Student Name
Professor Martin
English 2327
14 June 2006
Beliefs and Cultures of Native Americans
		The stories about the beginning of the world reflect the culture of the Native Americans while the stories about the Trickster describe the beliefs of the Native Americans. To the modern day people, these stories may seem to be nothing more than bed time stories; however to the Native Americans, the stories represent their heritage. Their conviction helps them to understand their existence and learn moral lessons. Similarities can also be found between the beliefs of the Native Americans and the religion today.
Almost everybody is curious about his/her life. For the Native Americans, this answer could be found from the stories that are passed down from the elders. Stories like the Flood tell them where their ancestors come from, how they got there, and the experiences that their creator went through. This is important to understand their own identity as they try to make sense of their existence and pass down the legacies to the descendents. Even though these stories are passed down orally, the Native Americans have no doubt about their validity. Being proud of their history, Edward Wood is determined to preserve it. He persuaded J. W. Lloyd to record these ancient stories in English from Thin Leather, Wood’s grand-uncle so that the descendents will have written documents about their origin. After many generations, it is not a matter about the validity of these stories anymore; rather, it is about their existence. One cannot know the future; and without knowing one’s own tribal history, he/she would likely be utterly lost in this world. 
The ancient stories also teach the Native Americans moral lessons. “Ikto Conquers Iya” depcits a story about good taking over evil. This is the history and dream for the Native Americans, and it guides them spiritually and morally for many generations. In the future when they are faced with obstacles, they will remember stories like this one and be encouraged, for they know that good-hearted ones will eventually prevail. Even though the stories are specific to the culture of Native America, the moral is universal. Another example is about the creation of a perfect world. Almost nothing can be accomplished on first try; no doubt creating a perfect world would be a lot harder. It is the willpower that is needed to become successful ultimately. This idea is presented by “The Story of the Creation”.
The beliefs of the Native Americans and the modern day religion have many points in common. In “Ikto Conquers Iya” the good brother is very closely portrayed as the God that the modern day people refer to to explain current situations or things beyond their comprehension. The story about Trickster reminds the Natives of the existence of nature that people cannot override. Trickster pays the price of almost being killed when he defied nature by swallowing the bulb. Furthermore, many stories of the Native Americans are very similar to the Bible. For example, the story about the flood could be compared to the story about Noah. Without these connections, it would be hard for modern day people to understand the stories about the Native Americans because human, whether ancient or modern, act according to their beliefs. Through these ancient stories we can, from a more objective point of view, understand ourselves better. 
The stories about the beginning of the world, Trickster, and Ikto and Iya illustrate the culture and beliefs of the Native Americans. As the Native Americans work their way through their lives, the stories that they have faith in will keep them motivated, like how religion spiritually support us today and give us hope when we are faced with difficulties and lose motivation. To the Native Americans, these stories help them to understand themselves, while to us, the modern day people, they help us to understand the Native Americans and ourselves.