For this weeks readings I chose to read from the Un-textbook Native American section a unit titled British North America!!! This unit was very diverse in the types of reading I was able to get from the unit! I really like that aspect of the reading. Not only was I able to get some creation stories, but also stories about how mounts formed, how fire was made and animals stories too! I really enjoyed reading this unit! If you are interested you can look at some of my favorite stories from my blog post here. I chose this unit because it goes well with the reading unit I chose last week (Pacific NW Unit). Both of these Units were about peoples and cultures form Upper North America which just so happens to be the area I am interested in researching and working with Anthropologically and Archaeologically. I am really glad we were able to use time in this class to look at Native American Mythology and Folklore. I believe these peoples created some of the most beautiful stories I have ever herd!
It is incredible to think that we are so far along into the semester! As I sit here watching American Horror Story and write this essay I can help but think how amazing it is that the end of the semester is upon us soon. Good luck to all of you in your endeavors with the future.
Not long ago the world was dark and there was not a light on Earth that could be seen except for one. This light was owned by the president of the world and he was greedy. He owned all the light and did not wish to share it with anyone.
One night, cold and hungry, the lonely fox walked up to the immaculate white house that stood proudly upon capital hill and knocked on the president’s door. “Excuse me sir” The fox muttered, “I was wondering if you could spare some light for my children. They are hungry and nothing will grow without light.”
The president laughed at the fox and forcefully said, “You do not deserve light for you are weak and unintelligent.” It was at this moment that fox decided that if she couldn’t have a little light for herself then she was just going to take it all and force the president to live in the dark. So fox set out to cross the country and ask all the animals she passed if they would assist her in her struggle to win light for all. All agreed and together they stepped forward once again to the door of the president. When the president answered the fox kindly said, “Good evening Mr. President would you please allow us to come in?”
The president agreed and so the animals entered his home. Once they had entered fox set up her boom speakers and played Lady Gaga. All the animals raved and danced the night away. With each step they took they stole a little more light into the sky until finally they had taken enough light to rise the morning sun. And thus light was made!
Authors Note: This story was all about how light was created on Earth. The story starts out by saying that in the beginning all of the world was dark, all but the old chiefs tepee. The old chief refused to give any of the animals light so the animals decided to take the light by craft. The animals gather and went to sing and dance at the chief tepee. They sang, “light, light, light” and soon light was stolen from the old chief and drew upwards into the sky. It was faint, so they continued to dance and sing. More and more light was stolen up into the sky until the chef in his confusion said... “let there be - light.” Now all the animals owned the light even though the old chief did not mean it.
This week I am continuing on the Native American Mythology and Folklore theme with the unit British North America. I am excited for this unit because it talks about creation stories and themes from the first nations of North America. I chose this unit because it works well with the Pacific NW unit I read last week. I am excited to have the opportunity to study the culture of the Pacific NW in this new Unit!
Reading A:
How the Earth was Formed - I found this story to be a very interesting explanation of how the Earth formed! The story starts out with a human trying to catch a beaver. At first his attempts do not succeed so he decides he will destroy the dam and then when the water has drained from the lake he would then catch beaver. So the human went to the damn and poked at it with a stick, but instead of the lake draining of water the water level rose. It rose last his ankles and kept rising. The human made a raft and then made medicine from moss. The human then asked the wolf to run around the raft with the moss in its mouth and after a week of running in a circle land formed beneath the raft. The wolf kept running until he ran around the Earth and never came back. this is how the Earth was formed.
Creation of Light - A tale of trickery! I like it. So this is the tale of how light came to be in the world. The story starts out by saying that in the beginning all of the world was dark, all but the old chiefs tepee. The old chief refused to give any of the animals light so the animals decided to take the light by craft. The animals gather and went to sing and dance at the chief tepee. They sang, “light, light, light” and soon light was stolen from the old chief and drew upwards into the sky. It was faint, so they continued to dance and sing. More and more light was stolen up into the sky until the chef in his confusion said... “let there be - light.” Now all the animals owned the light even though the old chief did not mean it.
Reading B:
The Making of Lakes and Mountains - Interesting story! It starts out with a women being kidnapped by bears. The women after some time wanted to escape so she devised a plan. Each morning she combed her hair she saved her hair combings and the hair oils. She also kept a whetstone. When she ran away she through the hair oils and this became a great lake. When the bears caught up with her she threw her hair combings down and these suddenly became great fallen trees that the bears struggled to get through. Next, the bears almost caught the women so she breaks a piece of whetstone and throws it. This then created the great mountains! And this is how the lakes and mountains formed.
The Coming of the Salmon - Awesome story. It begins with a man that wished his river was full of salmon. He had a dream that with the help of all the animals he defeated the salmon people and bring their children back to the river to populate it. So the man and the animals set out to defeat the salmon people. When they arrived they found that the salmon people could not see them, but they could see their children being taken away. The man and the animals put the children into their canoe and went home to populate their rivers.
"love is a disease, like a good bacteria." - Unknown
