Native American Storytelling and Literature-A webquest
Directions: In preparation for our new unit on Native American storytelling and literature, will explore
important background information about our first people by navigating through the website,
www.pbs.org/circleofstories/. Circle of Stories was designed “to honor and explore Native American
storytelling”.
Your goal in learning this background information is to Native American traditions with a greater and
deeper understanding of the past and how the traditions are still present today.
You will be using the circle of stories website to complete this assignment.
www.pbs.org/circleofstories/
Note: All answers must be typed in COMPLETE SENTENCES to receive credit on this assignment.
Thank You! Also-please type your responses in Georgia, 12 point font.
Please save this as: christopherj_nativeamericanwebquest
This in class assignment is worth 40 points. Feel free to work independently or in pairs.
Please put in the dropbox Grade 11-English-Le Blanc when you are done. 
To learn how storytelling developed, click on “many voices”.
1. Upon what are Native American stories based and what is their major motivation?
2. What are creation stories?
3. Give three examples of how “life lessons” are taught in Native American tales.
4. Choose three different types of stories and in your own words, explain the types of tales your
imagine they tell.
Next, go to “why we are here”.
1. The following vocabulary words/phrases appear in the first three paragraphs. Please define them:
a. Conquest
b. Genocide
c. Decimated
d. Forcibly relocated
e. Cultural diversity
f. Biological diversity
g. Contamination
h. Exploitation
i. Revitalize
j. Ancestral
k. Ethnography
l. Acquisition
m. Ceremony
2. How are Native people inspired by bio and cultural diversity in their stories?
3. How are Native people inspired by language endangerment and survival?
4. How and why are Native people struggling to protect their land? Summarize the main idea (we’ll
come back to the links at a later time).
Now, click on “Community”.
1. Find the post labeled “9/23/2010-Kendra Craig”.
a. What is her setting?
b. How does she connect with nature in her story?
c. Why do you think Kendra Craig chose to tell this story?
Homework: Due Thursday 10/13/11
"THE STORYTELLER IS ONE WHOSE SPIRIT IS INDISPENSABLE TO THE PEOPLE"
In his traditional world the Native American lives in the presence of stories. The storyteller is one
whose spirit is indispensable to the people. He is a magician, artist, and creator. And above all, he is
a Holy Man. His is a sacred Business.
-N.Scott Momaday, / Kiowa
Kendra Craig’s response, along with the other posts on the community page were inspired by
Momaday’s essential belief about storytelling.
Write two detailed paragraphs introducing a place with which you have a physical and/or
emotion connection, then explain how and why this connection came to be and why it is still
important. (Feel free to look at other posts for inspiration!)