These resources will be used to support students as they work to understand the moral lessons behind a Native American folktale of their choosing. These sites will help them find folktales, give them opportunities to compare various versions of their chosen tale and will give insight into Native American culture. They will need to determine a tale's authenticity by comparing versions of their tale on various sites and in books and they will work on understanding the moral behind their chosen story. By viewing and reading the books, websites and videos below, students will be able to gather ideas and gain knowledge for a collaborative project.
Grade level: 3rd grade Objective: Students will create a presentation using Web 2.0 tools that summarizes a Native American folktale of their choosing and gives the moral meaning behind the story.
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Lewis, Orrin and Laura Redish. “Native American Indian Legends and Folklore.” Native Languages of the Americas: Preserving and promoting American Indian languages. n.p., 2012. Web. 12 April 2015.
http://www.native-languages.org/legends.htm Make this link open in a new window. In "edit" mode, click on the link. Click on Web and check the new window box. You may have to copy and paste the URL in the second field as well.
This is an extremely extensive collection of Native American legends and links to information about Native American legends organized by tribe. The page for each tribe has information about the tribe’s mythological figures and folklore as well as recommended books and websites that give more information about the tribe’s legends. Most of the links given by the site are to reputable museum or university websites. The descriptions given of the mythological figures and folktales themselves seem unbiased and (although there isn’t an easy way to examine all of the information since there are over 200 tribes represented) didn’t appear to contain any stereotypical or harmful representations of Native American culture. The site is run by a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Native American languages, but the information extends far beyond just lingual interests. This would be a great resource to find out more about a tribe’s belief system and it could lead to other resources.
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Siegert, Lori. “The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 13 December 2012. Web. 15 April 2015.
This is a recording of Tomie DePaola’s The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. This is the story of Little Gopher, an artist who sacrifices the life of a warrior to create a visual history of his tribe. The book is beautifully illustrated and contains a traditional Plains Indian legend from Texas. The problem with the retelling of this legend is that no tribe of origin is ever specified in the book, nor was I able to find information about where the tribe comes from. The representation of Native Americans as a whole seems free of stereotypes and culturally authentic. However, because there is no information about a specific tribe, it is difficult to determine if the story stays true to the tribe’s culture and mythology. Watch this video and see where the author could have provided more information about the tribe to ensure that it stays true to the tribe’s culture. There are many Plains tribes with different cultures. How could you ensure that 3rd-grade students learn this fact?
Image: De Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. Ed. Tomie De Paola. New York: Putnam Juvenile, 1988. Print.
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Archer, Jane. Texas Indian Myths And Legends. Plano: Republic of Texas Press, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
This is a compilation of various American Indian legends compiled by Jane Archer. Jane says in her introduction that the stories contained within the book were compiled between 1900 and 1940 and printed in various scholarly publications. She chooses to look at only Texas tribes with some overlap into Oklahoma and specifically looks at Caddo, Comanche, Wichitas, Coushattas and Lipan Apache tribes. She notes that she chooses to only highlight stories that were previously published in order to protect secret legends that have ritual or precious meaning to tribes. She does note that she alters some of the tales for a contemporary audience but that the tales have already been changed from their original form by storytellers throughout the years. For these reasons, I would venture that most of the tales highlighted in the collection would be authentic to the culture, but that some changes might result in inaccuracies. Students would need to look for other versions of the tale chosen to locate these changes and determine if they result in inauthenticity.
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“First People--The Legends.” First People. n.p., n.d. Web. 17 April 2015.
First People is a site that documents various tribal legends from the Americas and Canada with an alphabetical index. Besides the legends, it also provides some educational links to tribal sites and sells Native American artifacts. There are many authenticity/accuracy problems with this site. The primary purpose of the site appears to be selling Native American artifacts and there are no credentials provided to determine where these profits go or if they are even real. Because there are no credentials, there is also no way to determine if the person documenting the legends is an authority on Native American mythology or folktales. The legends themselves, however, seem free of stereotypes. This site is useful only as a means for comparing versions of legends or folktales to look for inconsistencies. It should not be used as an authoritative source, but does provide a wide variety of tales from various tribes so it shouldn’t be overlooked.
