"NEW WINE FOR OLD WINESKINS: STORYTELLING MAKES A COMEBACK"

John W. Friesen
Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Calgary

Virginia Lyons Friesen
Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary

"Mommy, tell me a story," used to be a frequently uttered expression on any home scene involving children. Today youngsters have been conditioned to accept some form of technological substitute for storytelling, even though it may lack any form of meaningful human contact. Technology can certainly provide a rich variety of baby-sitting devices and there is every indication that this form of child socialization is on the rise. One has only to consult the volume of sales achieved by international conglomerate that manufacture such devices.

Despite this trend, there is every indication that individuals of all ages still like to listen to someone tell a good story. Good stories are still very welcomed at bedsides, in bars, on television talk shows, and wherever neighbors meet to exchange information, news, and gossip. "Have you heard the one about..." is an opening line that almost everyone will appreciate and in response will perk up his or her ears. Mark Twain once observed, "The telling of a story is as significant as the story itself."

The revival of storytelling can be like new wine poured into the old wineskin of pedagogical instruction because everyone likes to listen to a good story well told. In this case the new wine emanates from a fresh appreciation of the heretofore-neglected oral tradition of Native America. In traditional times Indian stories were often called myths or legends as a means of differentiating them from those originating during modern times. Greek mythology, Aesop's fables, Grimms' Fairy Tales, and Bible stories are often placed into this category, although they probably should not be. It may also be noted that virtually every culture with a tribal history and reliant on oral tradition has a vast storehouse of knowledge founded in stories. Many such stories have common elements, for example, the almost universally recognized story of the ant and the dove, although other creatures can be substituted.

It happened that an ant went to the river for a drink but he fell in and was carried downstream by the rapid current. A dove observed what was happening and felt sorry for the poor ant. Quickly she threw a tree branch into the river to serve as a raft for the ant. Happily the ant made it safely to shore and promptly thanks the dove for her kind action. Not long after, the ant came upon a hunter aiming an arrow at the dove. Quickly the ant scurried over to the hunter and bit him on the foot, causing him to miss his shot. Now it was the dove's turn to be grateful. The moral of the story is that little friends may prove to be great friends.

Benefits of Storytelling

Sharing good stories is a universal cultural practice. Stories, myths, and legends can be told to people of all ages; the activity comprises a meaningful group activity in almost any context. Sharing accounts of human interest can enhance cross-cultural or even global meaning, particularly when legends of cultures different from one's own are accessed. Becoming acquainted each other's stories can form rich bonds, uniting people from all over the world.

There are other benefits, for example, listening to two storytellers as they relate the same story will emphasize individuality. No two storytellers will emphasize the same points and they may even choose to elaborate different aspects of the same story. For some cultures, notably Native Americans, legends can comprise short versions of eternal truths, facts, or memories of treasured events. The Sioux, for example, believe that legends are not about life; they are living phenomena. For this reason they should not necessarily be read, but told, so the breath of life may better penetrate the hearts of the hearers. In this sense, Indian legends at least, are considered eternal, and though they are often transmitted to succeeding generations in printed form, they and the lessons they teach are best preserved in human hearts.

The study of Native legends can be a very rich source of learning. Traditionally, legends appear to have been told for a variety of purposes, both formal and informal. Formal storytelling was usually connected to the occasion of deliberate moral or spiritual instruction. In fact, some legends were considered so sacred or special that their telling was restricted to the celebration of a very special event such as celebration of the Sundance. Others were told only during specific seasons. On these occasions, only recognized or designated persons could engage in their telling. Nearly anyone could engage in informal storytelling, and such legends were usually related for their entertainment or instructional value.

