype – a pattern that

appears in literature across cultures and is repeated throughout the ages

Can be a character, a plot, an image, a theme, or setting

Creation myths Explain the beginning of the

world

Types of Native American Lit• Ritual Songs and

Chants • Performed as part

of ceremonies• Hunting songs,

love songs, spiritual songs, etc.

• Helped N.A. communicate with the Great Mystery

Types of Native American Lit Tales of Heroes and

Tricksters – tell of people who transformed the world into its present stateAnimals act like humans Include magical

transformationsExplain natural

phenomena

The hero of a trickster tale can play several rolesCultural heroClever deceiverNumbskull

The stories/works in our text are different from their original form

They have been translated into English

They would have been performed, not read

They still, however, expose the reader to the beauty, wisdom, and humor of the literature

Native Americans and their traditions have not disappeared from this country

Some cultures were lost due to disease and violence or European invasions

Others did survive and change Forced religious conversions Forced relocation Forced education

They still keep oral traditions alive by singing songs and telling stories

Most of the new generation of writers deal with the problems of harmonizing the old and the new

Reconciling old traditions w/ the new practices Mixing together mythology, oral history, & personal

reflections