The first Indian legends, repeated by the fireside to children, deal
with the animals humanized, their gifts and their weaknesses, in such
a way as to be a lesson to the young. Our view of the creation allows
a soul to all living creatures, and rocks and trees are reverenced as
sharers in the divine. Beyond their simplicity and realism there is
always the unexplained, the background of mystery and spirituality.
These animal fables serve as an introduction to more complicated
stories with human actors, which almost always have their hidden moral
and are accepted by our people as guides to life. They are full of
humor and poetry, of pride, tenderness, boastfulness, and real
heroism. Human lives are mingled with the supernatural, with elements
and mysterious powers, bringing swift punishment for wrong-doing. This
is the basis of our Indian philosophy, the groundwork early laid in
the mind of the child, for him to develop later in life by his own
observation.
One who reads these stories carefully and thoughtfully will understand
something of Indian psychology. Mystery to the Indian is not mystery
after all, but a reflection of the Great Mystery which opens out as
simply as a flower. To us nothing is strange or impossible. It seems
natural that an animal or even a rock should speak; God is in it and
speaks through it.
It must be remembered that these are only fragments of what were once
consecutive and continued stories, too long and involved to be set
down here in full. With just such stories the foundation of my early
education was laid in the cold winter evenings, and the impression
made was permanent. The characters were real people to me, and the
tales of the old men and old women fostered a love of nature,
reverence, a kindly spirit, and finally patriotism and the inspiration
to heroic effort. Like the other boys, I was expected to learn them by
heart and rehearse them in the family circle. It is gratifying to have
these old stories saved for the children of another race and
generation.
Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa).