Grizzly Bear Analysis

Grizzly Bears and the Turtles Myths and Folktales haved played a big part in Native American culture since the beginning of their time. Stories are passed down from generation to generation so their ideas and history can be preserved over time. Many of these oral tellings have been translated into written pieces so more of the world can be exposed to these ideas. “The Earth on Turtle’s Back”, that is retold by Michael Caduto and Joseph Bruchac, and “When Grizzlies Walked Upright” are both great examples of two powerful Native American stories that retell two important myths. Although these two tales are very different, there are certain similarities that can be found. Both have the theme of how curiosity within women to the Native Americans
In “The Earth on Turtle’s Back”, after almost all the strong creatures have failed to get the earth that lies under the deep sea, the tiny muskrat volunteers and succeeds, “I will bring up Earth or die trying” (“The Earth” 4). This quote shows the courage that lies within this character, making him more of a round character than many of the others that we know nothing about. Similarly to “The Earth on Turtle’s Back”, “When Grizzlies Walked Upright” also contains a character that could be seen as a weak-link. When the winds are blowing strong, the Sky Spirit says to his youngest daughter, “Climb up to the smoke hole and ask the Wind Spirit to blow more gently” (“When Grizzlies” 1). The story specifically says “youngest daughter” which means that the Sky Spirit has more children, yet he picks the youngest daughter to climb up the snowy mountain and tell the Wind Spirit not to blow so hard. The youngest girl was the chosen one to climb up up the snowy hill, and then the story goes further and shows how this young girl was able to defy the “law of god.” “A new race had been created that was not of his [chief of the sky] creation” (“When Grizzlies” 2). This was the first time a species (later to become the first Native American Tribe) had been created without the Sky Spirit’s control. Both the muskrat and the young daughter
Both “The Earth on Turtle’s Back” and “When Grizzlies Walked Upright” take place during a time where earth was being created. The Grizzly bear myth states, “[b]efore there were people on earth” (“When Grizzlies” 1) and the turtle tale says, “[b]efore this Earth existed, there was only water” (“The Earth” 3). As seen, both stories take place before much of Earth existed because, likewise in both settings, nature and animals play a big part, with beavers, eagles, bears, fish and many others coming into play. Both stories take place during this time because they’re recounting how the earth and humanity came to be. Native American’s take nature as a sacred thing, so having their stories set in a time where humans are not the focus is a perfect way to shed light on the importance of nature, which is what both stories