Storytelling

Native Americans have always passed on stories orally, from grandparent to parent and parent to child and so on. The stories have a wide range of what they are about from lessons being passed on to the family history. It is important to share your stories so you know where you came from.

Talk to your child about where you grew up and what your life was like as a child. Tell specific stories that are important to you and you wish to pass on. Have your child talk to their grandparents so the stories from their childhood can be passed on as well. Some people are lucky to live in the same town or on the same street as their grandparents, make a regular day to visit and talk about what life used to be like when they were little kids, maybe the same age as your child.

Then have your child share a story that is important to them. Have them start now with telling the stories so they don’t forget and so others will know. Native Americans have passed the traditions and ways of life on orally for generations; it is how we have survived. Text books and writing some things down have greatly added to being able to save the stories, but regardless of that stories are still being shared orally.