This is website run by four members of the Tsalagivi Nvdagai, or Cherokees in Texas. They are not federally recognized as a tribe of Cherokee like those in Oklahoma, but have come together to continue their traditions and keep their culture alive. The three stories included are "The Adawehi and the Nvyvunuwi", "The Rabbit and the Tar Wolf", and "The Race Between the Hummingbird and the Stork." They were all written by Chief D.L. Hicks. The first story is more appropriate for middle and high school students. The others would be appropriate to use for elementary students and up. They each contain some moral or lesson.
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Boughman, Arvis. Chicora and the Little People: The Legend of the Indian Corn, a Lumbee Tale. Ill. by Delora Cummings. 2011. 32p. Aeon Publishing Inc. $27.95 (978-1605946597)
This is a Lumbee story about a young girl who tells how Indian corn became multi-colored. It teaches about how young children have wisdom of their own and how they are not to be discounted for their youth. It also teaches how to be strong in the face of ridicule. The illustrations are done with watercolor and give an accurate portrayal of the Lumbee people. From a culturally authentic perspective it is written by a Lumbee native and illustrated by a native American. Boughman, being a member of the tribe that is represented by this story gives credibility to its authenticity.
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dePaola, Tomie. The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas. Narrated by Melba Sibrel. 2008. 10 min, Penguin Group USA and Audible. $0.87
This is an audio recording of Tomie dePaola's The Legend of the Bluebonnet. This is a legend of how bluebonnets came to be in Texas. It is a Comanche tale and dePaola does include an author's note at the back of the print version that states where he got the idea to do this story as well as how he researched the Comanche people in order to preserve the authenticity of his tale. While he does not include any source notes for his research, after my own, this story does appear to be authentic. It represents the Comanche people in an honest and un-embellished way. His illustrations are also an accurate portrayal of the way many Comanche people would have dressed as well as keeping with where they lived. While the story itself is a tale about how bluebonnets came to cover the land of Texas, dePaola does enhance the sacrificial aspect of the little girl's story to bring more of a focus to the lesson he wanted to share. I am also including the link to where I found the audio version on Amazon, as I could not find any other audio version for sale.
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Bruchac, Joseph and Bruchac, James. How Chipmunk Got His Stripes. Ill. by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. 2003. 32p. Turtleback. $15.48 (978-0613616317)
This is a story about how Little Brown Squirrel becomes Chipmunk after he taunts Bear who is bragging about being so strong that he can keep the sun from rising. Even though Brown Squirrel is right, it teaches a lesson that it is never a good thing to tease people. The authors of this story are both from the Abenaki tribe. In the author's notes, they indicate that this is a story that has been passed down (in some form) from their tribe as well as from others such as Cherokee and Mohawk. This gives credibility to its cultural authenticity.
Oyate is a Native American organization who's mission is to advocate and educate. They review literature, specifically children's literature that pertains to or contains references to native cultures - those of the Native Americans as well as Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other indigenous people in Latin America. This website provides reviews of children's literature and provides and array of resources to help when seeking to determine the cultural authenticity of stories that have not been reviewed on this site. This is a great resource to use when searching for culturally authentic materials and to help personally judge the authenticity of other literature.
This is a blog that is maintained by Debbie Reese, a member of the Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico. The American Indians in Children's Literature organization was established in 2006 to analyze and review the representation of indigenous peoples in children’s literature. The author of this blog is a tribally enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. She has a teaching degree from the University of New Mexico, a M.Ed in School Administration from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois. She has written for both Horn Book Magazine and School Library Journal so is familiar with reviewing literature. To aid others when looking for culturally authentic literature, she provides some simple phrases and ideas to look for that would diminish the authenticity of the book. There are lists of what AICL considers the best books that are written by or about American Indians. This is a great resource to use when searching for titles to use that are culturally authentic.
These resources will be used to support students as they work to understand the moral lessons behind a Native American folktale of their choosing. These sites will help them find folktales, give them opportunities to compare various versions of their chosen tale and will give insight into Native American culture. They will need to determine a tale's authenticity by comparing versions of their tale on various sites and in books and they will work on understanding the moral behind their chosen story. By viewing and reading the books, websites and videos below, students will be able to gather ideas and gain knowledge for a collaborative project.
