Reading Notes Week 10: Great Plains, Part A

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American Bison (Wikimedia)

Reading Notes Week 10: Great Plains, Part A

The Creation:

· Interesting realization I just had, many creation stories assume that the original “beings” came from the sky. Why is this?

· Might be interesting to try a creation story, many different directions for retelling

· My mind goes to a modern retelling of this, Sun and Moon telling Osages to go down to Earth might parallel well with parents telling millennials to move out: The Creation (of millennials).

· Earth covered with water, but animals still present, a bit confusing

· I like the character of the Elk. Elk, for whatever reason, have always been associated with the wisdom of a forest, ancient wisdom, that kind of thing

· Crawfish is an interesting choice for savior of the earth, might be interesting to retell this tale from his perspective.

Three Ghost Stories:

· These stories are interesting to consider as evolutionary mechanisms, as both the archives and teaching method of a group’s collective morals and values. In this story, they make a point of demonstrating the lasting anguish that comes to those who murder or commit suicide. This makes it clear that this group looked very poorly upon these actions.

· Interesting similarity in the tattoos required to bring one to the “good” afterlife and baptism in more traditional sects of Christianity. I wonder when these people would receive that tattoos, or if they were ever given posthumously.

· The ending is a bit repetitive / anticlimactic, I wonder if some of the meaning / effect was lost in translation

The Buffalo and the Grizzly Bear:

· I’m unsure what to make of this thematically, the plot is essentially just two animals fighting.

· I wonder if this isn’t meant to represent the Native Americans and their fight against frontiersmen. The bear might represent the Europeans who attack the buffalo without reason. The context of when this story came to be would definitely change my interpretation.


Bibliography
Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson 

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