Teresa Pijoan

Native American Creation Stories of Family and Friendship: Stories Retold Teresa Pijoan

The stories in this book, recorded by the author from personal interviews with Native American storytellers, hold the conflicts and compliments of family and/or situations of testing in relationships. Native cultures have lessons to be learned here, just as every culture does. These stories are not unique, yet they may help educate many of us today in finding solutions to similar problems. Symbolic language holds teachings, but without respecting the old ways, many shall never learn. Human beings have lived throughout millenniums, through floods, enduring droughts, appreciating abundance of food, yet every generation has their own trials to overcome, goals to achieve and rewards to receive or lose. These stories are to remind us of how fragile each one of us is as we struggle to survive youth, middle age, and our older years. It is important to listen and remember, for once the truth is gone, we shall certainly be on our own. Some of the Native American people represented by these stories are the Paiute, Iroquois, Pima, Kiowa, Osage, and Cherokee.