In the collection Punishment of the Stingy, the oral narrative I most enjoyed was the Pawnee narrative "The Grizzly Bear's Medicine." According to the article "The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives" by William Bascom, this narrative would be considered a legend, and I agree, though there are some inconsistencies. Bascom's definitions are for the most part sound, but not perfectly.
The primary criterion for a legend is that the tale be considered factual (often historical) in content, by the people in that culture. The distinction is crucial, to avoid ethnocentrism. Unfortunately this means we must use contextual cues to det ermine how factual the tale is. I felt "The Grizzly Bear's Medicine" had a distinctly factual-historical tone, though reading an oral narrative distorts the style of the story as a matter of course. Certainly the real-life detail i mplies that the events are true. Take the descendants of the heroes as an example; the sons of the two main characters "...never had so great powers as their fathers" (pg.113) which allows for the possibility that any Pawnee in the recent past w ith great powers of healing or warfare may claim these two as ancestors, albeit with much-diluted ability. The narrative stresses several times that the main characters are Pawnee Indian, and I felt it significant that the heroes become leaders of the tri be. The tale is probably considered tribal history, and therefore accepted at face value as a true series of events.
The next criterion for a legend is that the main characters be human. This is certainly true for "The Grizzly Bear's Medicine," even though there is an impressive ensemble of non-human supporting characters. The most powerful beings in the narr ative are non-human, the Bear in particular, but the story revolves around the poor boy and his friend, the Chief's son. The entire narrative is centered on the rise in fortunes of the two friends. The narrative definitely fills this requirement of Bascom 's.
Bascom's final requirement concerns the setting; legends are set in the world of today, in the relatively recent past. At first glance, "The Grizzly Bear's Medicine" seems to fit this definition, as there is explicit mention of ponies and even guns. In fact, the initiation of the Chief's son into the animal lodge takes place by the Missouri River, a real-world landmark. This definitely implies the setting is in our world, not some other reality or world of long-ago, and that the time frame is a few hundred years at most in the past. Interestingly, the story begins with the words, "A long time ago..." which does NOT imply recent past at all, and the tone in the first few lines gave me the distinct impression of antiquity. Since the res t of the story seems to be firmly entrenched in the recent past, however, I conclude that it is still a legend. However, it is easy to see how Bascom's definitions are susceptible to exceptions.
In his article, Bascom mentions that legends tell of "...migrations, wars, and victories, deeds of past heroes, chiefs, and kings..." (pg. 9) among other things. Obviously, this narrative fits that definition very well, which is the more genera l view of a legend. This 'unofficial' criterion is more important than Bascom's formal definitions in my opinion, since I believe that is the most essential element of a legend. A legend should discuss legendary events above all. When applied to th is story, however, his definitions work fine. It sufficiently meets his criteria.
While reading the collection The Lightning Within, I was touched by the story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds." In the beginning of the story, it seems there is very little 'Indian' identity in the characters, who are Christian, wear Levi's jeans, drive trucks, and have names like Ken and Leon. However, as the story progresses, it is obvious that these people are no less Indian than their ancestors, as evidenced by their beliefs and practices. The author is trying to show that the cultural identity of the people in the story is determined by their inner belief, and not their lifestyle or religion.
The beliefs that the characters hold towards death is the most striking example. The Laguna belief that the dead help their living relatives by sending rain clouds ('kichinas') is strongly subscribed to by the family of the dead man, yet with no conflict to their Christianity. The characters' wish to have the priest sprinkle holy water on Teofilo's grave stems not from a desire for Christian sanctity, but so "...the old man could send them big thunderclouds for sure" (pg. 52). This belief is an ancient one among the Laguna, and that the characters still adhere to it shows their faith is strong. The old ways are not at odds with their modern lives! They still hold onto the old traditions and beliefs, which serves as an indication of their authen tic 'Indian' identity.
