Native American Literature Free Essays

Indians, we picture them as half naked people causing raucous throughout the land, messing with the settlers, and being completely uncivilized and uneducated. There Is no way that these people could have created stones to be passed down throughout the generations but they did and they still are around to this very day. These oral traditions, or stories that are told by word of mouth, include â€Å"The World on the Turtle’s Back†, which explains to us how our world came to be. We will write a custom essay sample on Native American Literature or any similar topic only for you Order Now The story â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo† gives us lessons that easily correlate with the building of a person’s hearted, and finally, â€Å"Fox and Coyote and the Whale† persuades us to fight for who and what we love. These tall tales can be Influential to our lives as Americans because the stories tell of lessons that could be essential to all of the human race when it comes to developing one’s self to become a better soul. The story called â€Å"World on Turtle’s Back† gives us an idea on how the Indians believed the world began. Before there was an Earth there was a skyward. There, a pregnant lady went to dig up the roots from a sacred tree and was then either pushed Into or accidental fallen through a hole that exposed an entire new world underneath. (Page 42, Paragraph 1) As she fell and grasped to the edges of skyward, remnants of soil and roots were attached to her hands. Luckily, as she fell a group of birds caught her on their wingspan and finally laded her down upon a sea turtle’s shell. Then, a heroic muskrat brought up soil from deep within the ocean underneath so the fallen lady could set to work creating land. ( Page 42, Paragraph 9) Soon the pregnant woman gave birth to her child, a daughter, and together the two travel around the turtle’s back until land was formed. As her child aged she became magically pregnant by the West Wind. Page 42) She then gives birth to twins who constantly quarrel, for they are opposites, good and evil. Together they balance the world, inventing opposing animals such as the peaceful deer and violent mountain lion. Page 40, Paragraph 2) As the story progresses, it tells of reasons for most common assurances in nature, such as the moon being the twin, as in today’s ideas of evil It Is associated with the darkness that comes from the night. The second story Is entitled â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo†. This story expresses to the dalliance various character traits that should be Instilled within a person or avoided. One of these values is to respect others. When coyote kicks the skull of the dead bull, and the bull comes back alive to kill him, it expresses how important it is to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Page 25, paragraph 1) Another lesson it emphasizes Is to listen to what you’re told to do, as it is for a reason. When the bull gives coyote the cow, he tells him not to eat It, but coyote does not listen and defies him. (page 28-29) Coyote at this point Is very dishonest and greedy. He thinks that he can get away with eating the cow and perhaps getting another one from the bull, hush leading up to another life lesson, karma. When coyote kills the cow, an old woman tells him that he should not be cooking the cow for that is woman’s work. At this point, coyote is being incredibly vain and this woman is being very sneaky and steals all of his food. (Page 28, paragraph 2) This proves that what comes around goes around and that you should let yourself become slobbered, which all people have The last story is called â€Å"The Fox, Coyote, and Whale† and it teaches a lesson on fighting for those you love. Fox’s wife, leaves him to be the evil whale that occupies the river. Page 44, Paragraph 1) Fox is so overwhelmed by his love for her that he stops at no cost and risks his life to retrieve her from the whale’s possession. While trying to take his wife back, the evil whale attempts to kill Fox, Coyote, and Fox’s wife, but Fox loves these people and protects them over himself and hides them within his pipe, saving them all. (Page 45, Paragraph 1) As Fox’s wife gets away from Whale, she feels as if she had been awaken from a spell, for once she is returned to fox she becomes happy again. (Page 45, Paragraph 4) So in other words, love can cast a spell n you causing you to make rash decisions while under its magical powers. Of course, Fox finally forgives his wife, but this proves that you should not cheat on your significant other. So in conclusion, Native American literature is very important to our society. The themes of all of the stories are easily related to everyday life. From the positive moments to the very lows, lessons can be learned from these tales. To the people of Indian cultures these stories are still very relevant to their lives. It is the only surviving history that they have of the prior lives of their relatives, so they must keep it preserved for generations to come. How to cite Native American Literature, Papers Native American Literature Free Essays Native American Displacement Native American literature is based on the