Teaching American Indian Literatures in South Carolina's Classrooms

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Teaching American Indian Literatures
in South Carolina's Classrooms

Jim Charles
University of South Carolina
at Spartanburg

Question: What is the connection between Kevin Costner, English class, and South Carolina? Answer: American Indians. How so? Consider this logic chain.

Item: The Columbus Quincentennial Celebration forces debate on the nature of the cultural cross-fertilization that occurred between the cultures of the "Old" and "New" Worlds (Auchincloss; Begley; Grey; Hughes).
Item: American Indians press successfully for the return and reinterment of their ancestors' skeletal remains held in museum and university collections (Arden; Deloria, "Simple").
Item: Several American Indian tribes battle the Forestry Service and the Interior Department over the desecration of sacred religious sites as these sites are opened to clear cutting by the timber industry and to other forms of industrial development (Deloria, "Sacred").
Item: the Catawba Nation approves the settlement of a long- standing land claim against the state of South Carolina and the United States government for $50 million (Connor).
Item: Kevin Costner's film Dances With Wolves reinvigorates Americans' cyclical love affair with the "cultural mystique" of pre-1900 Plains Indians.
And a final item: New state-adopted literature anthologies in South Carolina contain 107 selections authored by American Indians (SC Dept. of Education).

These seemingly disconnected items have converged, thrusting American Indians into the public limelight, popular media, and public school classrooms once again. As a result, students in our English classes have questions about American Indians and about the American Indian literature they are asked to read. As English teachers, we need to answer our students' questions in an informed manner. The aim of this article is to help in that process by describing the American Indian literature available to South Carolina's English Language Arts teachers in their new state-adopted anthologies and by providing some specific suggestions for teaching American Indian literatures to the state's secondary level English students.

A Definition of "American Indian Literatures"

For the purposes of this paper, the term "American Indian literatures" is defined as those literatures, both oral (or traditional) and written (or contemporary), authored by American Indians or collaboratively authored by American Indians and non- Indians (as in the cases of some "as-told-to biographies" and the translation and transcription of some American Indian oral narratives and song-poems). Further, it is possible to describe genres of American Indian literatures within each of these two broad categories.

Oral (traditional) Literary Genres. Oral literary genres of American Indian literature include both song-poems and oral narratives. According to Rouff:

The oral literatures of Native Americans . . . include songs, frequently categorized by modern critics as poetry. . . . Songs can be divided into those which are part of communal ritual and those which are not. Expressing religious rites and supplications of the group, sacred songs utilize repetition and incremental development. . . . Ritual songs represent the major events in human life--birth or naming, puberty, healing or purification, death and burial. . . . Songs also express personal experiences of the individual to express his or her own feelings. . . . Special occasions are celebrated in song. . . . Other kinds of songs include elegies, lullabies, women's work songs, and love songs. (8)

Narratives constitute another oral literary genre. Oral narratives include tribal histories, creation stories (called by some "myths" or "legends"), stories with a didactic function (teaching lessons to young children about proper conduct, for example), and stories of specific tribal lifeways. Rouff, among other scholars, categorizes oral narratives by eras or "ages":

Myths describe a primal world, peopled by animal spirits in more or less human form and by monsters and confusions of nature. The Myth Age flows into the Age of Transformation, during which a Culture Hero or Transformer orders the world, turning animal people into animals per se and other beings into natural landmarks. The Age of Transformation is followed by the Historical Age of human memory. (5)

A final oral literary genre can be labeled oratory. Transcribed and translated speeches delivered by American Indians on important occasions such as council meetings, trials, and treaty signings as well as the texts of contemporary speeches comprise works in this category.

Written (contemporary) Literary Genres. There is a growing body of written work in numerous genres by American Indian authors. A complete study of American Indian literatures includes an examination of this written work. There are many critically acclaimed American Indian essayists, historians, anthropologists, folklorists, literary critics, playwrights, novelists, and poets.

While the above descriptive definition of American Indian literatures is broad and inclusive, I want to be careful to point out that it excludes works and authors thought by many to be "American Indian." Among the excluded works are those authored by non-Indians even if the works have American Indian protagonists and even if they speak to American Indian thematic content (Hal Borland's When the Legends Die [Bantam, 1972] and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee [Holt, 1970], for example). Also excluded by the definition are those works by authors who claim but have failed to adequately establish their American Indian ancestry (Jamake Highwater, for example [see Hagan]).

South Carolina's State-adopted Literature Anthologies

Analysis of South Carolina's state-adopted literature anthologies reveals the presence of a significant number (107) of American Indian authored selections. The sample has several significant features which are revealed through analysis at particular grade levels.

