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HELLO! Welcome to my story book web page. This web
page is a product of a semester long assignment for my
Mythology and Folklore class. Oops ?I guess I should
probably introduce myself a little better before going on
about this assignment. My name is Melissa Curren.
I am a non-traditional undergraduate student at the
University of Oklahoma. Non-traditional meaning that this
is my second try at discovering the career of my dreams.
In my first life I practiced occupational therapy and now
in my second life I hope to become a certified prosthesis.
Anyway, to fulfill one of many undergraduate requirements
I enrolled in Mythology and Folklore. I have always
loved a good story and sometimes even the bad ones.
This web page assignment includes ten stories that I have
collected over the semester. My stories have been
collected from books, websites and oral sources and then
retold in my own words. Whenever possible I have
used sources from native Oklahomans. Also, being a
big advocate of girl power, I modified some of the
stories to empower the female characters. At the
end of each story I have provided the information to let
you (the reader) know how the original story has been
modified. The unifying theme of my stories is the use of
animals that are found in Native American folklore.
There is, however, one story that includes a character
that is not quite human but not an animal either. The
character(s) that I'm referring to are the Little People.
And no, I'm not poking at people who suffer from dwarfism
or related disorders. I have been fascinated by stories
of Little People told to me by friends and I just
couldn't pass up the opportunity to share them. When
reading these stories I would also like the readers to be
aware of the spiritual implications included in them. It
might help to think of them as fables much like those
found in the Bible.
Growing up in a middle class suburban family, with
religious symbols from a land I have never been to, I
always wondered how people native to this country (prior
to its colonization) felt the presence of God. Over the
course of the semester this story book page became my
attempt to understand the spiritual beliefs of two close
friends of mine. Both of these friends are Native
Americans who grew up in Oklahoma. One of them is a
true Indian princess. Yes, I realize that the term Indian
is politically incorrect, but I don't think she would
mind. She grew up in Oklahoma City. Her father is
Pawnee and his father was the last recognized chief of
the Skidii band of the Pawnee tribe. Her mother is
Chippewa (Ojibewa). Her mother's father was Chief at the
Bosefort Reservation in Minnesota. My other friend
was raised in rural Oklahoma. Unfortunately I was unable
to find out the details of her heritage because she is
currently working in Switzerland and is very bad about
checking her e-mail. I do however know that they
are not from the same tribes. Even though they are
not from the same tribes I've noticed that they have some
similar beliefs. Both refer to "God" as
the Great Spirit and both respect animals as spiritual
messengers.
The focus of my web page is how animals serve as symbols
of spirituality and their significance in our natural
surroundings. Two native animals that my friends have
taught me about are buffalos and owls.
Buffalos were and still are highly respected by Native
Americans. In the past they have provided food and
clothing. They are still seen as messengers and are used
a symbols in religious ceremonies. One example is
the Taos Buffalo Dance, which was performed to promote
the increase of game. Because buffalo lived and
traveled in large herds the Taos Pueblo Native Americans
(that's a mouth full!) performed their Buffalo dance with
a great number of dancers to represent the herd.
Owls are messengers of sickness, evil, or death. One of
my friends greatly fears owls the other just has a great
respect for them. Even though owls are the
messengers of bad news, if the time is taken to learn how
to communicate with them the fear of them can be overcome.
Examples of how owls might communicate with us include if
it hoots, how long it stays and aggressive behavior. I
have included two stories about owls on my web page.
The first story is taken from an Oklahoman woman's
experiences with owls and the second is a story told to
children warning against selfish behavior.
Buffalos and owls might seem a little superstitious at
first glance. But then again, maybe the Christian symbols
of doves and lambs are too.
Another animal that occurs in Native American folklore
that I have included on my web page is the coyote. The
coyote is a trickster. Tricksters are found in mythology
and folklore from cultures from all over the world. The
coyote appears in a few of my stories. In one of the
stories he's not only about a trickster but a storyteller
crying that the "the sky is falling".
Since beginning this assignment I have spent hours
searching for sources in the University of Oklahoma
library and surfing the net. I have also asked
friends for oral information from their tribes beliefs.
Whenever possible I try to use Oklahoman authors for my
stories. Neither of my parents are from Oklahoma
but I was born in Norman and have lived here most of my
life. I have a lot of Oklahoma pride (even when the
Sooners have a losing football season). One of my pet
peeves is Oklahomans who put down Oklahoma. I hope
that when people read these stories they realize that
Oklahoma provides great cultural resources. Being
located in the Bible Belt set aside, Oklahoma's heritage
and lore can provide answers in our search for
spirituality and help establish our place along side of
the other creatures on the earth.
I have chosen a feminine voice to tell my stories
because our capability for creation of new life.
Not too long ago a friend of my told me about a dream her
grandmother had. Her grandmother had dreamed of a
white buffalo, telling my friend a great event was going
to happen in her life. I would like to respect my
friend's privacy by not revealing her story. Although, I
will begin my web page with the significance of the white
buffalo in her grandmother's dream.
On August 20, 1994 in Janesville, Wisconsin a white
buffalo calf was born. The scientific community regarded
this birth as a genetic rarity while, to Native Americans
it was prophetic omen. Throughout Native American
folklore animals have been depicted as symbols of
spirituality and power. Animals are used to explain
such things as creation of the earth, continents and
humans. Animals were (and still are) the messengers
of the "Great Spirit" delivering instruction
for religious ceremonies and spiritual leadership.
The folktale of the White Buffalo Woman is an example the
Great Spirit using animals to instruct the Lakota Sioux
on religious ceremonies and prophecy. This tale
explains the significance of the recent birth of a white
buffalo calf and its prophecy that spiritual harmony and
balance will be returned to humanity. |
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