Native American Lore

**cacafire** · 03-15-2006, 02:12 AM

Hi, all. I'm tossing around a little story in my head, and It's about a native american man(about 1

who goes to find his ancestor's burial site with his dogs. I'm interested about the actual Native american lore of these burial sites. I don't have much time, So I'll elaborate later.
Any lore would be helpful.

Thank you.
-Cacafire.

**Titania** · 03-15-2006, 02:31 AM

Wouldn't it depend a lot on which tribe? "Native American" is a little non-specific...

VictoriaE · 03-15-2006, 05:42 PM

Agreeable, there are thousands upon thousands of lore stories in Native American history.

**mammamaia** · 03-16-2006, 01:04 AM

i lived with the hopi for a good while and have studied most of the other tribes' lore and known many other tribal people personally... as the other posts indicated, no two tribes have exactly the same beliefs and customs, so you're going to have to do a lot of research, if you want your story to be realistic and your character to be believable...

if you want any help with it, let me know...

love and hugs, maia
maia3maia@hotmail.com

**cacafire** · 03-16-2006, 02:20 AM

Actually... any native american lore would be helpful, simply because the tribe he's from is an amalgamation of different tribes, and doesn't actually exist. I am, however, particularly interested in the lore of the tribes indigeneous to northern california and the oregon country.

Lemme give you a breakdown, ^^ :

Originally Posted by Cacafire

The boy, (who's age I have changed to 17/16.) grows up estranged from an indian reservation, and doesn't have much of his culture left. In fact, the reservation is pretty much history, as his tribe has grown so small. A certain event in his life causes him to seek out the culture of his ancestors, and soon hears from his grandfather of a legendary burial ground that is still uncovered by the white man, and has housed the spirits of his ancestors for centuries.

His grandfather gives the boy a certain clay ring(remarkably well made, almost looks like white gold. ^^) that when worn, allows the boy to see spirits from the old world. The world of his ancestors. Armed with the ring and a mutt that joins him for the journey, The boy seeks out the burial ground of his ancestors to reconnect with them, and has plenty of trials and adventures along the way.

The thing is, I don't have much indian lore from that area to draw back on. I am searching for information on the internet and am hoping to get some information here too, everyone. Sadly, I'm banking on the fact that not everyone knows every single Native american tribe in the U.S. So I decided to have an amalgamation of traits that would suit my needs.

I guess, In the history of his tribe, they were an offshoot of the hopi people that had come up from south america and through texas into california as they fled the warrior tribes there. After mingling with the hopi, they parted ways and eventually settled in with the navajo for a while, but moved on, in time(The navajo's are from california, right? I'm not sure.), they settled near the oregon country and flourished for a while, but their tribe had already begun to decline by the time the white man arrived. I'm kinda stuck right there. ^^;

Any help? At all?

-Cacafire

**Titania** · 03-16-2006, 02:51 AM

I'm sorry to keep, I'm sure, addressing side questions / problems rather than your major point (I'm not an amerindian folklore expert) but:

The navajo's are from california, right? I'm not sure

The Navajo are located mainly in New Mexico.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

The Navajo (also Navaho) people of the southwestern United States call themselves the Diné (pronounced [d?n?]), which roughly means "people". They speak the Navajo language, and many are members of the Navajo Nation, an independent government structure which manages the Navajo reservation in the Four Corners area of the United States.

(four corners being New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona & Utah)

I hope that might help... I recently did a project on the Navajo code talkers so that's why I knew.

**woodcut.evolution** · 03-16-2006, 04:34 AM

I used to have a wealth of information on local indian tribes when I was Like 12, Not sure where that is now. But I can tell you some of the names of tribes in the Oregon area that may help you narrow your search.

Salishan
Klickitat
Yakima
Klamath (in northern California too)
Coos
Chinooks
Shoshone
Nez Perce

That's all I can think of at the moment, there's more. Bare in mind this is from the Oregon Territory as it existed some 150 years ago. Some of these tribes are from Washington or Idaho under current boundries.

**awford** · 03-16-2006, 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by cacafire

Actually... any native american lore would be helpful, simply because the tribe he's from is an amalgamation of different tribes, and doesn't actually exist. I am, however, particularly interested in the lore of the tribes indigeneous to northern california and the oregon country.

