I feel like I'm learning more about Cherokee culture with every reading. That's not something I really felt with all the other units because, for the most part, I had some prior knowledge. There were a few that I didn't know about going into it, but I don't think I connected with those as much as this one. One unique aspect of these stories is that there are variations in how some of the stories pan out. For example, in The Terrapin's Escape From the Wolves, one version ends in the terrapin escaping, while the other version resulted in him breaking his back on a rock before being healed by a medicine song. This shows a few different facets of the culture and reveals some of the oral tradition that led to the transcription of these tales. One theme in particular from a few of these tales that intrigued me was incorporating the competition of sport into their storytelling. Several stories, including The Race Between the Crane and the Hummingbird and The Ball Game of the Birds And Animals, pit animals against each other and essentially let natural selection do the rest. I think that's a fun aspect of these stories that I could build this week's story around.
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| In case you weren't sure what a terrapin looks like... |
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