The Wisdom of Storytelling

Gathered as a group at night around the fire, the tribe used storytelling to draw the community closer together. In each story lay a lesson. A bit of wisdom for the younger tribal members to carry with them through life. To the Indians, storytelling represented communication, entertainment and education. Though often conveyed verbally, stories were recorded through symbols. This is an example of a traditional hunting story.

[Symbol 1] A man rose early one morning

[Symbol 2] And went into the mountains where he had a vision

[Symbol 3] He knew he needed food for his people

[Symbol 4] He traveled for one day, one night, another day, another night

[Symbol 5] Early the next morning

[Symbol 6] He spotted a buck

[Symbol 7] He shot it with one shot

[Symbol 8] He killed the deer

[Symbol 9-14 need transcription]

Courtesy hmdb.org

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