Topic. I want to do my storybook on Native American tribes from the northwest. I was thinking of doing four stories on four different tribes from the region. One story I would like to incorporate and draw inspiration from in The Youthful Warrior, which comes from the Tlingit tribe. I like the story from the Coos tribe called The Ascent to Heaven and I am intrigued by the Chinook myth called Raven and Gull. Lastly, I want to use a cradle song from the Haida tribe called Qa'gials qê'gawa-i because when I was working at camp in British Columbia this past summer one of the cabins was named Haida.
Bibliography. The stories I used were all found on the Internet Sacred Texts Archive.
1. Haida Songs, John R. Swanton, 1912.
2. Chinook Texts, Franz Boas, 1894.
3. Tlingit Myths and Texts, John R. Swanton, 1909.
4. Coos Texts, Leo J. Frachtenberg, 1913.
Possible Stylezzzzzz:
Modern Scenario. I think it could be funny to have a story where Native Americans or even one by himself/herself are waiting in line to get the new Iphone on release day. Or maybe a character would be going on a cruise for vacation. I like the idea because I think it would create a rather funny visual for the reader when they are imagining the story in their heads. It could be a story where a Native American rides his horse into a downtown setting because he was chosen for jury duty and gets a ticket for "parking illegally". I think I would like to involve some sort of time travel for the characters so that they are feeling very disoriented in the future.
Love Story. I think it would be cool to do a Native American love story and have it not be very traditional. Maybe it could show how we have created marriage into this extravagant "looks at us" moment instead of celebrating the commitment both are making. Or maybe it could be a story that shows the birth of marriages that are focused on the wrong thing. It could also be just a good love story about two characters that meet and above all odds find a way to be together and find peace together.
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| Vancouver Island Image Source |
Trees as the storytellers. The trees in the northwest are so enormous and beautiful and they were one of my favorite parts about visiting up there. I think it is always fun to make things that can't talk normally suddenly come to life. I think the trees would be like old men with lots of wisdom that could be lending knowledge to squirrels or a bird of some sort that was much younger in years. It could be a story about a mentor and his apprentice perhaps. Maybe it could be about a boy who climbs the tree only to find out that the tree can talk and the story shares there experience.
Campfire talk. I think the best conversations occur while circled around a bonfire. This could be a story style that involves a group of Native Americans sitting around the fire and then one goes into a story about a hero or villain or something along those lines. I also thought that maybe whenever a tribe makes a bonfire they are able to speak to the fire and that was how they knew where their enemies were. The fire spirit could transport to any source of bonfire and hear what was going on around it and see who was there.
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| Chief Anotklosh of the Taku Tribe of the Tlingit people. Image Source |
Chief Anotklosh of the Taku Tribe of the Tlingit people
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