Week 10 Storytelling: The Brave Old Man's Gift

The Brave Old Man’s Gift: from the Original Old Quanah's Gift

There once was a village very far north that stayed cold 10 months out of the year.  With snow covering the ground and ice all around them, the people in the village were at a high demand for coats and other things ways to stay warm.   You see, in this village, it was much like any other village where the women stayed home and cleaned and made the clothes while the men were out defending the land and fighting for new lands. 

All the men were great fighters because they grew up hunting and were surrounded by strong, brave men throughout their entire life.  The strongest and the bravest of them all was a man named Henry.  Henry, more than anything, wanted to give his whole life back to the village and he would work harder than any other fighter out there because he was so passionate about keeping the people in the village safe and making the village a better place to live. 

It was a dark and dreary day and other tribes came to invade the village.  Henry was the first to respond and like always, he fought harder than anyone.  With a great fight, comes great risk.  Henry was shot by a poisonous bow and arrow in the leg and all went down.  Many tried to help him but nothing could save his leg.  He could no longer fight and do what he had always done best.

Henry was desolate that he could no longer fight and he still wanted to help out the village, so Henry began making coats to keep the people in the village warm.   It is not like Henry to just made plain and regular coats, he wanted to make something that would portray how he felt about the village and the people.  So, he set out to find the most beautiful colors from herbs, plants, and berries that he possible could to dye the threads that he made into the coats.  Each and every coat was full of the most beautiful colors and patterns. 

He found yellow plants to reveal the beauty of the sun and blue berries to show the magnificent waters that surround the village.  He put so much time and effort into every single jacket he made because he truly believed the people in his village deserved the very best. 

After making hundreds of coats, Henry became very sick.  He was working on one last coat that was more majestic and stunning than any other coat.  He worked on that coat for longer than any other coat and he explain to the people that he wanted that coat to go to the person in the tribe that is the most worthy.  Upon finishing the coat, Henry laid there on the ground, still and cold.  He has passed away but it was the duty of the chief of the village to figure out who this coat was going to be presented to. 

After hour of contemplation and fighting within the village, it dawned on the people in the village that the person most worthy is the person that took so much pride in the village and showed so much passion for the people.  There was no other person that showed those characteristics than Henry himself.  They put the magnificent coat on Henry as they buried him in the ground.  It was bitter sweet because no one could make as beautiful of coats as he, but now he can die with the legend.  

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Author's Note:

This was one of my favorite stories that I have read this week.  I took the original story and just changed what he made and a few of the characters.  I focused on his pride and passion for the village and when he could no longer fight, he began to make coats.  In the original story, he began making the most beautiful blankets for the village.  It ended very similar to the original story, too, where the village people saw him as the most worthy person to have the beautiful masterpiece that the main character worked on for so long.

Reading Diary B: Tejas Legends

Native American Unit: Tejas Legends

Why Hummingbirds Drink Only Dew

·      Hummingbirds only drink dew, not water. Why?

·      Hummingbird and blue heron owned a lake together

·      Big lake and hummingbird hovered over cool water

·      Habit of gambling

·      Bet on who could get to the other side faster

·      It got dark and the hummingbird couldn’t fly at night

·      Hummingbirds had to stop but the blue heron could fly through the night

·      Since the hummingbird lost the race, he could never drink from the lake or any other lake or river ever again

·      That’s why he can only drink the dew

The Maiden Who Loved a Star

·      Indian girl that wen into the desert to find a purple ripe prickly pear

·      Set off for home at night and watched the stars

·      Bright stars and thought one was winking at her

·      Home of handsome sky dweller?

·      She did it again and the sky winking at her again so she knew

·      She visited him for seven days

·      She couldn’t visit him, he couldn’t visit her

·      Full of love but sad because she couldn’t be with her love

·      She wanted to die so she cold live with her love in the sky

·      Visited an old witch woman in her tribe

·      Wouldn’t give her a way to die because she said life was too great

·      Changed her into a form that would allow her to live in the desert under her love

·      Old witch turned her into a tree

·      The star in the sky fell out of the sky and turned into blossoms on the tree

·      Now they can be together

·      This is how this bush, the purple sage, came to the desert

Old Quanah’s Gift

·      Love of blankets with beauty and color with form

·      Quanah was a brave warrior that took pride in bow and arrow

·      Stayed at home with the women in the tribe because he got hit by a poison arrow

·      Hurt him to not do anything

·      Began to make blankets

·      Searched for different things to make as dyes

·      Each one was different

·      Others came to try to imitate his blanket making

·      No one could compare to his blankets

·      Famous blankets with magic touch

·      Worked on one blanket for years and years

·      Wouldn’t tell anyone what it was or who it was going to until it was done

·      He began to die but he finished the blanket

·      Everyone was sad because there would never be another blanket maker like him

