PPT of Native American Lit

1. Who Are YOU?
The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee

2. I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the
plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the
water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the lustre of
meadows

3. I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest star
I am the cold of dawn
I am the roaring of the rain

4. I am the glitter on the crust of the
snow
I am the long track of the moon in a
lake
I am a flame of four colors
I am a deer standing away in the dusk

5. I am a field of sumac and the pomme
blanche
I am an angle of geese in the winter sky
I am the hunger of a young wolf
I am the whole dream of these things
You see, I am alive, I am alive

6. I stand in good relation to the earth
I stand in good relation to the gods
I stand in good relation to all that is
beautiful
I stand in good relation to the
daughter of Tsen-tainte
You see, I am alive, I am alive
• N. Scott Momaday, “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” In the Presence
of the Sun: Stories and Poems 1961-1991 (St. Martin's Press LLC,
1992)Copyright ©1991 by N. Scott Momaday.

7. About the Author
• MOMADAY, N. SCOTT (1934- )
• Navarre Scott Momaday, one of the most imaginative southwest American Indian writers, was born in 1934 in Lawton,
Oklahoma, to Alfred Momaday, and Natachee Scott,. The family later moved to New Mexico and Arizona to live on the
Navajo, Apache, and Pueblo reservations, where the parents taught school.
• Received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico
• Earned a master's and Ph.D. in English and continued to write fiction and poetry.
• Works include
▫ The Journey of Tai-me (1967),
▫ The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969), and
▫ The Names: A Memoir (1976),
Poetry
▫ Angle of Geese and Other Poems (1974)
▫ The Gourd Dancer (1976)
▫ In the Presence of the Sun: Stories and Poems, 1961-1991 (1992)
▫ In the Bear's House (1999),
• His work draws heavily upon Kiowa culture, stories, tales, and myths.
• House Made of Dawn, won him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969.
• At the end of the twentieth century N. Scott Momaday served as Regents Professor of English at the University of Arizona.
There he continued to write stories and poems about the American Indian experience.
• Patricia L. Steed
• © Oklahoma Historical Society
• http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/m/mo007.html

8. What does this mean?
• Tell me how you know. Quotes and proof, not
feelings.
• “I am” shows up frequently. Why?
• The author writes “I am the hunger of a young
wolf”, “I am a flame of four colors” and many
other “I am” statements. Is the author actually
part wolf, part fire etc., or is he using a
literary device?
• Which literary device is he using?

9. Defintion: (write this down)
• Oral Tradition: Stories that are passed down
from one generation to the next in order to
preserve culture, values and history.
• Predominate in cultures without written
language.
• Passed down by word of mouth.

10. Essential Questions
• How is the Author using metaphor?
• How does the repetition affect the way the message
is received?
• How does the repetition affect the way the story is
remembered?
• Is repetition part of oral tradition, or just a
coincidence?
• Give an example of other works that use the same
techniques.
• Why did we need oral tradition, and do we still need
it?

11. Good writing technique: Here the author uses
repetition to make and reinforce his point.
The repeated “I am” serves a purpose, but
what is it?
How can you use that in your own writing?
Notice that the author changes from metaphor
to declarative (“I am alive”) in the last verses.
What purpose does the shift serve?
Can you use that in your writing?

12. Your Turn
• Your assignment is to write a poem called
“I Am (Your name)”.
• Follow this format:
I am (one metaphor with a noun and an adjective) (2pts)
I am (true statement include noun and adjective) (2 pts)
I am (one metaphor with a noun and an adjective) (2pts)
I am (true statement including a noun and adjective)
(2pts)
I walk (statement describes your relationship to your
family)
1 pt
I Stand (statement describes your relationship to your
community) 1 pt
I am (your name)

13. An example:
• I am the solid rock a world is built on
• I am a devoted father and husband
• I am the winding river that runs through the
canyon
• I am a wise teacher and a curious student
• I walk in the footsteps of Andrew Gorun
• I stand between my students and failure
• I am Justin Gorun

14. Your Turn
I am (one metaphor with a noun and an adjective) 2 pts
I am (true statement include noun and adjective) 2 pts
I am (one metaphor with a noun and an adjective) 2 pts
I am (true statement including a noun and adjective) 2 pts
I walk (statement describes your relationship to your
family) 1 pt
I Stand (statement describes your relationship to your
community)
1 pt
I am (your name)
Due by the end of class.