Genres. The sample of selections anthologized contains both fictional and non-fictional written (contemporary) selections and examples of each of the three traditional (oral) literary genres. Within the fiction category, poems and short stories predominate with a few excerpts from novels included in the overall sample. Neither plays nor experimental fictional genres such as vignettes are included in the textbooks. In the non-fiction category, essays and autobiographies are included in the sample of anthologized selections by American Indian writers. Three excerpts from William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways (Little Brown, 1982), a non-fictional account of the author's travels on state highways across the country, are anthologized as well.

All three oral (traditional) literary genres--song-poems, orations, and oral narratives--are represented in the sample. Table 1 summarizes frequency of occurrence of each genre by grade level.

                 TABLE 1 - GENRES BY GRADE LEVEL
                                              GRADE LEVELS
FORM                  LITERARY GENRE     7  8  9  10  11  12 TOT
 
Contemporary: Fiction: Novel excerpt     0  0  0   1   3   0   4
(Written)              Short story       3  2  3   4   0   0  12
                       Poem              5  4  7   5   9   0  30
                       Play              0  0  0   0   0   0   0
                       Other             0  0  0   0   0   0   0
          Non-fiction: Essay             1  0  0   0   1   0   2
                       Autobiography     0  1  0   1   0   0   2
                       Other             0  0  1   0   2   0   3
                      TOTAL CONTEMP      9  7 11  11  17   0  55
 
Traditional            Song-poem         3  1  1   0  16   0  21
(Oral)                 Oratory           0  1  0   0  10   1  12
                       Narrative         3  6  2   1   7   0  19
                    TOTAL TRADITIONAL    6  8  3   1  33   1  52
 
TOTAL AMERICAN INDIAN SELECTIONS        15 15 14  12  50   1 107

Regional representation. In addition to genre, another important descriptive aspect of American Indian literatures is the tribal/ regional affiliation of the author or authors of a work. The sample of Indian authored selections in the South Carolina state-adopted literature anthologies contains works by authors from six of the seven American Indian "culture regions" of the United States. Despite the refinements in anthropologists' (see Spencer, et al, for example) descriptions of "culture regions" which have occurred over the years, numerous problems with the concept exist. The major problem is that the notion of a region that is unified culturally tends to blur the distinctions between the individual tribes within each region. Mindful of this major problem, the culture regions concept still provides a convenient means to identify and analyze selections in the anthologized sample.

Analysis of the regional representation of American Indian selections in the anthologies reveals works by authors from six of the seven regions. There are no selections in the anthologies by authors from the Arctic/Subarctic region; five works are by authors from tribes in the Northwest Coast region; ten from the Plateau/Basin/California region; thirty-seven from the Southwest; twenty-four from the Great Plains; twenty-one from the Eastern Woodlands; eight from the Southeast; and two selections which could not be linked to a specific region. Table 2 summarizes the frequency of occurrence of regions by grade level.

        TABLE 2 - REGIONAL REPRESENTATION BY GRADE LEVEL
 
REGIONS                       7    8    9   10   11   12   TOTAL
 
Arctic/Sub-Arctic             0    0    0    0    0    0       0
Northwest Coast               1    0    0    1    2    1       5
Plateau/Basin/California      0    1    1    1    7    0      10
Southwest                     5    3    7    6   16    0      37
Great Plains                  2    7    3    1   11    0      24
Eastern Woodlands             4    2    1    2   12    0      21
Southeast                     3    1    2    1    1    0       8
Other                         0    1    0    0    1    0       2
 
TOTAL                        15   15   14   12   50    1     107

Discussion of Findings

Grade-level considerations. Analysis by grade level of the anthologized selections by American Indian authors in South Carolina's state adopted literature anthologies indicates a proportional representation of oral and written literatures at the seventh and eighth grades. At the ninth and tenth grade levels, the anthologies place more emphasis on contemporary (written) selections. Such treatment brings Indian people into the present, and taken as a whole, reading the selections would help to change students' perceptions of Indians as a people "frozen in the nineteenth century," a stereotype which depicts Indians as "living fossils." During the eleventh grade, students are likely to read more traditional (oral) literary selections as thirty-three of the fifty (or 66%) anthologized selections are from oral genres. Care must be taken by eleventh grade teachers to include greater numbers of American Indian contemporary (written) works in order to avoid perpetuating the stereotype of Indians as a "dying race" of people, "frozen in the past," and incapable of fluency in written English. On the other hand, since American Indians continue to compose songs and stories of the traditional types to this day, teachers should also take time to present recently composed oral literary materials such as those contained in works by Theisz, Black Bear and Theisz, Evers, Evers and Molina, and Erdoes and Ortiz. These works contain numerous examples of selections from traditional (oral) literary genres which have been composed (or which continue to be told) in the modern era. From such readings, students learn that oral literary traditions among Indians persist in the present and that these oral traditions continue to inform the written literature produced by American Indian authors.

