Storytelling: Adaptability and Expansion of American Indian and Indigenous Culture

Abstract

Storytelling is a basic feature of American Indian and Indigenous culture, which is a form of educational knowledge transmission that dates back thousands of years, to the beginnings of Indigenous culture and tradition. Storytelling is common to all Indigenous nations and tribes regardless of nation and tribal belonging. The creation stories may be considered as the first stories that were told, however, each nation and tribe has its own specific tales and creation stories with its own set of symbolism which have been told and retold countless times since time immemorial. When a story is retold, it turns out to be different as the storyteller adapts and alters the story to suit its current environment. The method commonly used in storytelling is to adapt and expand the story being told without altering its meaning or the symbolic significance of its characters. Thomas King in The Truth About Stories (2003) expounds on the meanings and significance of storytelling which his countless short stories testify, from which the best known is The One About Coyote Going West (1993). Deborah Miranda in Bad Indians (2013) illustrates how storytelling defines and expands their Indigenous heritage, and ensures their survival and capacity for resilience.