The burial practices of the Laguna are another example. Leon paints Teofilo's face with paint and ties a feather in his hair; they bury him in a thoroughly traditional manner, including the sprinkling of corn meal and pollen over the body, and call in el ders with candles and medicine bags. The neighbors and clanspeople "...came quietly to embrace Teofilo's family" (pg. 49) and left food as compensation to the gravediggers. All in all, it was a traditional funeral ceremony, with no Christian ele ments. The holy water, a Christian symbol, is only intended to keep Teofilo from being thirsty and to help him bring bigger rain clouds. The characters do recognize the holiness of the water, yet they still use it in an unorthodox manner. The fact of Teof ilo's death is purposely hidden from the priest, who is understandably upset, yet the characters felt that a traditional burial ceremony was necessary. Despite their conversion to Christianity, the characters still do certain things the 'old' way. The au thor is stressing adherence to traditional beliefs among the characters in the story, that despite their adaptation to modern life they still are 'authentic' in their 'Indian identity.'
The main focus of the story is the syncretism between the Christian and Laguna traditions, symbolized by the holy water. Despite the blending of the two traditions, the attitude of the principal characters is still in some indefinable way 'Indian' to the reader. These are obviously not imitators or wannabes who bury their Grandfather in the old way because it's New Age and fashionable. The characters truly believe in the old ways, and stand by their beliefs even while officially converted to the Christia n church. It is apparent in the priest's paranoia at the gravesite (he feared he was the victim of some practical joke, that Teofilo was actually alive and well) that the Indians had circumvented the Church in other things besides burials. This story mana ges to illustrate how Indians may successfully avoid the classic Bateson Double-Bind; they have adapted to their new conditions and have adjusted their lifestyle to fit into the modern world, yet they still retain their heritage and sense of identity.
Nicholas Black Elk was a man who was involved with several different religions in his life. He was originally a medicine man in his tribe, the Oglala Lakota, after a great vision he had as a child. He was later affiliated with the Episcopalian Church , in order to meet wage labor requirements, and afterwards joined the Ghost Dance movement after witnessing the aftermath of Wounded Knee. His most radical transition was his conversion to Christianity, which led to his life as a Catholic catechist in his later years. These shifts in religious belief did not occur arbitrarily, but were responses to changing conditions in Black Elk's life, as well as in the conditions of Native Americans in general.
One reason Black Elk switched religions several times was for socio-economic reasons. Oftentimes there were tangible advantages in terms of food, medicine, etc. for converted natives. Those who accepted the Church often had more opportunities for educati on, jobs, and the like. The Church was often the sole provider of needed goods, due to the neglect of the natives by the US government, and so the Church was not really an evil entity in the eyes of the Indians. It was often in the Native Americans' best interests to join the Church, so as to get preferential treatment and be guaranteed access to basic services and needs.
The most obvious example of this in Black Elk's life was his membership in the Episcopalian Church. He joined the Church not because he was converted, but because he wished to be eligible for work in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show (which paid very well) . Buffalo Bill only hired Christians, so Black Elk became one in name only. It was an economic decision on Black Elk's part to join the Episcopalians. He was essentially trying to survive, in this case by making more money.
Also, Black Elk joined the Ghost Dance movement ("The Messiah Craze") for a related reason. The Ghost Dance was an expression of pain, an outlet for frustration necessitated by the worsening economic conditions caused by the colonial process. T he Ghost Dance was a response to the hunger, poverty, and misery experienced by most of Indian society at the time. It promised an end to the suffering and the elimination of the White men forever. It predicted a return to the old ways, and appealed to Bl ack Elk and thousands of other Indians for those reasons.
Black Elk truly believed in the salvation promised by the Ghost Dance. This belief was most likely motivated by the massacre at Wounded Knee, whose aftermath he witnessed first-hand. He truly wanted to believe the end of the misery and suffering would co me, and so he feverishly threw himself into the Ghost Dance. In other words, he was motivated to join by true belief as well as by socio-economic pressures.
The main reason Black Elk switched his religious alliances was in fact true belief. When he joined the Ghost Dance, and especially when he converted to the Christian faith, he truly believed in the new faith. His conversion experience was not forc ed upon him. He undertook conversion willingly, and was a faithful Catholic to the end of his days. His main motivation in joining the Catholic Church was belief in the tenets of the new religion, as well as a desire to show his people the new path.
