Inuit myths, folklore, and material culture are filled with examples of people who turn into animals. Margaret Lantis, a well-known Eskimologist of the mid-twentieth century, once commented that human-animal transformation in Inuit mythology had an "immediacy and a reality" that was unknown in other parts of the world. It is hard to…

One of the best-studied, least-discussed texts of Native American oral literature is a long Mojave "epic" taken down from a man named Inyo-kutavere by Alfred Kroeber in 1902 and published in 1951. The text was published in twenty-nine pages along with forty-eight pages of commentary and twenty-five pages of notes. In 1999, Arthur Hatto, an…

In this article, the author proposes to offer the narrative "The Boy Who Could Not Understand" for review and criticism as a manifestation of Native philosophical organicism. It is his contention that the tale represents a form of Native auto-criticism resulting from experiential encounters with youth who had returned from white boarding schools.…

Discusses the concept of dynamic order in Navajo Creation and as a basis for Navajo philosophy. Identifies markers for the division of time (four Cardinal Light Phenomena), documents their depiction in sandpaintings, examines their symbolic representation in the hogan, and explores how temporal markers influence human thought and conduct. (SV)

Studies the myth as history through the texts collected from Jim Stacey, a Yavapai narrator, in 1930. Demonstrates how Stacey adjusted myths to a system of cycles and shows how Stacey's versions of those myths differ from the versions of other Yavapai narrators. (CM)

A bibliographic essay covers all significant literature on the Sacred Pipe among the North American tribes. Organizes over 130 references dating from 1843 to 1980 under topics such as American Indian attitudes toward the pipe, sacramental and ceremonial uses of the pipe, and the pipe as symbolic man. (JHZ)

Relates the Pueblo myth of the Water Jar Boy. Examines a petroglyph created during the period 1350-1680 at the long deserted La Cienaga Pueblo, and interprets this petroglyph in terms of metaphors used in the Pueblo myth. Contains 18 references. (SV)

Reviews 163 sources on Navajo games, play, and toys. Includes an annotated bibliography of those materials. Examines relationships between games and religion, origin myths, and ceremonies. Discusses attitudes toward games, gambling, and cheating; and the dichotomy between children's and adults' games. Describes specific toys, games, and play…

Briefly describes some elements of the culture of the Boruca Indians of Costa Rica and discusses threats to their tribal existence. Notes recurring motifs in six narratives which illustrate Boruca life and culture and which are presented in the original Boruca and in Spanish and English translations. (SB)

Analysis of several accounts of White Buffalo Calf Woman's appearance among the Lakotas and of her politically interesting teachings illustrates how aboriginal Indian government rests upon myths of the god(s) which symbolically insert the people into the larger cosmic order, thus establishing the pattern of cosmic governance. (SB)

Among the American Indians of western Washington State and northwest Oregon, stories have served as educational tools by presenting lessons concerning the traditional culture. Several types of instruction have been noted in the oral literature of these Indians of the Southern Northwest Coast. Today these stories present another type of insight and…

The introduction to this edition of the journal discusses why and how an effective translator must carry over Native American oral traditions into poetic and musical printed words for modern audiences. It evaluates various translation efforts and summarizes each article in the edition. (SB)