Early American Literature:

Beginnings – 1880sNative American Literature

Sources of American Literature

The roots of American Literature• Oral tradition of the Native American

peoples• Myths, tales, songs, and other lore

• European settlers• Writings were records: explorations and

settlement• Africans who were brought to the Americas

• Wrote of the conditions of slavery

As the 1800s come to a close, writers played an important role in the struggle for independence.

Native American LiteratureConsider:How did Native Americans view

their relationship to the world around them?

What elements or characteristics would you expect to find in their literature?

Historical, Social and Cultural Forces

• The Native Americans• Ancestors of Native Americans, from

Asia, thousands of years before Europeans

• Europeans in W Hemisphere, 1490s• Native American peoples:

• Social organization; local government; complex societies: great cities, large-scale farming, and record keeping; hunters, portable dwellings, and oral tradition

Storytelling:Owning the Land• No one person could own the land

• Belongs in common to all people and other living things

• Contrast with the Europeans settling in the early 1600s

Walum Olum

Walum Olum – Full Text

The Walam Olum: The Creation of a Native American – Video link

The Power of Storytelling• Native American life is organized by the

cycles of nature.

• This great sacred cycle of must be treated with deep respect. (gives life and death)These include:• Animals• Plants • Forces of nature

Storytelling:The Cycle of Life• Religious ceremonies organized

around the natural cycle

• NA sought contact with the spirits, inhabit all living; dreams and visions

• Evidence is found in their tales and songs

Storyteller Profile“Born in 1895, Te Ata, which means ‘Bearer of the Morning’ in Chickasaw, spent much of her 99 years telling the stories and folklore of her people to local and worldwide audiences.”

I Have Killed the Deer ~ Taos Pueblo SongI have killed the deer.I have crushed the grasshopperAnd the plants he feeds upon.I have cut through the heart Of trees growing old and straight.I have taken fish from water And birds from the sky.In my life I have needed deathSo that my life can be.When I die I must give lifeTo what has nourished me.The earth receives my bodyAnd gives it to the plantsAnd to the caterpillarsTo the birds And to the coyotesEach in its own turn so thatThe circle of life is never broken.

A Legacy of Stories• NA oral tradition began

when peopled crossed from Asia to Alaska

• Migration South, unique cultures and languages developed, different environments

A Legacy of Stories, continued• Hunting stories, groups around

campfires• Religious ceremonies, sacred stories

• As myth and reality merged, rituals began to link the spirits of hunters and animals.

• Stories have survived 100s of generations and still a living part of NA traditions.

Pocahontas“Princess Matoaka--she was also

called Amonute—was born around 1596. Daughter of Chief Powhatan … nicknamed Pocahontas, or little capricious one, a tribute to her playful nature. She was also striking. She ‘much exceedeth any of the rest of his [Powhatan's] people,’ wrote Smith, ‘not only for feature, countenance and proportion...but for wit and spirit, the only Nonpareil of his country’.” ~Time Magazine

“Colors of the Wind”

Native American Mythology• Myth – anonymous, traditional story

• explains a natural phenomenon • explains an aspect of human behavior• explains a mystery of the universe

• Creation myths (world & humans came to exist)

• Origin myths (natural phenomena, or reason a society has certain beliefs and customs)

• Elements of both creation and origin myths can appear in one story.

Elements to Expect:Archetypes• Archetype - symbol, story pattern,

or character type that is found in the literature of many cultures• Example: children with opposite

qualities born from same parent • Example: tricksters, an animal

(typically) that, speaks and displays other human traits, has two sides to its personality.

Elements to Expect:Archetypes - tricksters• Tricksters:

• Rebels, defy authority• Cause trouble• Clever and creative• Can unexpectedly reveal wisdom

Other elements• Supernatural (anything a normal person

can not do)• Animals (personified, archetype)

• Helpers• Tricksters

• Cycle Four (represents seasons, natural elements,

or cardinal directions)• Three (represents birth, life, death; creator,

humans and nature)

Purpose of NA MythologyTo Emphasize:

1. a strong spiritual bond between the Creator, humanity, and the entire natural world

2. The duty of human beings to maintain a balance in the natural world

Purpose of NA Mythology, continued

To give people a sense of order and identity

To heal the sickTo ensure a plentiful food supplyTo teach moral lessons To initiate young people into

adulthoodTo maintain the wisdom of the tribal

past

How did Native Americans view the relationship to the world around them?

End

Answer these questions on a sheet of paper. Provide all group member’s names, and title the questions with the name of story or tribe.

• How did Native Americans view the relationship to the world around them?

• Which of the three types of the explanations exist in your myth?

• What natural elements exist in your myth?

• What supernatural event(s) occur in your myth?

• Who is the trickster? What does he do?• How is balance achieved?• What is the function of the myth? Provide

evidence.• What symbol(s) are in the myth?