1. Origin Stories and Early Colonial Literature

2. Colonial American Literature
Native American Literature
Literature of Exploration - Virginia
Northern Colonies
Southern & Middle Colonies

3. The first people…
Native Americans immigrated over the land bridge from Asia in 35,000 BC
The first Europeans enter North America in 1600’s.
The last colonies were settled in 1732

4. Native American Literature
Emphasizes the importance of living in harmony with the natural world
Human beings have a kinship with animals, plants, the land, heavenly bodies, and the elements
The human and the nonhuman are seen as parts of a sacred whole
Human beings must maintain a right relationship with the world around them

5. Native American Literature: Creation Stories

6. Native American Literature
Creation stories explain how the universe, earth, and life began
Hero and trickster tales show how the world transformed to its present state
Ritual songs and chants are used as part of Native American ceremonies

7. Oral tradition
Native American stories originated as oral tradition: stories passed down verbally

8. Originally titled Myth
A traditional story that deals with goddesses, gods, heroes, and/or supernatural forces. A myth may explain a belief, a custom, or a force of nature.

9. Myths Contain supernatural elements Often explain the unexplainable
Have also been told in order to teach a moral lesson.
All cultures have myths, though often do not see their stories myth but as fact.
What is supernatural? Give me an example.
Why are myths important to a culture?

10. Sacred Narratives
A more culturally sensitive term for “origin myths” or “creation myths”
No culture appreciates their beliefs being called “myths”…
Would you appreciate Genesis being called “Hebrew mythology”?

11. Four functions of myth:

12. 1. To awaken us to the mystery and wonder of creation

13. 2. To explain the workings of the natural world: every corner, every rock, hill, stone, and flower has its place and its meaning.

14. 3. To pass down the moral and ethical codes that support and validate social customs.

15. to guide the people through the trials of living
4. To teach:
to guide the people through the trials of living

16. Creation Myths Creation myth- explanation for how the world began
Trickster- some one is creative curious and often gets into trouble. Will sometimes find wisdom through their curiosity.

17. Essentials of Creation Myths

18. Creation Myths…
SHOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE TRIBE! (corn, animals, rituals, etc.)- CULTURAL DETAILS!!!
State the place and people of origin
3. Describe what existed before the “creation”
4. EXPLAIN the “creation” of things or the beginnings of rituals
5. EXPLAIN who or what did the creating

19. More About Native American Literature
Oral Traditions
Integration of the natural world with the human world
No separation of spiritual and physical
Importance of ancestors
Trickster figure – often a coyote
Rich literary tradition – developed mythology
Extremely diverse
Native American legacy today – Sherman Alexie

20. Colonial Period

21. The first migration to the Americas was not by the British.
The first migration occurred 20 – 40,000 years ago when Ice Age Hunters traveled from Siberia to Alaska.
Slowly these people and their descendents migrated south. When European exploration began, these were the people who were living in the “New World.”

22. In 1492, Columbus “discovered” the route to America
In 1492, Columbus “discovered” the route to America. Taking Native Americans with him to Spain, stories began to circulate about the wonders of the New World, about its exoticism and bountifulness.

23. Spanish and French explorers wrote about this new world in over-exaggerated styles, praising its beauty, the place of hopes and dreams. America was viewed as the land of plenty, the land of peace and hospitality, the land of riches

24. This brought hope for those who were being persecuted across the world.
When Europeans began voyaging to this world, they unleashed diseases such as smallpox, measles, typhus, and so on, on the Natives, who were also enslaved and mistreated.

25. The period of European exploration brought with it a huge body of literature that is referred to as a literature of witness or exploration narratives The early settlers brought with them their knowledge of written communication with its particular style and content. They wrote about their new experiences in forms that were familiar to them – letters, factual records, sermons, and poems.

26. Captain John Smith: A Description of New England (1616)

27. The Landing of the Pilgrims, 1620, relief by Enrico Causici on
doors of U.S.Capitol Rotunda (1825)

28. Remember:
This passage to the New World was filled with memories of the violence of the old country and the fear of the unknown terrors of the new one: the loss of home, of kinship (relationships, connections), of worldly possessions, of cultural and personal identity