Many tribes had among them recognized individuals who would go about them from lodge to lodge (or teepee to teepee), amusing those who lived in them with traditional tales, histories of the wars and exploits of their ancestors, or inventions of their own, which were sometimes in the form of allegories or parables. The stories were intended either to teach some moral or spiritual lesson, or comprise an extravagant invention having no other purpose but to excite wonder or amazement (Clark, 1971: x). Among Crow storytellers, a narrator might expect to stimulate an occasional response from his listeners, and failing that he or she might assume that listeners had fallen asleep. The Iroquois had a method to ensure a listening audience. Every once in a while a storyteller might shout "Ho" in the midst of his or her story, and expect the audience to respond with "Hey." If there was no response, the storyteller could conclude that everyone was indeed asleep. Some Iroquois storytellers had a unique way of selecting stories to be told by carrying with them a bag of props. When it was time to begin a story, they might reach into the bag, pull out a prop (doll, toy, bone, feather, etc.), and make up a related story. With this method, the process had a way of surprising both the storyteller and the audience.

Informal story telling in traditional Aboriginal communities usually took place in family homes during winter evenings when there was little else to do. The family might gather indoors around the fire in a teepee, an igloo, lodge, wigwam, or longhouse, and listen as someone unwound a tale. Familiar or not, it was always enjoyed. Sometimes when the men were away on a hunting party, and the women were cooking, cleaning, or sewing, an elder might gather the children around and amuse and instruct them with stories. In some tribes, legends were never told during the summer months because the animals were about and might hear them and be offended by references to them in the stories. During the winter many animals hibernated, and the spirits too were deemed to be asleep, making it safe to tell stories.

Our own enamor of Aboriginal legends was enhanced during a fifteen year working visit to the Stoney (Nakoda Sioux) Reserve at Morley, Alberta. Then, when we were awarded a sabbatical leave from the University of Calgary a few years ago, we spent our time touring Native American communities and gathering stories unique to their tradition. We spent most of our time in the southwestern region of the continent, traveling from Alberta to California, partially to fuel our interest in plains First Nations cultures. We spoke to friendly informants, visited art galleries and museums, and purchased an impressive collection of used books containing Indigenous legends. 

A Once Universal Habit

Legends have sometimes been identified as one of the most common means of transmitting First Nations cultural values and beliefs. As part of the oral tradition, legends along with music, dance, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and material culture, comprise the folklore of a particular population. Legends are probably the principal means of transmitting cultural beliefs and values. There was a time when all cultures relied solely on the oral tradition, as there were no written forms of communication. Legends or stories shared between families and within communities conveyed important belief systems, ceremonial rituals, and cultural symbols. Their primary purpose was to instruct the young as well as transmit cultural history, knowledge, and values. As the bountiful supply of legends attests, Aboriginal bands specialized in the use of this medium.

A similar situation existed the Hebrew culture of centuries ago. Many Bible stories, for example, particularly those told by Jesus, although called parables, are actually legends. Jesus often started His stories with phrases like, "A farmer went out to sow his seed..." "The kingdom of heaven is like..." (Matthew 13:3, 24), or "There was a man who had two sons..." (Luke 15:11). Stories like these told centuries ago have been passed down to a time and place far removed from the rocky hillsides of Palestine and the Pharisaic observance of the Mosaic law. In the intervening years these parables have undergone extensive analysis, repeated interpretations, and critical redaction as to sometimes render their messages a bit more convoluted than was originally planned by their giver. Generally speaking, the intent of Jesus' parables was clear, even though probably less than five percent of His audience was literate (Napier, 2002: 87). That fact mandated that the meaning of Jesus' stories be readily understood by His hearers. The stories allowed Him to reach a portion of the heart and the intellect that could not otherwise be accessed (Marshall, 2003; Buttrick, 1988: xvii-xix).

Today one can track a wide variety of Native American stories or legends, as they are better known, from almost every continent and culture, and there is a marked similarity among many of the legends. Basically Indian legends deal with the origins of things, spirituality, performances of religious men and women (anthropologists call them shamans), the bravery and single-heartedness of warriors, and a vast array of cultural beliefs and practices. For the most part telling legends was traditionally the responsibility of grandparents or elders in Native American communities, and these storytellers were regarded as repositories of cultural knowledge. Legend content was most frequently either informative or moral in tone.