Grade level: 3rd grade
Objective: Students will create a presentation using Web 2.0 tools that summarizes a Native American folktale of their choosing and gives the moral meaning behind the story.
Lewis, Orrin and Laura Redish. “Native American Indian Legends and Folklore.” Native Languages of the Americas: Preserving and promoting American Indian languages. n.p., 2012. Web. 12 April 2015.
http://www.native-languages.org/legends.htm
Make this link open in a new window. In "edit" mode, click on the link. Click on Web and check the new window box. You may have to copy and paste the URL in the second field as well.
This is an extremely extensive collection of Native American legends and links to information about Native American legends organized by tribe. The page for each tribe has information about the tribe’s mythological figures and folklore as well as recommended books and websites that give more information about the tribe’s legends. Most of the links given by the site are to reputable museum or university websites. The descriptions given of the mythological figures and folktales themselves seem unbiased and (although there isn’t an easy way to examine all of the information since there are over 200 tribes represented) didn’t appear to contain any stereotypical or harmful representations of Native American culture. The site is run by a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Native American languages, but the information extends far beyond just lingual interests. This would be a great resource to find out more about a tribe’s belief system and it could lead to other resources.
Siegert, Lori. “The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 13 December 2012. Web. 15 April 2015.
Book: De Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. Ed. Tomie De Paola. New York: Putnam Juvenile, 1988. Print.
Italicize book titles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeRr7bSNci4&list=PL61PPH3gMpvugR-IXKg995oWQcbDvrRYQ
This is a recording of Tomie DePaola’s The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. This is the story of Little Gopher, an artist who sacrifices the life of a warrior to create a visual history of his tribe. The book is beautifully illustrated and contains a traditional Plains Indian legend from Texas. The problem with the retelling of this legend is that no tribe of origin is ever specified in the book, nor was I able to find information about where the tribe comes from. The representation of Native Americans as a whole seems free of stereotypes and culturally authentic. However, because there is no information about a specific tribe, it is difficult to determine if the story stays true to the tribe’s culture and mythology. Watch this video and see where the author could have provided more information about the tribe to ensure that it stays true to the tribe’s culture.
There are many Plains tribes with different cultures. How could you ensure that 3rd-grade students learn this fact?
Image: De Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. Ed. Tomie De Paola. New York: Putnam Juvenile, 1988. Print.
Archer, Jane. Texas Indian Myths And Legends. Plano: Republic of Texas Press, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
This is a compilation of various American Indian legends compiled by Jane Archer. Jane says in her introduction that the stories contained within the book were compiled between 1900 and 1940 and printed in various scholarly publications. She chooses to look at only Texas tribes with some overlap into Oklahoma and specifically looks at Caddo, Comanche, Wichitas, Coushattas and Lipan Apache tribes. She notes that she chooses to only highlight stories that were previously published in order to protect secret legends that have ritual or precious meaning to tribes. She does note that she alters some of the tales for a contemporary audience but that the tales have already been changed from their original form by storytellers throughout the years. For these reasons, I would venture that most of the tales highlighted in the collection would be authentic to the culture, but that some changes might result in inaccuracies. Students would need to look for other versions of the tale chosen to locate these changes and determine if they result in inauthenticity.
“First People--The Legends.” First People. n.p., n.d. Web. 17 April 2015.
http://www.firstpeople.us/
First People is a site that documents various tribal legends from the Americas and Canada with an alphabetical index. Besides the legends, it also provides some educational links to tribal sites and sells Native American artifacts. There are many authenticity/accuracy problems with this site. The primary purpose of the site appears to be selling Native American artifacts and there are no credentials provided to determine where these profits go or if they are even real. Because there are no credentials, there is also no way to determine if the person documenting the legends is an authority on Native American mythology or folktales. The legends themselves, however, seem free of stereotypes. This site is useful only as a means for comparing versions of legends or folktales to look for inconsistencies. It should not be used as an authoritative source, but does provide a wide variety of tales from various tribes so it shouldn’t be overlooked.
Image: Giese, Paula. Pre-Contact Culture Areas. Clip Art. n.p., 1997. Web.
