An Overview of Native American Oral Literature::

One Definition of American Indian Literature

Here is Alan R. Velie's attempt at reducing the diversity and variety of American Indian literatures into a single form (Velie 1991: 6-7):¹

1. American Indian literature was - and still is - primarily oral;
2. Oral literatures were an organic part of everyday life, enjoyed by all and not a few;
3. Traditional Indian literatures were functional: myths and stories were educational tools that transmitted tribal values, beliefs and customs; prayers were sung or narrated to cure emotional, physical and spiritual ailments, or to increase the soil's fertility; and songs were sung to encourage warriors going into battle, or to woo a potential lover.

Notes::

• 1 - Alan R. Velie. 1991. American Indian Literature: An Anthology. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Revised Edition.