I grew up in southern Oregon. Tribes in the area are Modoc, Nez Pierce, Rogue, Klamath, Umpqua, Siletz, Kalapuya, and Chinook among others. Most the tribes in this region were never large in terms of population or land areas they controlled or lived on. With the exception of the Nez Pierce, most did not fight European expansion in this region militarily. Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce led several well documented campaigns to try to remain in their traditional homelands in Oregon and Idaho.

I would be cautious with the subject matter, however, only because for far too long indian country has been "almagamated" by authors who didn't want to spend the time doing their research up front, and its led to a mongrel concept of what a native american is supposed to be like. Just make sure you understand the culture that is the setting for your story, not for political correctness, but for pride in accuracy.

I'd recommend you contact the Southern Oregon Historical Society (phone: 541-773-6536), in Medford, OR. for good tips on where to start your research. For languages, Prof. Dan Harvey (harveyd@sou.edu ) Southern Oregon State University is very involved with helping tribes throughout northern California and southern Oregon capture and retain their dying languages. Tell him Arlen sent you

. He may have some great contacts to pass on for you to go straight to the horses' mouths for cultural info.

Most of the tribes in southern Oregon were relocated north to reservations near the Portland area. Try the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, in Grand Ronde, OR. ( www.grandronde.org ). They are what remains of most of those tribes - the Rogue, Kalapuya and others that were force marched 350 miles from southern Oregon up to Fort Sheridan. The US Army General Phil Sheridan is still celebrated in this area as a hero that tamed the Oregon territory, despite the horrors he heaped on these tribes.

Anyway, hope this helps.

**eleda** · 03-16-2006, 10:57 AM

Pretty much everyone who commented has given excellent feedback, especially Awford. I'm half-Yaqui NDN, as we like to be called. Native American is not a widely used term amongst NDN tribes anymore, it's a non-Indian term. But let's not split hairs, do your research and then put together your outline. The Indians of the Americas all have their own lore, and Navajos are mainly from Arizona, not New Mexico. I would know, I worked on the reservation with them. The Nez Perce tribes are from the Pacific Northwest and have a very rich cultre to study. I've worked with Lakotas, Navajos, Hopis, Pueblos, Apaches and have spent years amongst the Yaquis. All have something valuable to offer -- a rich tapestry of culture, lore and community. If you're interested, visit my website which is listed in my signature and you can listen to some samples of Indian texts to music. Each track tells a story about the NDN culture. I would be happy to help you on your way in establishing some groundwork for your story.

Namaste

**mammamaia** · 03-17-2006, 12:10 AM

eleda's right about the hopi and navajo... as noted above, i lived among the hopi in arizona, where the paltry bits of land [desolate mesas] they have left are surrounded by the navajo's many millions of acres that were stolen from the peaceful hopi long ago and given to them up till recently, by the dastardly us gov't...

as for this:

After mingling with the hopi, they parted ways and eventually settled in with the navajo for a while

keep in mind that the two don't get along all that well, due to the navajo's long history of stealing the hopi's corn, women, children, land... and even now, usurping their ability to make a living with their magnificent artistic crafts, by turning out cheap ripoffs and selling them as 'authentic' online and to tourists who don't know any better [or don't care]...

**MJ Preston** · 10-19-2010, 04:25 AM

What are you looking for. Stories of Wendigo, Skinwalker, giants, talking circles? I would recommend you do a bit of research and then formulate a story around that. You are not writing a history book so you can work it as a fiction piece and that makes it a bit more flexible.

**The Backward OX** · 10-19-2010, 04:32 AM

Originally Posted by MJ Preston

What are you looking for. Stories of Wendigo, Skinwalker, giants, talking circles? I would recommend you do a bit of research and then formulate a story around that. You are not writing a history book so you can work it as a fiction piece and that makes it a bit more flexible.

Your in to much of a hurry too comment. This is a four-year-old thread.

**Baron** · 10-19-2010, 04:33 AM

Originally Posted by MJ Preston

What are you looking for. Stories of Wendigo, Skinwalker, giants, talking circles? I would recommend you do a bit of research and then formulate a story around that. You are not writing a history book so you can work it as a fiction piece and that makes it a bit more flexible.

Not one of the others who have posted in this thread are still using the forums. The thread is four years old. It would be hoped that if the information sought was for a project being worked on then it would have been completed long ago.