To Black Elk, the new religion really wasn't that new. He actually saw many parallels between his old practices and Christianity. This was primarily due to the amazing similarities between the vision he had at age nine (which inspired him to become a med icine man) and the Two Roads Map. The Two Roads Map was designed to instruct about Catholicism in a pictorial way. As Steltenkamp puts it, "... the Two Roads Map imaginatively captured in picture form the basic world-view of traditional Christian the ology" (pg. 95). Black Elk's vision and the Map shared many common elements, including thunder-beings, flying men, and tree imagery. Many other details of Black Elk's vision are explicitly or implicitly present on the map as well. Black Elk saw the a mazing correspondence between the vision and the map as further proof that his destiny lay in the Christian faith, and emphasized this point in his catechism. In Black Elk's own words, "I had been appointed by my vision to be an intercessor of my peo ple... I'd bring my people out of the black road into the red road" (pg.96). Using the Two Roads Map, he was able to pursue his dream of benefiting his people. He saw the Church as a path to salvation for himself and his family, and he wished to spre ad the enlightenment he had found to the rest of the Indian population, hence his career as a catechist. This was a sincere effort at saving his people's souls. It is clear that Black Elk saw his conversion not as a radical change, but as a logical contin uation to his early career as a medicine man.
Black Elk did not wantonly abandon his native religion. He had many reasons for making the choices he made. Part of the reason was social and economic motivation, to make his life better for himself and his family. The main reason was that he saw the new religion as a continuation of his life's path, from medicine man to catechist, as a leader of his people in the search for salvation.
"What is strange is what has happened to our folks in the last five centuries. We've been through allot. Because of that, on the surface it looks like we must have changed a lot, too. But we're still not what others want us to be. Strange. For some we ain't real enough anymore. For some, we're still too Indian. Some say we're not Indians at all, or First Americans, or Native Americans. Some say we are." -Anna Lee Waters, Talking Indian, pg.41-42
The Indians of North America have changed immeasurably since Columbus made first contact. Some accuse Indians of losing their identity, while others want the Indian communities to assimilate more than they have. This duality in public thought is called Ba teson's Double-Bind; it represents a double standard under which the Indians cannot win. If an Indian refuses to assimilate, then they are considered an obstacle to progress, and if they attempt to fit in they are considered non-authentic. The passage abo ve is essentially an observation of this.
One issue in which this double-bind is glaringly obvious is language. The Indian language was considered a rebellious icon, and so in the late 1800's government policy sought to eradicate the native tongues. Forcing the natives to speak the language of t heir conquerors brought enormous social pressure to bear on the Indian population. The advantages of assimilation were made much clearer once the language barrier was down. This was accomplished in part by missionaries who encouraged their converts to spe ak English only, but the main thrust of the campaign was the boarding school system established in the 1870's.
The boarding school system was simple in concept and brilliant in strategy. The children of each tribe in a certain age group were rounded up and sent to boarding schools where they would be safe from the "corrupting" influence of native life, and were educated according to mainstream ideals. The children were utterly forbidden to speak their native languages, and were forced to speak English all day, ridiculed and punished if they did not obey. A sense of shame was instilled in each youngster about their native culture, so as to make the option of assimilation more attractive. This resulted in 'internalized oppression,' the self-conviction that the old ways were harmful and wrong. The system of boarding schools was extremely effective in this regard.
The level of language retention for various tribes falls along a broad spectrum. Those tribes that were small, decimated by disease, or uprooted tended to be heavily affected, with the original language in extreme disuse or even lost forever. Other tribe s with large, stable populations tended to hold on to their primary language, but every tribe was affected in some way.
In essence, the government wanted Indians to abandon their old language and speak English. Those that refused to do so were considered obstacles to progress, troublemakers, and uncivilized. Those who did make the switch to English faced problems as well, however. They were no longer considered 'true' Indians, in some cases by their own people. The loss of language alienated many people from their culture, and today there are many Indians who do not feel comfortable in either society. Indians who seek to return to their roots may find themselves unwelcome due to their lack of common ground; the language of a people is a very strong bond in a community. Those Indians in mainstream society who seek to be recognized for their work in the Indian community (i. e.. arts, music, literature) may not be considered authentic and suffer economically for it. The general opinion seems to be the Indian who lost their language somehow compromised their 'Indianness.'
