Native American Folklore
By: Dylan cadd, Matthew hartley,
Matthew Reese,Kayla Foster, and
Miranda Ramirez-Bautista
Theme, Message, and Moral
● All of the stories that we have read are stories that teach you a lesson, and
tell you to live a good life.
● Family
● Hopelessness
Universal Characteristics
● Men go out to hunt and the women stay home and take care of the house
and the children.
● Wild animals, always or sometimes are the main characters
● Caretakers
● Lonely orphan, baby abandoned at birth
● Mother/Father figure , raised kid on their own
● Objects/things
Universal Themes
● They were always outdoors hunting and collecting fruits
● Survival man vs. nature
● Suffering of parents
● Some stories involved oceans
Symbols/motifs
● Symbol to mark native american territory is the bird
● In the stories the symbols for animals was a wolf
● A symbol of strength is the bear paw
● The symbol for hunting was a bone with a feather
Archetypal Narrative Patterns
● A character always has to do a task or go on a quest
● They have to do a test
Citations
http://www.native-languages.org/omahastory.htm
http://www.indigenouspeople.net/crowhawk.htm
http://www.native-languages.org/cheyennestory.htm