American Indian Myths and Legends

I have to say as a poet I am enamored by the metaphors in the text and many of the quotes that were used. A line in the introduction states, “Mythical perception is always impregnated with these emotional qualities.” The introduction spoke of the universe and the power of these myths, which I feel because I strongly believe in symbolism of inanimate objects or any part of nature that is taken for granted.  Also, I enjoy the word play.  Another one was the quote from Hubert Howe Bancroft that speaks of myths and language, “Language is thought incarnate; mythology soul incarnate.” In other words we use language to express thoughts but souls are passed down by the myths in our culture. Another quote that isn’t so metaphorically framed but is beautiful in feeling is when the author spoke about characters stating, “By moving often cataclysmic events into the realm of myth or folklore, the storyteller can once celebrate, mourn, and honor the past—and look ahead to a time when the great heroes may return to their people, bearing powerful medicine to restore former glory.” This shows that the storyteller tells the myths not just to inform the listener about the story or culture, but ignites hope that these heroes are still living in the shadows of the specific culture.  This is because these myths are believed and is apart of reality.

I also have to address the story of grizzly bears. I think that the story jumped too quickly. Meaning, grizzly bears were cursed not to speak because of creating a new species without his approval and I felt that there was missing details but the reason made sense.