Native American Art Understanding Native Oral Traditions

Native American Art: Understanding Native Oral Traditions Princess Edobor ARHI 367 In our world today there are many books and computer hard drives filled with the most current world histories. However, unlike the people of the west, the Native Americans did not keep chronological record of their past history.11 Since the Native Americans have no written histories, most of the history about their past come to us in form of stories passed down from their ancestors through generations. In order for the Native Americans to be completely understood their oral traditions must be studied and not cast aside as mere myths legends of an illiterate race. Problems often arise when we consider the use of verbal stories as a means of passing down knowledge due to the fact that over time we lose bits and pieces of a story. It definitely calls into question the reliability of the stories as accurate accounts of history and has caused many researchers to regard oral history as biased accounts compared with the presumed accuracy of the written word. The high regard given to writers also ignores the fact that writers can also be prejudiced in their writings. Though spoken word is much older than written word, the two methods complement each other with their unique attributes. For example emotions, gesticulations and intonations conveyed through the performance of spoken word is lost when converted to written word, but while spoken word changes over time, written word remains the same.Show MoreRelatedThe Ancient Songs, Stories And Art Of Native People1671 Words   |  7 PagesPatty Loew writes â€Å"the ancient songs, stories and art of Nat ive people are filled with symbolism and wisdom. 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