Some plains tribes held in store a plethora of both adult and children's legends, and if the former were to be shared with the younger set, they required sanitizing because of their sexual explicitness. Native storytellers have always been greatly respected because of their sagacious knowledge, eloquence of delivery, and powers of invention. They knew their audiences well. Respected storytellers used to occupy preferred places in teepees and wigwams, and were offered the choicest of food wherever they went (Clark, 1971: x). They were often relied on to preserve tribal histories and spiritual knowledge, and they regarded their task as a sacred trust. As one elder, Mark Albert Blackfish, once stated, "Legends are not about living thing, they are living things!" (Norman, 1990: xiii).

Valuing and sharing legends comprised only part of an Indian nation's spiritual structure, which also included ceremonies, rituals, songs, and dances. Physical objects such as fetishes, pipes, painted teepee designs, medicine bundles, and shrines of sorts together comprised the huge vat of cultural knowledge, all of which was inculcated by memory and experience. Viewed together, these entries represented spiritual connections between people and Mother Earth, which with appropriate care, resulted in a lifestyle of assured food supply, physical wellbeing, and the satisfaction of the needs of societal members.

Legend Themes

The art of storytelling traditionally played a significant part in the spiritual realm of the Indigenous people and functioned as an avenue through which elders could speak with voices that reflected individual vision and the wisdom of the ages. In telling legends, storytellers usually stuck to the main theme of a story although they would at times provide details to their own personal preference. There is a Sioux saying that legends are like weeds that originate from the same stem and western logic should not be used to evaluate them.

A study of Indian legends is, for the present generation, a way of learning about the customs, habitat, and principal occupations of the First Nations that have preserved them. Legend content reveals some of the inner workings of the Aboriginal mind, the people's beliefs, hopes, and fears, and what they lived, fought, and died for (Macfarlan, 1968: ix). As Erdoes and Ortiz (1984: xv) note, "Legends are the magic lenses through which we can glimpse social orders and daily life; how families were organized, how political structures operated.... how religious ceremonies felt to the people who took part in them..."

Nature was always a common theme in traditional legend telling because the livelihood of the First Peoples was founded on respect for the rhythms of Mother Nature. Beyond that the content of legends among many plains tribes featured four specific motifsÑsolar, astral, animals, and plants. In the first two types, the heavenly bodies played a significant role, particularly as sources of transcendent power. Animals were perceived as capable of mediating powers to humans that were associated with their unique characteristicsÑspeed, vision, wisdom, or cunning. They were also employed in adventuresome and comic tales related for entertainment purposes (Underhill, 1965). Animal stories were always told as though animals were friends of humans; they were not regarded as "wild" animals.

Sioux hunters traditionally studied the habits and qualities of animals so they could become more effective hunters. The lessons they learned were passed on to the next generation in the form of legends. Brown (1997: vii-viii) observes that Aboriginal people regarded the inherent nature of animals to remain relatively true to who they were in characteristics and spirit, regardless of change and the passing of time. The continued interaction between humans and animals was essential as human relationships with nonhuman beings could help define what is human. It was also believed that the means by which to understand the Great Power (Great Spirit) was by studying the workings of nature, particularly animals. Animals were also believed to carry messages of spiritual import. Intercepting the horizontal dimension to the world of appearances, there was always for the Indigenous mind, the vertical dimension of the sacred, and in this sacredness there was the sense of "mystery." In this worldview animals bear within them power that points to the sacred. Sioux elder, Chased by Bears, emphasized the importance of relating to animals in this way;

The birds and beasts, the trees and rocks, are the work of some Great Power. Sometimes people say they can understand the meaning of the songs of the birds. I believe this is true. They say that they can understand the call and cry of the animals, and I can believe this is also true, for these creatures and people are alike, the work of a Greater Power...we believe that Wakan Tanka is everywhere (Brown, 1997: 1).

During the years that we were privileged to work in the Stoney community, many of our activities took place in relation to local community organizations. One Sunday morning as we stepped out of the local church building, several members of the congregation noted an eagle flying overhead. Immediately smiles broke out as an elder observed, "The Creator is smiling upon us. He has sent his messenger to tell us that we will be blessed." It was a beautiful way to connect spiritual meaning to our temporal world.

Local topography was a frequent theme in Indian legends. Eastern Woodland agriculturalists, for example, told stories about corn, beans and squash, northwest coast Aboriginal cultures had stories about whales and fish, plains tribes told stories about the buffalo, and desert cultures told stories about desert animals and birds. Plants played a less dominant role in legend telling, albeit among the Crows, for example, the cultivation of tobacco was connected to their origin story. For them the ritual of the Tobacco Society is a reenactment of the creation story that renews the people and their world (Harrod, 1992).

The Native American renaissance of recent decades (Lincoln, 1985) has motivated writers of both Aboriginal and nonAboriginal backgrounds to record and publish Indian legends. A pioneer in this undertaking, Ella Clark (1988: vii) took it upon herself to conduct some of the first research in this area, lamenting that many Native legends had been lost or amended from their original form because of outside influences. Louis Bird (2005: 50-51), a Cree Storyteller, suggests that cruelty inflicted on animals during the fur trade era changed the way animals were viewed and later described in legends. Instead of being perceived as friends, indeed relatives, animals began to be viewed as prey. The fur trade also introduced new items that influenced hunters to rely more on their toolsÑsteel axes, traps, and gunsÑthan on their relationships with the natural world of animals. The new forms of weaponry also changed the life patterns of wildlife that began to regard humankind in a new, more enemy-like manner. Still another unfortunate development originates from the fact that after the European invasion many newcomers developed a form of appreciation for Indian legends, so some storytellers began to modify their stories to suit European tastes. New legends also emerged, somewhat different in form than traditional tales, and new subject matter crept into their content. Awareness of these factors has fueled additional energies to be poured into the project of preserving traditional legends in written form.

It is not easy to appreciate the complexity and reliability of oral tradition, since in traditional times word of mouth enjoyed the same primacy as a medium of knowledge and means of religious practice as the written word and the Scriptures fit in the Old World. Valued knowledge, particularly sacred knowledge was originated and perpetuated by most everyone in society, not just the privileged few. Oral tradition among the First Nations of North America was regarded as sacrosanct, in the same way that transmission of textual materials was regarded in old Europe. Among the highest-ranking individuals in a tribe were elders who were skilled in making tribally specific markings and intertribal protocols. Information was regarded as fact if the individual offering it made a statement as follows; "I am telling you this from my heart." In this vein Chief Cochise of the Ciricahua Apache people once stated, "You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts" (Friesen, 1998: 50).

This generation is very fortunate in being able to access Native legends, thanks in large part to the reliability of oral tradition. Appreciation for the preservation of these tales must be extended to several sectors, particularly elders who took upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining their vitality during times when their people were under siege to abandon traditional ways. These guardians of revered knowledge have been successful in keeping many of their valued beliefs and practices alive through very turbulent times. Admirers of the written word who first came into contact with Indigenous culturesÑtraders, missionaries, and anthropologists, also rendered valuable service by committing to writing many stories they learned from their new found acquaintances.

Native legends have a unique identity. They are different from stories of other cultures and as such they constitute the oral literature of each particular tribal cultural configuration. Indian stories are pictures of Aboriginal life verbally drawn by Indigenous storytellers, showing life from their point of view. Legends deal with spirituality, the origins of things, and various kinds of individual behavior. Legends are often entertaining but they may at the same time contain a vast range of cultural knowledge including folkways, values and beliefs.  It could be said that legends often outline the very basis of a particular cultural pattern.

Legend Classification

It is possible to classify Indian legends into four categories (with some degree of overlap), each of which has a special purpose.  The four types of legends are as follows. 

