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A Native American storyteller speaks about the process and practice of storytelling.
You have written that few things have helped you understand the world
better than a good story. How have stories helped you achieve this?
A story is a way both of seeing the world and experiencing the world. When
you hear a story, you can find yourself in that story. That story is the result
of the things that people have seen and heard and understood, often for many
generations before you.
How do you find stories to share?
One of the most important things to do is to be a good listener. I found out
as a child that if you are quiet when you are around older people, they’ll start
saying things they might not otherwise say.
Where do those stories come from?
The oral tradition is still very much alive among American Indian people throughout
the continent. Sometimes that oral tradition is in the form of little anecdotes,
even jokes. Sometimes it’s in the form of very long traditional stories that
are told.
Could you describe that process of storytelling?
A Mohegan Indian elder said, the story is a circle and the process of learning
a story, and, in fact, of going through your life is circular. It’s a circle
with four dots in it. The first stands for the importance of listening. We have
two ears and we are always supposed to listen to two sides of everything. The
second dot stands for observing, using our two eyes to see that far away and
that close to us. The third is memory because if you don’t remember what you’ve
seen and heard, it’s as if it never happened. And then, of course, the fourth,
which completes the circle, is to share. To listen, to observe, to remember
and to share.
Have you ever related any of your personal stories on actions of your
family or friends?
Stories always come to us from many different directions. Everybody has stories.
You have stories of your ancestry, stories of your family, stories of the place
where you live and stories of your own personal experience. And, indeed, I tell
stories from all four of those directions.
In what way does your writing effect the readers of Native American
descent in contrast to those of other readers?
I’ve heard from Native kids and Native adults that the stories I’ve told are
so much like the stories of their own life that it’s given them inspiration
or that it’s made them feel a sense of pride and connection. I’ve gotten some
very inspiring messages from Native kids and Native readers that have led me
to want to do even more in that respect.
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