Chapter One, Surrounded by Enemies: The Apache way of life and Geronimo as a young…
The Osage, a Native American group, told a creation story in which what animal plays a prominent role?…
Holler, C. (1984). Lakota Religion and tragedy: The theology of Black Elk Speaks. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 52(1), 19-45, 32.…
When still a dreamy and unmanageable boy, he had run away from his Tennessee frontier home, and was adopted by the Cherokee Indians, who christened him Co-lon-neh, the Raven. An infantry officer under Andrew Jackson in 1813, his right arm had been shredded by enemy bullets when he alone had dashed into enemy lines at the battle of the Horseshoe, his men cowering in the hills behind him. A brave man he was indeed. Apparently he discovered but a few days after his marriage that his young and beautiful bride had been forced to accept his hand by an ambitious father, when in truth she loved another.…
In Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux, Anderson recounts the life of Little Crow in an objective biography which also incorporates an appealing, analytical narrative of the Sioux, or Dakota, tribe. Anderson describes his purpose of the biography to explain Little Crow as an,” With all of the ambiguity surrounding the life of Little Crow, Anderson does a delightful job of analyzing the social, economic, political and intellectual aspects of his life, and that of the Sioux tribe in general. There are many characteristics of Little Crow’s life evaluated, which include his responsibilities to his family and tribe, and specifically what was essential to his culture. Anderson describes the form of the book as, “In a word, this book is an attempt at ethno-biography, or the writing of a biography from the perspective of a minority culture.” He writes this book in this fashion to attempt to clear up any myths or duel images that have been created of Little Crow. He proclaims, “Little Crow should be remembered as a leader who struggled to shape a realistic…
The Lakota Indians had the sad and unfortunate luck of becoming personally acquainted with the westward thrust of American development when the Americans’ attitudes toward Indians had grown cynical and cruel. This interaction caused the Lakota culture to change a great deal during the nineteenth century. Horses and guns brought about a dramatic change in the Lakota’s culture. They “enabled them to seize and defend their rich hunting grounds, to follow the great migrating herds of buffalo that shaped their distinctive way of life, and by the middle of the nineteenth century to evolve into the proud and powerful monarchs of the northern Great Plains (R6).” They acquired their first horses and guns, along with the knowledge of how to handle them, from the Americans they came in contact and traded with. The horses allowed the Lakota much greater mobility, which allowed them to hunt more effectively as well as make warfare more prevalent among the tribes.…
Black Elk describes the life of Indians, which is very spiritual and could be very unattainable to understand to the naked eye of a regular person who did not know all the Indians' beliefs. While still young, at the age of nine, Black Elk had a vision where he was the leader of all his people. Where he was given a gift from Great Spirits to save the Indian civilization by driving a way the Wasichus from their native land. After the dream, he was courageous and willing to go fight the barbarians. The deep spiritual significance of the dream came to him when he was older and wiser.…
N. Scott Momaday, in the memoir “The Way to Rainy Mountain”, traced the ancestral roots of his tribe back to the start of the Kiowa tribe. Momaday had always known about his ancestry but the death of his grandmother, Aho, prompted him to seek an in-depth personal exploration of his family history and background. Therefore, Momaday went back to his grandmother's residence and he observed that the spirit of the Kiowa tribe was faint but still very stirring. When he travelled to Aho’s house after her death, he’s looking to build a connection with his ancestors. Momaday felt that he could learn a lot of things and gain some insight from his visit to the motherland. From this article, it is evident that the Kiowa people were very spiritual and had an unbending love for nature because they strived to preserve the environment and performed spiritual dances and rituals in veneration to the sun. This memoir is an embodiment of the Kiowa culture, and N. Scott Momaday gives the reader a succession of oral narratives from the Kiowa community.…
Crazy Horse is one on the most ambiguous yet legendary leaders in the American Indian history. The book Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life attempts to tell the story of one of the most feared by foes, and honored by allies American Indian leaders. Kingsley M. Bray draws from primary sources and other biographies to construct the tragic sequence of childhood conflict, deception, and misjudgments that shaped the leader’s adulthood affairs and eventually led to his demise. The book reveals a new biography not only in the warrior’s battles, but also the often time overlooked political and religious struggles he faced. It gives a new outlook on the man inside the legend.…
The creation stories “The World on a Turtle’s Back” of the Iroquois and “The Golden Chain” of the Yoruba help to define what they see as their place in the world and what they value most. Values of the Iroquois include nature, balance, and natural cycles. Key values of the Yoruba are diversity, nature, and productivity. Both the Iroquois and the Yoruba tell tales encompassing the importance of nature and its purpose; however, their views on the roles of people on Earth and on new ways of thinking differ from each other, distinguishing the two…
In the film, Dances With Wolves, a Union soldier finds friendship and love within the Sioux peoples in 1864. Many scenes depict the tribe’s holy man, Kicking Bird, in conversation with his wife. She had no qualms in advising her husband. He took her word with no contempt, but as a great source of knowledge to consider. This cinematic depiction of a…
“I spotted a big rock on the ground. I picked it up and pretended it was an injured bird and held it in my hand and stroked it. I encouraged it to stay alive and whispered to it that it would fly again soon. Then I put in my pocket with the other rocks I rescued” (12)…
Weber, D. (2012). Immortal bird: A family memoir (Large print ed.). Waterville, Me.: Thorndike Press.…
Perdue, Theda, and Michael D., Green. The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears. New York: Viking, 2007.…
Feather, Fran Dancing, and Rita Robinson. Exploring Native American Wisdom: Lore,Traditions, and Rituals That Connect Us All. Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page, 2003. Print.…