American Dream: Native American

Passage from the Tale: "Coyote and Wishpoosh"

"Coyote was frightened by this demonstration of the monster beaver's strength. But he was the most cunning of all the animals, and he came up with a plan. Turning himself into a tree branch, Coyote drifted among the fish until Wishpoosh swallowed him. Returning to his natural form, Coyote took a knife and cut the sinews inside the giant beaver. Wishpoosh gave a great cry and then perished.Coyote was tired after his long fight with the monster beaver. He called to his friend Muskrat, who helped drag the body of Wishpoosh to shore. Coyote and Muskrat cut up the giant beaver and threw the pieces up over the land, thus creating the tribes of men. The Nez Perce were created from the head of the giant beaver, to make them great in council. The Cayuses were created from the massive arms of Wishpoosh, in order that they might be strong and powerful with the war club and the bow. From the beaver's ribs, Coyote made the Yakimas and from the belly the Chinooks. To make the Klickitats, Coyote used the beaver's legs, so that they would become famous for their skill in running. With the leftover skin and blood, he made the Snake River Indians who thrived on war and blood."To see the full story, click on the Coyote and Wishpoosh link

Reflection

This story shows how the Indians are connected to nature because in this story, Indians came from the giant beaver, Wishpoosh, but it also shows that cunning, such as in the coyote's case, defeats brute force. This also shows why the Indians always used all parts of the animals they killed because they were essentially created from all parts of the beaver. Based on this, I felt that it taught a lesson, in that you should value smarts over muscle, and that it outlines a few of the customs of the tribes, such as using all parts of the animals, and the various roles, lifestyles, and attributes of the tribes.
The story was also very far-fetched. It was easily the weirdest stroy i have ever heard. Just the thought of this orgin is obsured, but who am i to question their beliefs. The Indians cherish this story and hold it true.

Diary


I need a way out of this. My tribe and I will not be able to survive if the white man takes any more of our land. What did we do to deserve this punishment. All we did was not except their precious religion. This is an awful injustice.
If only I could help, but i must stay at home and protect my family from the white men so that they don't force them into their religion. This should be our land, not theirs. We worked for this land, they did not. The only thing we share is that we killed for this land, but they are trying to kill our culture and our customs and take the land we have. I just hope this doesn't get worse, and I pray for future generations if it does.

Essential Question

When the American Dream of an entire culture or religion is faced with conflict, how will it change the community that has that dream?

The Indians' land was taken away by white settlers, so that the ideals of the Indian American Dream and the White American Dream clashed and in the end the white man took away everything from them, but they still try to hold on to their dream.