Storytelling Poetry/Essay Assignment

The poems presented tell more of a message or call to others than an actual story according to the “white man’s” view of a story with beginning, middle, end and with plot, and characters, except perhaps the “Mother of the Washita” which did tell the story of a brief moment, a mother’s last moments.  These poems do seem to tell stories in the Native American sense of the word “story” in that they send a message to the reader, or a warning, a moral or an emotional call to others.

“Remove us once again” and “The Children of Indians” were poems written to ignite the spirits of Native Americans to rise again and to voice the wrongs they feel have happened to them in the past and in the present.  They are also warnings or statements to the “white man” to respect the Native American culture or at least to respect the dead (as in “Remove us once again”). They are stories in that they do tell what has happened and what could happen again if their message isn’t heard.

“The Calling”, “Call to the Four Sacred Winds” and “Black Soul” as well as “Broken Spirit Cherokee” seem to be reunification stories or calls for all Native Americans to unite and be stronger together than apart.  Strength in this case isn’t the “power statement found in “The Children of Indians” but rather spiritual strength, helping each other walk the right road and preservation of the ways for future generations so that they Native American cultures won’t perish completely.

All together, the poems speak from a viewpoint of the collective Native American culture and history as well as from the writer’s viewpoint.  These poems mention the collective pain and the collective hope of a nation of people.  This shows that the individual and collective interests and sense of community are not able to be separated in many Native American spiritual and cultural traditions. 

The poem I like the best was “The Calling” because it spoke of healing and moving, uniting and not putting down another group to inspire.  It also is inclusive of all Native Americans.  My favorite line was the one about the lies dying with the smoke.  I also liked that the poem dealt with time as a way to honor the history but bring focus to to the present and it calls people to unite in the present to make a better future.
I don’t advocate forgetting the past but I do think that, beyond understanding how events came to be and how the reactions to those events shaped our ancestors, some forgiveness needs to occur so that those affected can heal.  Also, bitterness against the collective “white man” assumes they are all the same which isn’t any more correct that assuming all of any race is the same and has the same prejudices and belief systems. 

This poem, on the other hand, unifies all who feel called by this poem into a common goal.  I think it is an important message.  The story in this poem is of someone perhaps at a sweat lodge or spiritual ceremony being shown a vision that the ancestors of all Native American tribes are calling their people to unite.  Having been in a sweat lodge, the temporal awareness is very strong-awareness that the past is in the lodge along with the present and future.  We sat in modern clothing, meager as each chose to wear, singing songs of old and praying for our future.  We were aware of all three at once and I think this poem shows what goes on in one’s head and heart during a sweat lodge.  This is one of the few poems in this group that I personally felt could relate to, being “white” in my raising, no matter what tiny drop of Native American blood I might be able to prove in the future.   

Wado,
Brandy

See below for questions incorporated in this essay.
Poems referenced in this essay are found here.

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #1519057 by Not Available.

Discussion Topic - DT 5-Storytelling Poetry

I would like for you to write, an essay, book report of any word count that you choose. Make it a separate static item. The report should be about the poetry of this lesson plan that you read of the Native Americans. The questions are this ....
1. Did all of the poetry in the lesson tell a story?
2. If it did, Which poem did you like the best?
3. What about the poem of the story that they told, stood out to you the most?