·      Blanket is done. For the most worthy in the tribe.  Man who has done most for the people. Children will see he importance of being a good member

·      Couldn’t agree on one person

·      The chief made it clear that Quanah himself should have the blanket

·      Buried in the ground with him

·      Gave a new flower to the world

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Reading Diary A: Tejas Legends

Myth-Folklore Unit: Tejas Legends

When the Storm God Rides

·      Shores of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico didn’t used to have islands

·      Old Indians left behind stories

·      A god and his big black-winged thunder bird that he rode

·      This was the storm god

·      God and people didn’t live by each other because the big bird filled people with fear

·      Only saw the god when rode through the skies

·      Flying through the air with white clouds

·      Made the land dark when he came

·      This is where the name hurricane came from

·      Peaceful tribes were driven away from their homes

·      Northern tribes liked to kill

·      Started shooting at the birds

·      Storm god was so angry that thunder broke out

·      Storm god’s thunder bird shot lightning out of his eyes

·      Thunder bird was coming to the Indians that were killing the birds

·      Day was like night cause so dark

·      The gulf pushed them over

·      Gulf flooded the bad indian’s land

·      Crazy water and winds

·      This is how the islands were formed from the build up of sands

How the North Wind Lost His Hair

·      North wind was afraid to come to gulf of mexico

·      Afraid of strong young south wind

·      Moss that grows on the trees was a sign of their fight

·      (natchez and tejas tribes)

·      old north wind, blew cold air everywhere and grey hair would fly

·      the winds would grow angry with each other

·      north wind would come and spread snow for a couple weeks then sosuth wind drives him out

·      one time, it stayed for many weeks

·      spring weather never came because still in june, the north wind was there.

·      South wind gathered all his power to fight away the north wind

·      Indians thought it was the storm god

·      Messed up everything on land from the trees to the waters

·      South wind flung him into the air

·      When south wind overcame north wind, he threw him hair all over the ground and that was Spanish moss that hangs from the trees.

·      North wind never came back

Week 9 Essay: American Indian Fairytales

This week, I chose to read the American Indian fairy tales including the stories about how the seasons happen.  Since these fairy tales came from the children section in the Un-Textbook, my essay topic is children’s stories. 

These stories within this unit portray a very cute and understanding way about how the North Wind battled the South Wind.  The North wind was very powerful, but everyone liked the south wind better because those were the times that the grass was green and the birds came out to sing.  Their land was full of colorful plants and warm weather with the south wind was present.  When the North wind was there, the land was covered in thick snow and heavy ice that kept them from doing a lot of the things they need and want to do like fishing and hunting. 

The only part in the story that I believed was unacceptable for children to read was when the mentioned the drug use of the south wind.  They talked about how the south wind would get high and just chill out and that is how the north wind was able to swoop in and take over for the winter season. 

All of the American Indian stories are great readings for children because they are stories that have been passed down for generations after generations for years.  Even though the stories are not true, they always explain life situations in many different and interesting ways.  I think these stories are very appeal to children because everything is very relatable to what they understand.  Nothing is backed up with science or facts; it is simply stories that describe the colorful imagination of the Indians.  Each and every one of them are unique keep the creative juices flowing in the heads of the children.  I remember reading similar stories to these as a child because these types of stories were the ones that really kept my attention and I learned a lot about thinking outside the box and being creative by reading stories such as these. 

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Storytelling: Week 9: The North Wind

There’s nothing better than the cold, icy wind of winter.  Those icicles everywhere around you and the beautiful color of white fills the Earth.  I am the reason why the earth is so amazingly filled with snow throughout every sun and moon.  There are very few in my land so that makes my job of ruling the land even easier!  I’m not much of a people person.  You see, my brother is the ruler of the summer with all the colors, and plants, and animals, and blah, blah, blah.  I’m so tired of everyone talking about how much they love the summer.  Growing up, no one wanted to talk to me because everyone thought I was cold.  It was my brother that had all the attention and friends.  I never thought it was fair as a child, but there was nothing I could do about it.  I don't want to be the ruler of summer. That weather makes me cringe and there's always way too much going on, too much to handle.  So now, I choose to live alone by myself and I’m loving every minute of it.

After many years of enjoying my life alone and isolated, a fisherman entered my land and overstayed his welcome.  I do not like visitors, and I like to keep the icy land to only me and the fishes under the ice-covered oceans.  This fisherman not only stayed on my icy land for far too long even after I covered him in heavy snow and ice, but he also cut holes in my icy-covered waters to catch my fish. No one comes to my land and messes up my perfectly smooth oceans.  No one comes and steals all my fish either. 

I had to do something to get him out of here, but I have never had anyone try to withstand my powerful and brutally frigid winds.  So I began to make the snow even deeper and deeper and the wind stronger and stronger.  Surely he would leave after his whole body was covered in frost bite. 

