Native American Literature - 1067 Words

Native American Literature Storytelling Culture Introduction Native American author Nadine Thader has written a book called The Importance of Storytelling for the Survival of Native American Religion, and in the book Thader describes the way legends and stories were shared from one generation to another, and she insists that the most important function (of storytelling) is to display Native American religion (Thader, 2009, p 21). In fact much the history of Native American tribes has been and is today preserved through the art of storytelling. Thader references Arthur Grove Day, who explained that Indians made poems for many reasons, among them, to: a) praise their gods; b) speak to gods through rites; c) work magical cures or ask for supernatural aid in hunting; d) chronicle tribal history; e) teach proper conduct and explain the origins of the world; f) arouse laughter or ridicule a rival or bewitch an enemy; g) mark the beauties of nature; and h) to boast of ones greatness or to simply express joy and a spirit of fun (Thader, 21). Thader explains that one of the narrative strategies used by Native Americans is through trickster stories; tricksters are those that make mischief, play tricks, tell stories reflecting the consequences of stupidity, greed and inappropriate behavior that are supposed to be funny and make people laugh, Thader explains on page 23. An example of a trickster doing good deeds is Raven, whose story was originally told inShow MoreRelatedNative American And American Literature Essay1351 Words   |  6 PagesIn all my years of studying literature while living in America, I have only one memory of ever having read anything Native American, and that was in grade school. Native American literature is typically left out of studies in general American Literature, although there do exist plenty of programs for studying these types of narratives separately and individually. It has yet to become a prominent area of study and there a differing reasons as to why this is. 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