Native American Literature Study Guide



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Native American Literature Essential Questions Study Guide

1. How does Native American lit. reflect belief in man and nature?

• First let’s turn to the earliest work we studied, “The World on Turtle’s Back.” The way in which the Iroquois described the creation of the world told us a lot about the tribe’s traditional view of the human nature and morality (right vs. wrong through the twins; the “original sin”), and nature (importance of animals, predator-prey relationship). Also, think about your own group’s creation myth that you presented to the class.

Explain how human nature and morality and nature in “Turtle’s Back” reflects belief in man an nature.

• Although the folk tale “Coyote and Buffalo” does not contain human characters, this folk tale, a trickster tale, reflects human nature. Like creation myths, trickster tales also explain how “things came to be.” Also, how do coyote’s actions in the tale reflect human nature—its positive aspects and its shortcomings?

Review “Coyote and Buffalo” to discover how the tale explains how “things came

to be.”

How do coyote’s actions reflect human nature? (Give specific examples.)

2. How do Native American traditions get expressed in literature?

• What are “Native American traditions”? Traditions are generally defined as “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.” Therefore, what are Native American customs and beliefs and how have they been transmitted? Since we covered the beliefs in the first question, we’ll focus on the customs.

How were Native American traditions transmitted?

What are Native American customs? Of course, customs vary from tribe to tribe, so you’ll have to list two specific examples for each below. What customs are revealed in:

• “Turtle’s Back” (Iroquois)

• “Coyote and Buffalo” (Okanogan)

• “Because My Father…”, Alexie interview, Smoke Signals (Spokane/Coeur D’Alene)

3. What challenges do Native Americans face in conflicts with Western culture and its heritage?

• This question can best be answered by considering the last two modern works we’ve studied—the short story “Because My Father…,” the Alexie interview, and the film Smoke Signals. Review your questions from all works.

• Look at your “Native American Values vs. Western Values” chart. The opposing values on your chart should provide a good starting point in answering this question.

Using the works above, make a list of the challenges modern Native Americans face. Give specific examples. See below:

Challenge Examples

Confronting alcoholism -Victor’s parents in both “Because

My Father” and Smoke Signals

-Alexie says it’s not a stereotype

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