Language, though important to the cultural identity, really is not crucial any longer. The short story Talking Indian illustrates this point vividly. The loss of language makes it more difficult for Indians to find their roots, and experien ce their culture, but it does not deny them access. Maxine, the main character in the story, found she could understand dogs speaking, in what seemed to be her long-forgotten native language. Her grandfather's explanation is that though she may not even k now it herself, her Indian identity is still intact. As he puts it, "The only thing that's different is I'm talking in a foreign language, one forced on us, but nevertheless, I'm still talking Indian. It's ironical" (pg. 41). The author is clear ly refuting the double-bind theory, claiming in essence that though you may not speak Indian, you are still Indian in some indefinable way, that will never change despite the loss of the native tongue.
Religion also suffers from an identity crisis. The Catholic church has claimed a significant fraction of Indian peoples as members, and the new Native American Church has rapidly grown in popularity. The old religious traditions and ceremonies are still practiced, but even they have changed with the times. Once again we have the double-bind situation, this time pertaining to religious practice instead of language.
Those who remained true to the old religions are still in some cases pressured to change, but in today's society those forces have lost much power. The real injustice is meted out to those who no longer subscribe to the traditional practice. The question is, do those who believe in different religions still have the right to be called Indian?
Black Elk is an example of this. His biography, written by John Neihardt in the 1930's, was one of the most-read books on Indian culture ever. Neihardt recorded the culture of the Lakota, and faithfully wrote of Black Elk's rise as a medicine man and war rior, and told of his Indian heritage; he was a cousin to Crazy Horse, for example. However, all mention of Black Elk's later years, 25 of which spent as a Catholic catechist, were ignored by Neihardt in the final version. Neihardt apparently viewed Black Elk's conversion to the Christian faith as compromising his Indian heritage, and accordingly deleted any reference to it. Neihardt and many of his readers equated religious practice with cultural identity, and in so doing did a great injustice to a man w hose work made hundreds of lives better and happier through his teachings.
Though religion is a central part of the Indian culture, due to circumstances beyond anyone's control most of the Indian population no longer shares the same belief. The ironical thing is, even before Columbus, there was vast diversity in belief and reli gious practice! Using Black Elk as a prime example, merely switching religious alliances does not invalidate one's Indian identity.
Finally, the issue of tribal affiliation is also affected by the double-bind concept. Tribal affiliation is determined by the "blood quanta" concept, devised by the government as a record-keeping tool for tribal membership. Under agreement with the Indian nations, officially recognized tribes are allowed to choose their membership according quantum of 'Indian' blood. The required fraction of Indian blood to legally be a member varies with the tribe in question.
The problem is that there are many Indians who do not fit neatly into these arbitrary classifications. Many Indians have intermixed ancestors, from different tribes or white marriages. Often, these Indians do not have enough blood quanta of any type to q ualify for membership in the tribes they are descended from. The double-bind again raises its head. In this case, those Indians who seek affiliation with a tribe may be rejected, thanks to extremely arbitrary rules. Those who do not attempt to gain tribal affiliation are considered to be non-authentic.
The very essence of Indian identity appears to be at stake here, but once again there really is no conflict. Traditionally, tribal membership has been based on behavior and acceptance, not strictly genealogy. The debate raised on this clouds more pressin g issues, such as that of tribes not recognized by the government, and hence with no rights, or con artists faking tribal membership for personal gain, thereby reducing the credibility of true Indians.
The essence of the passage from Talking Indian is that identity is not easily defined. Indians and non-Indians alike have pre-conceived notions of what constitutes this identity, and often in the battle to prove it one way or another the real issu e becomes clouded. Indians are not defined by religion, language, or tribe. The irony of the situation is the double-bind is caused by this erroneous belief.