Literacy was unknown to the Native Americans before outsiders introduced it. Native Americans communicated their entire lifestyle, including history, genealogy, and spirituality, through speech. Therefore, to fully understand Native American culture and all its characteristics it is necessary to study their oral traditions. There is no doubt that a real history is embedded in Native American oral traditions. Oral traditions contain cultural information about the past carefully preserved and handed down from generation to generation within a tribe.
In Native North American cultures, the people would sit in a circle with everyone at the same height so that no one is in the lead or in a higher position. The literature of the tribe was passed on verbally. Oral literature, called folklore, legends, or myths, includes songs, stories, and rituals or ceremonies. Storytelling is used to educate the members of the tribe on beliefs and history. The storyteller defined the member's place in the world and purpose. The storyteller also was given some leeway to make his or her own interpretation of the story. Most stories kept the theme - Man must live in harmony with the physical and spiritual universe.
Storytelling is an art shared by cultures the world over, but for the Native American Indians it is an integral part of spiritual life. Healers use storytelling as a way of passing down the tribal legends, or histories, from generation to generation. This art form is also used to teach children about morality, and to pass on the essential values of each culture and the society in general. At times, rhythmic chanting or prayers accompany stories; at other times, special rites precede tales. Often, the story of creation is told, differing widely depending on the tribal affiliation of the storyteller. Storytelling is used in many different cultures, --it is an element of the Native American Indian tradition practically everyone can relate to in one form or another.
