Colonialism Unit ENG 11
Native American Culture and Literature
Name: _____________________________
“The Earth on Turtle’s Back” – Onondaga (p. 20)
1. a.) What happens to the young wife after the chief uproots the Great Tree?
b. Why does this event generate concern among the animals?
2. a.) What actions do the animals take when they realize the wife of the chief cannot live in
water?
b.) How do these actions exhibit the best of human nature?
3. a.) What does the description of the muskrat stress about her physical qualities?
b.) What message about human achievement is conveyed by the success of the muskrat after the
other creatures could not accomplish the same task?
4. How does society benefit from the actions like those of the muskrat?
“When Grizzlies Walked Upright” – Modoc (p. 24) & “The Navajo Origin Legend” –
Navajo (p. 27)
1. a.) In the Modoc myth what do the grizzly bears do that angers the Chief of the Sky Spirits?
b.) What does his reaction tell you about him?
2. a.) What is the winds role in the Navajo ceremony?
Colonialism Unit ENG 11
b.) Why might the Navajo have viewed the wind as a source of life?
3. What does the Navajo ceremony show about the Navajo attitudes toward order and ritual?
Literary Analysis:
1. In which origin myth is the creation of the Earth unintentional, or almost an accident?
2. In addition to the origins of life on Earth, what specific features of the land does the Modoc
myth explain?
3. a.) Which of the myths portrays the spirits or gods as generous and kind?
b.) Which myth sees them as vengeful? Why?
4. a.) In which myth is the world’s creation a result of cooperation?
b.) In which myth is it a result of aggression?
5. Identify at least two cultural characteristics that you learned in these three myths.
6. Do the stories we tell today through film, TV, or books say something about who we are as a
people? Explain your answer.