everyday lives and experiences of the people native to North America. There are four main themes in Native Americas literature: displacement, â€Å"thou vs. it†, definition of evil, and assimilation. We will write a custom essay sample on Native American Literature or any similar topic only for you Order Now The most prominent is displacement which is expressed through the removal from one’s home, the removal of one’s language, and the removal of one’s identity. The first example of displacement was the removal of Native Americans from their homes and homelands. This excerpt from On Indian Removal shows the Natives being moved away from their homes by the English settlers â€Å"It will separate them from immediate contact with settlements of whites†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jackson 3. ). The natives were moved without any option to areas with terrible living conditions. Natives were also violently chased from their homes. â€Å"The American armies always drove them out at harvest time, making them face winter without food or shelter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Thom 1. ). This quote shows English armies driving them out very forcefully right at harvest time; this left the Natives on the run, cold, and starving. From panther in the sky, this quote is another example of displacement â€Å"It was now just as it had been most of her life, the people fleeing, the war chiefs protecting them—except that now they were not in their homeland anymore. † (Thom 3. ).. It shows how the natives of that time had been running for most of their lives. The second form of displacement is the loss of the Native’s languages due to the Englishman’s pressure. After assimilation many Native Americans lost their language. â€Å"†¦and I never understood her prayer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Edrich 1184. ) this quote from â€Å"The Way to Rainy Mountain. shows that over the years many Natives lost their languages. Children were taken and placed into boarding schools due to displacement. â€Å"The experience in boarding schools which existed from 1875 to 1928 was difficult for Indian children who were forbidden to speak their Native language†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Native 1. ). In these boarding schools the Native children were punished if caught speaking in their Native tongue and this led to the loss of their language. New laws passed by English affected Native language as well. â€Å"†¦the outlawing of native languages†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Native 1. This quote comes from â€Å"Native Americans†. Once the English began legally punishing Native who spoke their language, the languages then became less known by generations to come. The third form of displacement was the complete loss of Natives’ identity. In the following quote from â€Å"Native Americans† there are examples of Natives losing their identities: â€Å"Military defeat, cultural pressure, confinement to reservation, forced cultural assimilation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The natives are forced to assimilate into English culture causing displacement of overall identity. In the next quote from On Indian Removal Natives begin to give up on old customs â€Å"Two important tribes have excepted the provision made for their removal at the last session of Congress, and it is believed that their example will induce the remaining tribes also to seek the same obvious advantages†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jackson 1. ). In this Native American begin to give into English pressure leaving behind their heritage and identity. This next quote from â€Å"The Names of Women. † shows total loss of Native names â€Å"renaming became an ecclesiastical exercise, and, as a result, most women in the next two generations bear the names of saints†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Edrich 1182. . The natives were given new names, by the Englishman, to replace their original names. This practice led to the demise of many native identities. As a result of Displacement Native American lives were changed forever. By loss of their home they suffered, whether it have been English settlers peacefully remov ing and relocating them or the English violently pushing them from their homes as seen in Panther in The Sky. Natives also lost their languages through displacement. Lastly, the Native Americans lost their identities by the hands of those foreign to their country that came to America and took utter control. Works Cited Edrich, Louis. â€Å"The Names of Women. † Glencoe American Literature. Eds. Beverly Ann Chinn, et. Al. Columbus, Ott: Glencoe, 2002. pp. 1181-1185. Print. Jackson, A. â€Å"President Andrew Jackson† On Indian Removal. Print. Momaday, N. Scott. from â€Å"The Way to Rainy Mountain. †Glencoe American Literature. Eds. Beverly Ann Chinn, et. Al. Columbus, Ott: Glencoe, 2002. Pp. 1054-59 Native Americans. home. comcast. com. n. p. n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. http://home. comcast. net/~sylvanarrow/native_americans. htm Thom, James Alexander. Prologue. from Panther in The Sky. N. Y. : Ballatine 1989. Print. How to cite Native American Literature, Essay examples