Native

American
Literature
 • Native Americans
immigrated over
the land bridge
from Asia in
35,000 BC

• The first
Europeans did not
enter North
America until the
1600’s.
The first people…
Native American
Literature: Myths
Myth
• A traditional story,
passed down
through generations,
that explains why
the world is the way
it is.
• Events usually result
from the actions of
supernatural beings.

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 Contain supernatural
elements

Often explain the

unexplainable

Myths Have also been told in order

to teach a moral lesson.

All cultures have myths,

though often do not see their
stories myth but as fact.
 Native American myths
originated as oral tradition
(stories passed down
Oral verbally).

tradition Until the late 1800s, Western

scholars thought American
Indians had no literature and
ignored the oral literature
passed down over the
centuries.
 Oral
Tradition. . .
• It was passed down by
storytelling and
performances.
• Western literature also
has its roots in the oral
tradition.
• Ancient Western
classics such as the
Odyssey and Beowulf
were told and retold
for centuries long
before they were
written down.

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 • One problem was that scholars had
to translate Native American texts
from hundreds of different
languages.
• In recent decades, American
Telling Indian writers have revitalized
their literature by combining:
Their • fluency in English
• deep understanding of their own
Own languages and traditions

Stories • American Indian Writers:

• N. Scott Momaday
• Louise Erdrich
• Simon J. Ortiz
• Leslie Marmon Silko
Origin Myth

• Explains why
phenomena like
the stars, moon,
and sky came to
be and why
certain animals
have certain
characteristics
Four
functions
of myth:

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1. To awaken us
to the mystery
and wonder of
creation

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2. To explain the
workings of the
natural world:
every corner,
every rock, hill,
stone, and flower
has its place and
its meaning.
3. To pass down
the moral and
ethical codes
that support and
validate social
customs.

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4. To teach: to guide
the people through
the trials of living

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