(i) Entertainment legends. Aboriginal legends in many ways are like Aesop's fables or the tales of Greek mythology. Often they teach lessons, but they can also be quite entertaining. Entertainment legends are frequently about the trickster, who is called by different names among the various tribes.  For example, the Blackfoot call him Napi, the Crees call him Wisakedjak, the Ojibway call him Nanabush, the Nakoda Sioux call him ”kt™mni, and other tribes have different names for him like Coyote, Tarantula, Rabbit, or Raven. There is a bit of difference in the way the Mi'kmaq regard their trickster character, Glooscap; because Glooscap was involved in creation was not primarily a negative character. He was always kind to his people and cared for them, and provided for them.

Stories about the trickster are principally fictional and can be invented and amended even during the process of storytelling. Almost anyone can tell an entertainment legend, and even amend details as the story unfolds. Trickster stories often involve playing tricks. Sometimes the trickster plays tricks on others and sometimes they play tricks on him. The trickster appears to have the advantage on his unsuspecting audience, however, since he possesses supernatural powers, which he deploys on a whim to startle or to shock.  He has powers to raise animals to life and he himself may even die and in four days come to life again. Aside from being amusing, trickster stories often incorporate knowledge about aspects of Aboriginal culture, buffalo hunts, natural phenomena, or rituals, or the relationship between people and animals. In this sense trickster stories can also be instructional:

             There used to live among the Sioux a very sharp-eyed trader. Most of the deals he made with the locals were dubious in nature and most folks thought he was a cheat.
            One day, word went out that only Coyote the trickster could outwit the trader and the trickster was sent for.
            Of course the trader did not believe rumors about the trickster and went around boasting, "I have cheated all the Indians around here for years and I can cheat this trickster character too. Send him to me."
            The trickster finally arrived and visited the trader.
"I hear you can outsmart me," said the trader. "How are you going to do that?"
            "I am sorry, but I cannot help you," said the trickster. "I forgot my cheating medicine at home."
            "Cheating medicine," said the trader. "Why don't you go home and get it and let's have at it."
            "I live a long ways from here," said the trickster, "and I am on foot. Lend me a fast horse and I'll be off."
            "Certainly," agreed the trader, and he ordered a fast horse to be brought out. "Now take the horse and be off."
            "I would love to oblige," said the trickster, "but your horse seems to be afraid of me. Lend me your clothes and your horse will think it is you who are doing the riding."
            The trader did so and the trickster rode off with the trader's horse and his fine clothes.
            The trader waited for a long time, and then became embarrassed, but he never saw the trickster again (Erdoes and Ortiz, 1984: 42).

(ii) Instructional or teaching legends are basically told for the purpose of sharing information about a tribe's culture, history, or origin. These stories explain things. They often use animal motifs to explain why things are the way they are. A child may enquire about the origin of the seasons or the creation of the world and a tale about animal life may be told.  For example, a child may ask, "Where did our people come from?" or "Why does the rabbit have such a short tail?" Stories told in response to these questions could include adventures of the trickster. West coast artist and storyteller George Clutesi (1967: 9) put it this way;

Quaint folktales were used widely to teach the young the many wonders of nature; the importance of all living things, no matter how small and insignificant; and particularly to acquaint children with the closeness of humans to all animals, birds, and creatures of the sea. The young were taught through the medium of tales that there was a place in the sun for all living things.

Edmonds and Clark (1989: 208-209) have documented the origin of the prairie rose. Long ago, it seems, the prairies consisted of dull grasses and low shrubs; there was nothing of color on the landscape:
           