At the twelfth grade level when most students study British literature, it is understandable that the anthologies would contain few, if any, American Indian authored selections. However, for World Literature courses at the tenth and twelfth grade levels, such an argument is not reasonable. Teachers of World Literature courses should supplement the anthologies assigned to their students with works by American Indians from other sources. American Indians have contributed and continue to contribute greatly to the body of world literature as well as to the American literary canon.

At each grade level, the lack of Indian authored selections in the various non-fictional genres is apparent. Students might conclude that Indians do not write much non-fiction or that Indian writers do not comment on their own condition as peoples or that they do not think and write about philosophical, moral, ethical, educational, governmental, or social aspects of their lives. This is false, and numerous volumes of Indian non-fiction exist (see Deloria, Am. Indian, Custer, & We Talk; Hobson; and James). Students need to learn that American Indians have a great deal to say about themselves, their history, their arts and cultures, their ways of life, and their world views.

Analysis of authors' regional affiliations reveals an absence of works by authors from the Arctic/Subarctic region in all grade levels. This omission needs to be corrected by teachers through the use of supplemental materials. Again, we run the risk of misleading students into believing that there are no Indians in the Arctic/Subarctic region or that the Indians who live there have no literary arts. Nothing could be further from the truth. Only one American Indian literary work, representing the Northwest Coast region, is anthologized at the twelfth grade level. The problems associated with the lack of inclusion of American Indian literary selections in World Literature texts used in the twelfth grade have already been discussed.

Population data from the 1990 United States Census serves as a convenient guide (not an absolute number or a "formula") for determining the appropriate percentage of selections from each region. This determination could be called "appropriate regional representation." Table 3 summarizes American Indians' regional population information.

                             TABLE 3
              AMERICAN INDIAN POPULATION BY REGION
 
REGION                   AMERICAN INDIAN         PERCENT OF
                             REGIONAL          TOTAL AMERICAN
                            POPULARION        INDIAN POPULATION
 
Arctic/Sub-Arctic             85,698                 4.4%
Northwest Coast              119,979                 6.1%
Plateau/Basin/California     357,022                18.2%
Southwest                    337,882                17.2%
Great Plains                 506,847                25.9%
Eastern Woodlands            274,924                14.1%
Southeast                    260,090                13.3%
Other                         16,558                  .8%
 
TOTAL                      1,959,000                 100%

Teachers should attempt to represent each of the regions of Indian America fairly, selecting or incorporating a number of regional selections to be read which reflects the percentage of the total American Indian population represented in each region. Using this criterion, it is clear that in the South Carolina state adopted anthologies, the Arctic/Subarctic, Plateau/ Basin/California, and Southeast regions are under-represented in the texts and that the Southwest and Eastern Woodlands regions are over-represented. The number of selections by authors from the Great Plains and Northwest Coast regions approximates the percentage of the total American Indian population of each region. Under-representing regions could lead to students' and teachers' falsely concluding that Indians from these regions "no longer exist" or that they "no longer have a literary culture." Over-representing regions could lead to the perpetuation of the "generic Indian" stereotype--a dominant image of American Indians usually as Plains "teepee-dwelling warriors" or Southwest "pueblo-dwellers maize farmers."

Suggestions for Teaching American Indian Literatures

The preceding findings and discussion give rise to a number of guiding principles and instructional strategies for teachers of American Indian literatures. First, teachers must acknowledge and teach to the rich diversity of American Indian cultures. The unique qualities of each American Indian culture should be emphasized whether considered individually, by state, or by region of the country. English Language Arts teachers should make every effort to teach Indian authored selections which reflect the diversity of cultures represented in the approximately 175 separate American Indian tribes/nations/ communities (Spicer). Where the state-adopted anthologies over- represent particular regions of the nation, South Carolina's teachers must rely on supplemental materials to help achieve a more balanced representation of tribal or regional American Indian literatures.

Secondly, teachers should begin by focusing their treatment of American Indian literatures on oral and written works authored by American Indians from South Carolina. Then they should move "outwardly" to the literatures of American Indians from the southeastern region of the United States. Again, this must be accomplished through use of supplemental materials since the southeastern region is under-represented in the anthologized sample of American Indian literary works. There are numerous collections of oral narratives and song-poems as well as written work in various genres by members of the Catawba, Cherokee, Lumbee, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, and other tribes indigenous to the southeast. South Carolinians, both students and teachers, may more readily relate to the experiences of Indians from this particular region of the nation. Certainly, the degree to which the landscape shapes American Indian literature makes for a point of immediate relevance to students in South Carolina's English classes.

