Understanding Native American Indian literature requires that scholars and teachers respect the cultural matrix within which the literature is written. The "ceremonial motion" of time--or "Indian time"--is a critical concept in Native American texts. When the dominant culture's time construct, linear or chronological time,…

A review of the literature reveals that American Indian women are stereotyped into two roles--Indian princess or Indian squaw. Indian women who reject their culture are considered to be princesses by the dominant culture. Those who remain with their culture are considered to be squaws by the dominant culture. This paper analyzes the portrayal of…

"House Made of Dawn" by N. Scott Momaday is about language and the sacredness of the word and about what can be understood as a peculiarly Native American theory of rhetoric. All things are hinged to the physical landscape, nature, and the implications nature bears upon language. In Momaday's book, language does not represent external…

This interview with Chickasaw novelist and poet Linda Hogan discusses creativity and the composing process, her new novel "Mean Spirit," the complications of identity and personal history for two female mixed-blood writers (interviewer and interviewee), and how considerations of audience impact (or shouldn't impact) American Indian writers. (SV)

This paper attempts to reconcile the notion of a planetary future with shamanism, presenting the theme that any planetary future will be severely diminished unless shamanic experiences and outcomes are considered in the understanding of education. Methodology was based on participant observation conducted at a medicine lodge at Bengal Mountain,…

Canadian Indians have long been represented by stereotypes presented by non-native writers. Only recently have Indians begun to create their own literature and re-examine historic sources of native speech and tales. This paper traces early European views of the bloodthirsty native and the noble savage, but contrasts them with recorded comments of…

This paper analyzes religious, psychological, artistic, and environmental elements in one Naskapi myth, and provides a means of understanding the world of the Montagnais and Naskapi hunting tribes of the Labrador Peninsula. In "Ayas'i's Son," the (unnamed) hero is falsely accused of rape by his father's youngest wife. The son is exiled…

In their attempts to lead a dual-life experience, characters in popular literature written by and/or about Native American Indians occasionally enroll in institutions of higher education; like many of their real-life counterparts very few of these student characters find the experience to be a positive undertaking. This narrative pattern reflects…

In view of the vast amounts of Native American stereotyping that exists in the United States today, English teachers should analyze ways to reduce the effects of such stereotypes. Despite recent attempts to raise ethnic consciousness, American popular culture still perpetuates and reinforces Indian stereotypes, and these prevailing images block…

Discusses (1) the place of Native American literature in the literary canon; (2) who determines Indian identity and images, and the emerging inter-American indigenous identity; and (3) children's literature as a means of portraying true Indian culture and identity, thereby improving self-esteem and school success of Indian children. (SV)

Literatures created by American Indians illustrate the positive potential that expanding the literary canon has for helping to achieve a more democratic classroom. Expanding the idea of what constitutes a text worthy of study enhances students' degree of involvement in and sense of connection to curriculum content and helps them become better…

The use of figurative language permeates American Indian discourse, across differences in time, geography, and tribal culture. Traditionally, the presence of figurative language has been attributed to a compulsion for decoration and to a need for mnemonic devices. However, neither of these explanations accounts for changes in the rich tapestry of…

In the Western Apache discourse community, landscape is not just the realm of nature in its sheer physicality. Neither are places in the landscape to be read as metaphors. Rather, places, visual things by reason of their identification with aspects of social hierarchy are literally giving moral messages, are imploring people to live right. This…

By including more of the works written by Native Americans, college composition students benefit from a wealth of literary works, and perhaps they will be able to move beyond preconceptions about the difficulties of comprehending traditional Native American texts. Two speeches (Leslie Marmon Silko's speech "Language and Literature from a…

Stories from oral tradition such as legends, myths, and fairy tales may more fully describe reality than any newscast for young children. As Bruno Bettelheim points out, stories meet the psychological need of all human children. The Yakima Indian legend "When Mosquitos Ate People" can be used in a flannel board story telling setting with young…