            Mother Earth decided that the prairies would look better with some plants of color so she asked a lovely blue flower if she would consider moving to the prairies. Of course she agreed to do so because she respected Mother Earth's wishes. When they arrived on the plains, however, Wild Wind decided to blow her away.
            "I like the prairies the way they are," Wild Wind said. "I do not need a blue flower on my horizon." Then he blew out the life of the blue flower but her spirit returned to Mother Earth. Soon another flower offered to go to the plains, and another and another. Each time Wild Wind blew out the life of each flower, but their spirits always returned to Mother Earth.
            One day a little pink flower called Prairie Rose offered to go to the plains and beautify the prairies. When Wild Wind heard the news he hurried over to see the new flower and blow her away.
            As Wild Wind neared Prairie Rose he noticed that she was very pretty but he was determined not to let that bother him.
            "She may be pretty," he said, "but I will not let her live in my playground." He prepared to blow her away just as he had done to the other flowers. As he neared the area where Prairie Rose was planted, a beautiful fragrance caught his nostrils. He stopped, and took in the gentle scent.
            "This is sweet," he said to himself. "Maybe just one flower on the plains will not make much of a difference. I will let her stay." Wild Wind withdrew himself so that he did not disturb Prairie Rose. Instead he sent a gentle breeze that whispered sweet songs to Prairie Rose every summer.
            Prairie Rose flourished and had many children. From that day to this, the plains have been blessed each spring with the appearance of many Prairie Roses.

(iii) Moral legends are intended to teach ideal or "right" forms of behavior, and are employed to suggest to the listener that a change in attitude or action would be desirable. Since traditional Indian tribes rarely corporally punished their children they sometimes found it useful to hint at the inappropriateness of certain behavior by telling a related legend. For example, the story might be about an animal that engages in inappropriate behavior and the child is expected to realize that a possible modification of his or her own behavior is the object of the telling.

An example of a moral legend comes from Charles and Elaine Goodale Eastman's book (2000: 8-9), Wigwam Evenings:

            One clear day Eagle, king of birds, swooped down from the sky and spoke to Beaver Woman who was chopping wood to make a fire and prepare for supper. When Eagle landed, Beaver Woman quickly dove down into the nearby waters leaving only her head exposed.
            "What do you want, Eagle?" she demanded. "What right have you to disturb my work?"
            "I am hungry," said Eagle. "Fetch me something to eat."
            "Why don't you do as other folks do and work for a living?" Beaver Woman wanted to know.
            "I am not a worker," said Eagle. "I do not cut down trees with my teeth like the beaver does, nor do I live in a bark and weed plastered underwater wigwam either. I am a warrior, not an old woman! Now fetch me some food."
            "It is true that some people are born trouble-makers," Beaver Woman responded. "But I still see no reason why you should not work like other people. My work is of much use to my family and my people and I am not ashamed of what I do." Then she dove into the water.
            Eagle waited and waited, but Beaver Woman never returned to the surface. All Eagle had for his trouble was his pride and a long wait; and no food. Sometimes it pays to be polite to others.

(iv) Sacred or spiritual legends can be told only by a recognized elder or other tribal approved individual and their telling is considered a form of worship. Tribal origin legends are often included in this category, but more recently some of them have made their way into print. Of Choctaw and Cherokee descent, three decades ago (Koi Hosh) William E. Coffer, (1978: 93-94) produced a volume entitled, Spirits of the Sacred Mountains: Creation Stories of the American Indian. After recounting stories about Old World nations which invaded North America, Coffer offers a section entitled "How it Really Happened," and in it relates the origin stories of thirty Native American tribes. Billed as "the finest warriors," the Comanche story suggests that the Great Spirit created the Comanches, by collecting dust from the four corners of the world, so that when an individual died, Mother Earth would receive the body back as part of herself. The Great Spirit devised a plan that provided sustenance for the Comanches by creating food sources. There were eight parts to a human being: the body from the earth, the bones from stones, blood from dew, eyes from the depth of clear water, beauty from the Creator's own image, thoughts from waterfalls, breath from the wind, and strength from storms. After creation was over, the Great Spirit made other beings and they were ordered to respect humans as the greatest creation. All obeyed the Creator except for one demon spirit who refused to obey. As a result this spirit was cast out of the spirit world and made to roam around on earth. The demon took refuge in the serpent's tooth, the fang of the spider, and in other poison-producing animals, insects, and reptiles with plans to torment human beings every time it got a chance. This harassment of humans continues to this day.

