Native Americans are the people the Europeans met upon their arrival in present-day North America. These people have a rich history that portrays the elements of wisdom, courage, hard work and solid political, social and economic organization. This is evident from the details that are present in most of the stories that attempt to explain how these people lived before their lives were interrupted by the white Europeans. The stories may have different characters and differences in terms of names of places but a huge number of themes are the same. In this essay, the similarities in the thematic of the stories, the differences that are present in the stories and the possible reasons for these differences will be examined. Also, the trickster and his or her importance to oral tradition will be discussed. In addition to this, the objectivity of written history as an account of the past will be looked into.
To start with the thematic similarity in these migration stories of Native Americans, it is true to say that most of them recognize the presence of a higher power that is responsible for their existence. For example, the Hopi had a belief that this Supreme Being was responsible for their safe journey to what they termed as the fourth world (Waters 12-17). In a deeper sense, this faith in the Creator is an indication of the religious nature of these Native American groups. They had an unquestionable belief in a master controller who made all happenings in the universe possible. This faith made them behave in a way that was meant to make this Supreme Being happy. In the event that something unseemly was done, sacrifices were offered as a way of appeasing the spirits that acted as intermediaries between the people and the creator. The aim was to make the Supreme Being forgive them for the wrongdoing and therefore not punish them. Punishment was in form of diseases and attacks by other people.
As a way of reaching out to this Supreme Being in a special way, not everybody in society was given the privilege of leading the functions that were conducted in honor of the creator. Special people who came from specific families and had unique gifts were responsible. For example, the prophets who foretold the migrations of the people to the turtle-shaped island had a special gift that allowed them to communicate with the Supreme Being and therefore had the prerequisite for serving as intermediaries between the gods and the people.
The people who were associated with the service of the creator were highly respected and their prophecies came in mysterious ways. These people are given unique names perhaps as a way of showing their special position in society. For example, the prophet who warned the people of the possibility of being destroyed if they did not move to the turtle-shaped land is described as the Prophet of the First Fire.
Far from the similarity in the theme of faith in the creator, the various groups of Native Americans had elders who guided the people both in peace and crisis (Mails, pp. 4-7). The stories about Native Americans have this theme, and to a large extent, these people served as the reservoir of wisdom for society. They came in handy especially in moments of crisis when the people were confused and the community seemed to have lost focus. For example upon the revelation that the destiny of the people is going to be affected through migration, the elders had to sit down and consult so as to find ways of establishing whether the prophecy was genuine or not. In the case of the turtle-shaped island, the elders took action by instructing the people to try and locate the island that was mentioned in the prophecy. The specific name given to these elders was the elders of Midwiwin Lodge (Warren, pp. 23-26).
The immense respect that was given to these elders is testimony to the special position they held in the Native American societal setting. Stories that carry the theme of elders go-ahead to show how the people always took the advice of the elders and acted accordingly. More often than not, the actions that were carried out in accordance with the advice from the elders ended up saving the community. This means that these elders were either spiritually unique or had wisdom that the rest of the members of the society did not have. A combination of both is a possibility too.
Leaving the theme of elders aside, most of these Native American migration stories have the theme of prophets. These were special people who carried the messages of the creator and the other smaller gods and spirits to the people (Delicado, pp. 5-9). As mentioned elsewhere in this essay, the prophets had a special position in society and commanded respect. This emanated from the sacred nature of the job. In the migration story in which the people were ordered to move to the turtle-shaped island, the prophet of the First Fire was very categorical that if the people did not move, they would be destroyed (Benton-Banai, pp. 14-19). This message was definitely from the creator whom the people revered and paid homage and allegiance to. In some cases, these prophets were involved in the offering of sacrifices to the creator in moments when it was believed that the people had disobeyed the creator and were therefore likely to receive punishment (Wolf, pp. 23-28).