I woke up the next day and the fisherman was still there in his tent with a giant fire to keep him warm.  This was a tougher challenge.  So I spent that whole day blowing giant gusts of freezing winds towards him.  Maybe I could blow out the fire that kept him warm? Those fires always scare me anyways.  Maybe I could blow away his tent so he won't have a place to keep him safe? I didn’t care what I have to do. I just wanted him off my land. 

The next sun when the fisherman was still standing firm on my land, we began to fight.  His fire was making me melt and warm up.  I like to stay cold and that is when I am the most powerful.  I couldn’t let him beat me on my own turf.  Pretty soon, I could not fight any longer.  I had to surrender because I had no other choice.  My weak breath could not fight for one second longer.  I watched him stay there and fish on my land while I lay there on my ice and couldn’t do anything about it.

This was the day I was finally overtaken.

Author's Note:

 This is from the original American Indian Fairy Tale, Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind. I really enjoyed all the stories from this unit because I felt like each story was so creative. This is what they believed actually happened and how the seasons were created.   I took this story and portrayed it from the point of view of the North Wind.  The North Wind was the bad guy in the original story because he was doing everything he could to keep the tribe off his land in the winter, but all they wanted to do was fish for food so they would not be hungry.  It wasn't until one day that a fisherman stood up to the North Wind and finally overtook him.  His whole tribe told him not to do it because no one had successfully defeat the North Wind, but he was determined and nothing could stop him.  I kept the general story the same but changed the point of view from the fisherman to the North Wind.  I took out a few parts to really focus on the scenes that I felt were the most entertaining and imperative.  I tried to keep the Native American appeal by putting the focus on the land and the wind rather than something that was not earth-related.  As I read this story, I kept picturing the abominable snowman so I chose an image to portray how I pictured the story.

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Bibliography:
"Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind" by W.T. Larned. American Indian Fairy Tales Unit.

Week 9: Reading Diary B: American Indian Fairy Tales

American Indian Fairy Tales:

How the Summer Came

Part 1:

·      Morning glory wanted spring to come

·      Froze over everything so hard

·      No birds, no water, just silence

·      Dreadful if the summer never came again

·      Old man told him to be patient and that the day would come

·      He points out the Fisher stars

·      Stretched out flat with an arrow in his tail also a furry little animal looking like

·      Iagoo continues to tell stories

·      There was a time when there was no summer

·      Until the fisher gave his life to bring summer down from the sky

·      How summer came:

·      Hunter named O-jeeg (the fisher) knew the woods so well

·      He hit everything he aimed for and nothing could ever stop him

·      Everyone thought he has magical powers that turned him into a little animal

·      This is why he was on such good terms with the animals

·      He could call on an animal and it would come

Part 2:

·      Wife and a son

·      His son promised to be just as good as his dad

·      They had plenty of food and kept warm but the winter was still hard times and the snow never melted

·      There was a world beyond that had summer and they day-dreamed about that

·      The son thought his dad was the one that could bring summer to the earth

·      The little boy would try to go hunting but it would be so cold that his fingers would freeze and he couldn’t hunt

·      Saw a squirrel that said he could give him good advice and not to shoot him

·      Talked about how miserable everyone is in the winter because it is hard to hunt and eat

·      If someone could bring the summer back, it would be a blessing

·      The animals know that the summer can come because the war-eagle saw once soured so high and saw a crack in the sky leading to the other land of the summer

·      The boy tries to convince his dad that can do anything to try to get summer to earth. 

·      He said even though it was very dangerous, he would still try because he was a manito and needed to put that to good purpose

·      Lynx talked about strong eyes to see into the sky

·      Climb the tallest mountain to break through the sky

Part 3:

·      Said bye to his family and set forth for his adventure

·      Came to a tent and found the giant manito with a big head and 3 eyes

·      Otter started laughing at his odd and awkward appearance like he always does

·      The Manito became mad and came after the otter that slipped away

·      They all stayed in his tent over night but only 2 of his eyes closed

·      Manito gave him advise to follow the north star and in 20 days they would reach the mountain

·      Told him they could climb up the mountain but maybe not get down

·      Picked up the otter and set forth

·      Got to the mountain and climbed up

·      Reached the very top and rested

·      Otter could jump the highest so he jumped and his head hit the sky

·      Sky was harder so he fell and slid all the way down the mountain

·      All of them tried and none succeeded until…

·      Wolverine made a dent then cracked it

·      Found the land full of color and life or summer

·      The warm air of summer came through the cracks and O-jeeg opened the bird cages to follow

·      Sky-dwellers came towards O-jeed but he turned himself into a fisher and ran at top speed

·      Nothing could stop him unless an arrow hit him on the tip of his tail

·      He was shot and told the others to continue

·      Feeling weak, he laid down on the floor of the sky (what the stars looked like)

·      This is the constellation to remember how the fisher sacrificed his life so his son and others could enjoy summer

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