In traditional times, spiritually significant stories were never told to just anyone who asked, anymore than they were told by just anyone. Among some tribes, sacred legends were considered property and thus their transmission from generation to generation was carefully safeguarded. Selected individuals learned a legend by careful listening; then, on mastering the story, passed it on so it would be retained for succeeding generations. In some instances storytellers might perhaps change aspects of the story to suit their own tastes. The amendments would center on a different choice of animals or sites referred to in the story and preferred by the teller. 

Application

Although we live in a world principally governed by constantly changing technological advances, the human touch has not yet been replaced by these. Everyone enjoys a good story, preferably told and perhaps animated with appropriate sounds and gestures. Our experience in working in First Nations communities near Calgary, Alberta, over the past decades (Blackfoot, Cree, and Stoney), has convinced us that storytelling is alive and well in these communities. Children are still being informed of cultural data through stories, and they are gently reprimanded when they engage in inappropriate behavior in the same manner. Once in a while, as we have experienced, legends are even related to non-Natives for the same kind of reasons--to inform, amuse, and even to correct. The latter purpose is carefully accomplished using the indirect approach so that the individual engaging in inappropriate behavior or breaking protocol may save face. Sometimes it takes hearers a few days to "catch on" that their behavior may have been off-course, but when they do catch on they may utter a suitable, "Aha, they mean me!"

Perhaps the elders of old were right in their belief that there is in some legends something higher than a mere tale, for there pervades in it the yearning common to all people, the desire for an intimate knowledge of the meaning of life, especially for the future of the human soul and its life after death of the body. Reviving the art of storytelling is indeed pouring new wine for old wineskins.

 

References

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Brown, Dee. (1993). Dee Brown's Folktales of the Native American: Retold for Our Times. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Brown, Joseph Epes. (1997). Animals of the Soul: Sacred Animals of the Oglala Sioux. Rockport, MA: Element.

Buttrick, George A. (1988). The Parables of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Clark, Ella E. (1988). Indian Legends From the Northern Rockies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.

Clark, Ella Elizabeth. (1971). Indian Legends of Canada. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart.

Clutesi, George C. (1967). Son of Raven, Son of Deer: Fables of the Tse- shaht People. Sidney, BC: Gray's Publishing Company.

Coffer, William E. (1978). Spirits of the Sacred Mountains: Creation Stories of the American Indian. New York: VanNostrand Reinhold Company.

Eastman, Charles A., and Elaine Goodale Eastman. (2000). Wigwam Evenings: 27 Sioux Folk Tales. Don Mills, ON: General Publishing Company.

Edmonds, Margot, and Ella E. Clark. (1989). Voices of the Winds: Native American Legends. New York: Facts on File.

Erdoes, Richard, and Alfonso Ortiz, eds. (1984). American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon Books.

Friesen, John W. (1998). Sayings of the Elders. Calgary, AB: Detselig Enterprises.

Harrod, Howard L. (1992). Renewing the World: Plains Indian Religion and Morality. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

Lincoln, Kenneth. (1985). Native American Renaissance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Macfarlan, Allan A. (1968). North American Indian Legends. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.

Marshall, Ellen Ott. (2003). Making the Most of a Good Story: Effective Use of Film as a Teaching Resource. Teaching Theology and Religion, 6 (2), pp. 93-98.

Medicine, Beatrice. (1987). My Elders Tell Me. Indian Education in Canada: The Challenge, Volume One: The Legacy. Jean Barman, Yvonne Hebert, and Don McCaskill, eds. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, 142-152.

Napier, Patricia. (2002). I Want to Tell a Story. Evangel, 20(3), p. 87.

Norman, Howard, ed. (1990). Northern Tales: Traditional Stories of Eskimo and Indian Peoples.  New York: Pantheon Books.

Underhill, Ruth M. (1965). Red Man's Religion: Beliefs and Practices of the Indians North of Mexico. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Zitkala-Sa. (1985). Old Indian Legends. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.