Thirdly, English teachers must make sure to bring American Indians into "present tense." The degree to which the state- adopted anthologies feature literature selections set in the past tends to "freeze" American Indians in the nineteenth century. This, of course, does a tremendous disservice to contemporary American Indian peoples and their experiences. Further, it denies our students access to American Indian commentary on current issues. In South Carolina, students have a remarkable opportunity to learn a great deal about how the federal govern- ment and the state government view American Indian affairs through carefully examining the Catawba Nation's land claim case. Recent newspaper articles detailing both sides of the complex legal argument make for interesting and relevant reading. The case is a study of one people's persuasive persistence against seemingly unconquerable odds. Catawba Chief Gilbert Blue's statements, as well as those of other contemporary Catawbas, deserve equal billing with those of other American Indian leaders which, in the anthologies, tend only to "echo" from the nine- teenth century.

and finally, it is clear that South Carolina's English Language Arts teachers must move beyond their state-adopted literature anthologies in order to treat American Indian literatures in a balanced, representative, and more thorough manner. Literature anthologies have improved with respect to American Indian literatures. The state-adopted textbooks include more selections by a wider and more representative range of authors writing in various genres. The problems of the "generic Indian" and "living fossil" persist, however, and teachers must rely on supplemental materials in order to overcome these problems.

South Carolina State-Adopted Literature Anthologies, 1992 Anderson, Robert, et al, eds. African American Literature: Voices in a Tradition. Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1992.

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Beatty, Jane N., ed. Literature and Language: Orange Level. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1992.

Bernstein, Barry, ed. Literature and Language: Yellow Level. Evanston, IL: McDougal-Littell, 1992.

Boone, Robert S., ed. Literature and Language: Blue Level. Evanston, IL: McDougal-Littell, 1992.

Cassidy, Jack, et al, eds. Introducing Literature. Lake Forest, IL: Glencoe, 1991.

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Goheen, Richard Craig, ed. Literature and Language: Purple Level. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1992.

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---. Scholastic Scope Literature: Level 6. New York: Scholastic, 1991.

---. Scholastic Scope Literature: Level 7. New York: Scholastic, 1991.

---. Scholastic Scope Literature: Level 8. New York: Scholastic, 1991.

Thompson, Eileen, et al., eds. Prentice Hall Literature: Bronze. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991.

---. Prentice Hall Literature: Silver. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991.

---. Prentice Hall Literature: Gold. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991.

---. Prentice Hall Literature: Platinum. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991.

---. Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991.

---. Prentice Hall Literature: The English Tradition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991.

---. Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991.

Wood, Kerry M., et al., eds. Classics in World Literature. Glenville, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1991.

Works Cited

Arden, Harvey. "Who Owns Our Past?" National Geographic March 1989: 376-393.

Auchincloss, Kenneth. "When Worlds Collide." Newsweek (Columbus Special Issue) Fall/Winter 1991:8-13.

Begley, Sharon. "The First American." Newsweek (Columbus Special Issue) Fall/Winter 1991: 15-20.

Black Bear, Ben, and R. D. Theisz. Songs and Dances of the Lakota. Aberdeen, SD: North Plains P., 1984

Connor, Christina. "Catawbas Approve $50 Million Land Settlement." Spartanburg [SC] Herald Journal 21 Feb. 1993: B-2.

Deloria, Vine, Jr. American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1985.

---. Custer Died for Your Sins. 1969. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1988.

---. "Sacred Lands and Religious Freedom." NARF Legal Review Summer 1991:1-6.

---. "A Simple Question of Humanity: The Moral Dimensions of the Reburial Issue." NARF Legal Review Fall 1989: 1-12.

---. We Talk, You Listen. New York: Dell, 1970.

Erdoes, Richard, and Alfonso, Ortiz, eds. American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon, 1984.

Evers, Larry. The South Corner of Time. Tucson: Sun Tracks and U of Arizona P, 1981.

Evers, Larry, and Felipe S. Monlina. Yaqui Deer Songs/Maso Bwikam. Sun Tracks and U of Arizona P, 1987.

Gray, Paul. "The Trouble with Columbus." Time/zi 7 Oct. 1991: 52-56.

Hagan, William T. "Full Blood, Mixed Blood, Generic, and Ersatz: The Problem of Indian Identity." Arizona and the West 27 (Winter 1985) : 309-326.

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Hughes, Robert. "Just Who Was That Man?" Time 7 Oct. 1991: 58-59.

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Theisz, R. D. Buckskin Tokens. Aberdeen, SD: North Plains P, 1975.

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