L. Review: Pre-Columbian Literatureand Native American Oral Traditions

1.Definitiona. Pre-Columbian literature refers to any stories,

poems, or information that had been written or shared by the people of the Americas (both North and South America) before the arrival of Columbus.

b. Some South American Indians used written language.

c. North American indigenous people used some glyphs or pictographs (images carved into stone or painted on personal objects) to represent words, but most of their stories, poems, and information were passed down by word of mouth (orally).

2. How do modern Native Americans’ written texts fit into the big picture?

a. Modern Native Americans have attempted to record their tribes’ oral traditions, to preserve these for future generations.

b. The recorded “oral traditions” of modern Native Americans include:Memoirs (biographical information written from memories, and not

necessarily organized in chronological order) like “The Way to Rainy Mountain”

Poetry and songs, like “The Earth Only”Myths like “Sky Tree”Essays like “Native American Oral Traditions”c.

Even though these are written by modern Native Americans, because they contain elements of the authors’ Pre-Columbian cultural identity, they are labeled as “Pre-Columbian Literature”

Listen as your teacher reads “They Called the Wind Acme”3. Pay attention to the literal interpretation:

Ask yourself “How does the story go?”Ask yourself “Who are the characters? And

what are the characters doing?”4. Pay attention to the figurative

interpretation:Ask yourself “Is there a message beneath the

surface of the story-line?”Ask yourself “Who do these characters remind

me of, in modern, pop-culture?”

Who do you imagine wrote “They Call the Wind Acme”?This Native American? Or this one?

Explain how you came to that conclusion.

Pair-share:Within your row, brainstorm the ways in which modern Native American people’s perspectives have changed or influenced the oral traditions their people held dear before the arrival of Columbus.

5. Is Pre-Columbian literature, in its modern written form, a true representation of Native American oral traditions?

Let’s look again at the definition for Pre-Columbian literature: Pre-Columbian literature refers to any stories, poems, or information that had been written or shared by the people of the Americas (both North and South America) before the arrival of Columbus.

In your journal, write down what you believe. Is Pre-Columbian literature true to the stories told prior to the arrival of Columbus? Or is it tainted by European influences? Should we trust it as a resource for studying Native American culture, or should we stop calling it “Pre-Columbian” literature and name it something else? If we should name it something else, what would you call it?