Another common theme in most of these migration stories is conflict. Conflict can be described as a disagreement between two or more individuals. It can also be a disagreement between two or more groups of people. In Native American migration stories, conflict as a theme appears both within Native American groups as well as between the Native American tribes and other people. A number of conflicts in most of these migration stories take the following form: conflicts between the various tribes of Native Americans over resources such as water and land, conflicts between the Native American groups or tribes and the invading Europeans whose greed made them kill the natives so as to take their land, conflicts between the Native Americans and other groups who were neither of the Native heritage nor the European inclination, conflicts between man and the gods as well as conflicts between man and the natural environment.
The results of these conflicts vary according to the nature of the conflict. For example, the disagreement between the invading Europeans and the Native American tribes led to war wherein many natives and some Europeans were killed. The invading Europeans cunningly referred to the natives as savages. They then used the military technology that they had brought from Europe to kill millions of the natives. The drive for the killings was the fertile land that was under the ownership of the Native Americans. In modern times, there is still confusion as to who the savage in this saga was. Was the greedy invading European the savage with his dripping saliva at the sight of Native American fertile land? Was the quiet and peaceful Native American the savage with his undisturbed way of life? It is natural that when one is attacked especially in his or her home, he or she looks for ways of defending himself or herself. Therefore the Native Americans did what any of us would do in similar circumstances. On the other hand, the land other resources that the Native Americans controlled were too much for them. Were they supposed to relinquish some of these to the invaders without much contest? That is a theme for another time. The bottom line is that the conflict between the natives and the Europeans led to numerous deaths.
Still on the theme of conflicts, internal conflict among the people led to divisions. These divisions gave rise to independent clans whose migration took them to different places. Over time, these separated groups developed new languages that were different. Other aspects of life also differed to the extent that it became difficult to determine whether two or three different groups or tribes were related ancestrally. On the other hand, conflicts between man and the gods led to sacrifices that were aimed at appeasing the gods.
Another theme that is similar in most Native American migration stories is an invasion. The prophets communicated with the gods and got the message of imminent invasion by foreigners. The advice that followed this revelation was a movement to other places so as to avoid confrontation which would lead to the destruction of the people. For example, the first prophet of fire was categorical that the people had to move to the turtle-shaped island as already mentioned in this essay. The reason for the movement was the destruction the people would have experienced in the invasion by the Europeans.
In addition to invasion by foreigners, the theme of a common origin of all the Native Americans is prevalent in nearly all migration stories of Native Americans. The emphasis is on the fact that the migration in some cases led to the development of many groups due to such occurrences as the remaining behind of some groups and the rise of numerous groups after a conflict. It is estimated that migration began in 900 AD (Benton-Banai, p. 102). Whatever the reason that these stories give, they agree on the point that the various tribes that constitute the Native American people are all from common ancestry.
On the other hand, there are differences in these stories. The best possible explanation for these differences is that they have been told by different people who have obtained their information from different sources.
In most of these Native American migration stories, the trickster is the Spider Woman. What is the significance of the Spider Woman as a character? Through her, the provision of protection to the people in the course of migration is given. In some sense, the trickster represents the spiritual power that came to the rescue of the people in moments of crisis.
Written history can be an objective account of the past if it is based on sources that are primary and therefore reliable. For example, if people who are part of an experience give a detailed account of the phenomenon and the account is kept in written form, then the written history becomes objective. But in cases where themes are developed over pieces of information that are picked from various sources, it is impossible to avoid biases and misreporting and this inevitably leads to an imbalanced and subjective historical record. Therefore the source of the material that is transferred into written history can determine the objectivity of the written history.
Works Cited
- Benton-Banai, Edward. The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway.New York: Red School House~Indian Country Communications.1988.Print.
- Delicado, Miriam.Blue Star: Fulfilling Prophecy. New York: Trafford Publishing, 2007.Print.
- Mails, Thomas.The Hopi Survival Kit: The Prophecies, Instructions and Warnings Revealed by the Last Elders. New York: Penguin Non-Classics, 1997.Print.
- Warren, William. History of the Ojibway People. (Reprint ed.). Minnesota Historical Society Press.1984.Print.
- Water, Frank. The Book of the Hopi. (Reprint ed.).New York: Penguin Non-Classics, 1977.Print.
- Wolf, Robert. Last Cry: Native American Prophecies & Tales of the End Times. New York: Trafford Publishing, 2003.Print.