An Overview of Native American Oral Literature::

Historical and Cultural Contexts

Oral literatures include origin or creation myths, trickster tales, tribal legends; sacred songs and prayers, spoken and sung prayers, social and mythological songs; political, social and ceremonial oratory. Oral literatures reflect the diversity of Native American religious beliefs, social structures, customs, languages and lifestyles and as such should be studied within the social and historical contexts of particular tribes. As the Acoma Indian author Simon Ortiz says:

"The oral tradition is not just speaking and listening, because what it means to me and to other people who have grown up in that tradition is that whole process [...] of that society in terms of its history, its culture, its language, its values, and subsequently, its literature. So it’s not merely a simple matter of speaking and listening, but living that process" (Colteli 1990: 104).¹

Notes::

• 1 - Laura Coltelli, ed. 1990. Winged Words: American Indian Writers Speak. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.