Stories That Make the World: Oral Literature of the Indian Peoples of the Inland Northwest (Volume 218)

by Rodney Frey (Editor)

By using verse form and visual clues indicating pauses, intonations, and gestures, anthropologist Rodney Frey permits readers to hear the oral literature of narrators from the Coeur d’Alene, Crow, Klikitat, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Sanpoil, and Wasco people today in Washington, northern Idaho, and Montana. He places each of the twenty-three narratives in its larger cultural, literary, and expressive context, making this anthology an important resource both for American Indian people and for non-Native scholars and general readers. A glossary and a lesson-plan appendix facilitate the book’s use in both secondary and college-level courses.  

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Kirsten]

Orality vs literacy
Oral literature vs oral history

In addition to containing several stories from inland northwest tribes, this text provides insights into oral culture that I hadn't been aware of. These ideas will be helpful for my children's literature course, social studies methods, and my own thinking about the world.
This cements part of the value of live classrooms -- teachers act as culture-makers, storytellers even when not explicitly telling stories.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Authentic voices of Native American storyteller makes for great folklore, but it's difficult to read and assimilate in its poetic form for someone used to the European structure of narrative.