Hicks, D.L. Traditional Ani-Tsalagi (Cherokee) Stories. http://www.texascherokees.org/stories.html
This is website run by four members of the Tsalagivi Nvdagai, or Cherokees in Texas. They are not federally recognized as a tribe of Cherokee like those in Oklahoma, but have come together to continue their traditions and keep their culture alive. The three stories included are "The Adawehi and the Nvyvunuwi", "The Rabbit and the Tar Wolf", and "The Race Between the Hummingbird and the Stork." They were all written by Chief D.L. Hicks. The first story is more appropriate for middle and high school students. The others would be appropriate to use for elementary students and up. They each contain some moral or lesson.
Boughman, Arvis. Chicora and the Little People: The Legend of the Indian Corn, a Lumbee Tale. Ill. by Delora Cummings. 2011. 32p. Aeon Publishing Inc. $27.95 (978-1605946597)
This is a Lumbee story about a young girl who tells how Indian corn became multi-colored. It teaches about how young children have wisdom of their own and how they are not to be discounted for their youth. It also teaches how to be strong in the face of ridicule. The illustrations are done with watercolor and give an accurate portrayal of the Lumbee people. From a culturally authentic perspective it is written by a Lumbee native and illustrated by a native American. Boughman, being a member of the tribe that is represented by this story gives credibility to its authenticity.
dePaola, Tomie. The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas. Narrated by Melba Sibrel. 2008. 10 min, Penguin Group USA and Audible. $0.87
This is an audio recording of Tomie dePaola's The Legend of the Bluebonnet. This is a legend of how bluebonnets came to be in Texas. It is a Comanche tale and dePaola does include an author's note at the back of the print version that states where he got the idea to do this story as well as how he researched the Comanche people in order to preserve the authenticity of his tale. While he does not include any source notes for his research, after my own, this story does appear to be authentic. It represents the Comanche people in an honest and un-embellished way. His illustrations are also an accurate portrayal of the way many Comanche people would have dressed as well as keeping with where they lived. While the story itself is a tale about how bluebonnets came to cover the land of Texas, dePaola does enhance the sacrificial aspect of the little girl's story to bring more of a focus to the lesson he wanted to share. I am also including the link to where I found the audio version on Amazon, as I could not find any other audio version for sale.
Bruchac, Joseph and Bruchac, James. How Chipmunk Got His Stripes. Ill. by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. 2003. 32p. Turtleback. $15.48 (978-0613616317)
This is a story about how Little Brown Squirrel becomes Chipmunk after he taunts Bear who is bragging about being so strong that he can keep the sun from rising. Even though Brown Squirrel is right, it teaches a lesson that it is never a good thing to tease people. The authors of this story are both from the Abenaki tribe. In the author's notes, they indicate that this is a story that has been passed down (in some form) from their tribe as well as from others such as Cherokee and Mohawk. This gives credibility to its cultural authenticity.
Authors' notes
"Oyate." 2015.Web. <http://www.oyate.org/>.
Oyate is a Native American organization who's mission is to advocate and educate. They review literature, specifically children's literature that pertains to or contains references to native cultures - those of the Native Americans as well as Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other indigenous people in Latin America. This website provides reviews of children's literature and provides and array of resources to help when seeking to determine the cultural authenticity of stories that have not been reviewed on this site. This is a great resource to use when searching for culturally authentic materials and to help personally judge the authenticity of other literature.
Reese, Debbie. "American Indians in Chidren's Literature." April 15 2015.Web. <http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/>.
This is a blog that is maintained by Debbie Reese, a member of the Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico. The American Indians in Children's Literature organization was established in 2006 to analyze and review the representation of indigenous peoples in children’s literature. The author of this blog is a tribally enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. She has a teaching degree from the University of New Mexico, a M.Ed in School Administration from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois. She has written for both Horn Book Magazine and School Library Journal so is familiar with reviewing literature. To aid others when looking for culturally authentic literature, she provides some simple phrases and ideas to look for that would diminish the authenticity of the book. There are lists of what AICL considers the best books that are written by or about American Indians. This is a great resource to use when searching for titles to use that are culturally authentic.