Introduction to the Indigenous Oral Literatures of the Northwest Coast of North America

FOLKMYTH 125 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This course introduces students to the indigenous oral literatures of the Northwest Coast of North America. After overviewing the cultural history and linguistic diversity of the region, we will embark on a series of case studies focusing on Clackamas Chinook, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuxalk, and Haida oral traditions. We will read narratives regarding the origins of the world and of the societies that inhabit it; accounts of heroic journeys to otherworldly realms above the sky and beneath the sea; shamanic initiation stories; and oral histories of migration, intertribal diplomacy, and early interactions with Europeans. Attention will be devoted to the formidable interpretive challenges that indigenous oral traditions pose when they are studied in the Western academy, as well as to the ethical complexities of this endeavor. It is hoped that students will gain an appreciation for the immense cultural diversity of the Northwest Coast’s indigenous peoples and for the vastness of their oral-literary heritage.