{"id":723,"date":"2018-04-08T23:33:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-08T23:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-nativeamericanlit\/?post_type=chapter&p=723"},"modified":"2018-04-08T23:33:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T23:33:26","slug":"traditional-native-attitudes","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-nativeamericanlit\/chapter\/traditional-native-attitudes\/","title":{"raw":"Traditional Native Attitudes","rendered":"Traditional Native Attitudes"},"content":{"raw":"Unfortunately, most Americans who read Indian literature aren't reading literature written by Indians.\u00a0 Instead, they are reading literature written by whites with an Indian setting.\u00a0 Why would such \"fake\" literature, which is not truly representing Native experiences, preferred over \"the real thing\"?\u00a0 I want to set these ideas out here for you so that we can avoid some silly-looking statements about \"how Natives are\" which might be based on the literature that poses as Native American.\u00a0 In this class, we'll read only authentic Native American literature, and we will come to understand the difference between it and the stuff that mass audiences and publishers prefer.\u00a0 We'll even look at why they might prefer the inauthentic literature.\r\n\r\nSo, let me outline some traditional Native American features in the debate over the what is and what was. . . .\r\n

Expect Native Authors to Play with the Traditional<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nWe would be doing a disservice to the contemporary Native American authors we will read if we overlooked the flexible ways they make sense of the past.\u00a0 These authors are not relics, antiques.\u00a0 They are, I think, complex individuals whose writings reveal an ability to negotiate between vastly different cultures.\u00a0 They are interested in how cultures interact.\r\n\r\nEach one of use negotiates with our past.\u00a0 I've noticed that, for some reason, students sometimes don't want to allow these authors to have a real, complex relationship with their culture and its traditions.\u00a0 It's much easier to read these authors as mere mouthpieces for past traditions.\u00a0 I hope that doesn't sound vague to you.\u00a0 It's just important that you read closely, looking for ways in which these authors characterize their relationship with their traditions.\r\n\r\nCredit these authors with complexity.\u00a0 They are not hiding behind an Indian mysticism.\u00a0 Instead, they are creating characters and plots which are modern, complex, and alive with the problems we face today.\r\n

Using this Lecture\r\n<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n(The following progression is adapted from pages 24-5 of James Wilson\u2019s informative history, The Earth Shall Weep: A Native History of North America<\/em>.)\u00a0 Note that the scope of our discussion (and the class) are incredibly general, so we can't take this too far.\u00a0 Still, here are some common threads you may see in traditional Native American poems, songs, and cultural beliefs:\r\n

Sacred Power<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThis is the idea that everything in the universe was interconnected and possessed a spiritual force or energy that could affect the lives of \u201cthe people\u201d and of all other living things.\u00a0 Gaining power and the aid of powerful beings was absolutely vital: for success in hunting, plentiful crops, good health, thriving children and victory in battle.\u00a0 But power was also dangerous.\u00a0 By wrongdoing or negligence you could easily offend one of the spirits and see your food supply dwindle, your family stricken or your community defeated.\r\n

Orality<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nExperience and understanding are embodied in stories and legends that often offer the profoundest guide to how a people perceive reality.\u00a0 Stories may change greatly over time, but the fact that they are told over and over--and are memorized--gives the oral tradition a conservative cast.\u00a0 Also, think about the strength of a told story.\u00a0 It has a power that poetry has; the performance of a known story is a binding social event.\u00a0 On the other hand, think of how much tradition could be lost if key members of a group died due to disease or war.\u00a0 In this sense, Native American groups have lost much, and there is a need to re-search their culture for what has survived, for what is authentic and lasting.\r\n

Ritual & Ceremony<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nBy following the prescribed instructions, \u201cthe people\u201d were able to secure the favor and assistance of powerful spiritual forces. . . . Because everything in the universe was interrelated, and because \u201cthe people\u201d were at the center of it, their rituals not only regulated their own relationship with the sacred and with other living beings but also ensured that the whole natural order was properly maintained.\r\n\r\nWhat rituals do you go through in your own life?\u00a0 Do you think we have fewer rituals than traditional oral cultures?\r\n\r\nWhy is it important to do the ritual \"just right\"?\r\n\r\nDo cultures with lots of rituals tend to be liberal or conservative?\r\n

The Animal Master<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAnimal masters are spiritual \u201cmasters\u201d (or \u201ckeepers\u201d or \u201cowners\u201d) who controlled the game on which hunters depended for food.\u00a0 For example, there might be a buffalo king who tells his people where they are to graze, or when they should migrate.\r\n\r\nAnimal masters reflect the idea that the animal does not die.\r\n\r\nPlanting cultures had differing myths of dismemberment and ritual planting\/sacrifice.\r\n\r\nIf game was killed in the wrong way<\/em> or without the proper ritual, if the meat was treated disrespectfully, wasted or not shared generously among the whole group, then the animal masters would become angry and withhold food in the future.\r\n\r\nTricksters<\/strong> are often a play on the animal master.\u00a0 The trickster figure is found in many cultures, and constitutes a richly creative personality in folklore and myth.\r\n\r\nAnimal characters<\/strong> are often given human traits like the ability to speak.\u00a0 Animals are often characterized by a predominant personality trait.\r\n

Questions and Ideas<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n