Phase 3 "Storytelling"

Storytelling is an essential tool used in Native American Culture and one that is a prominent theme in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” Storytelling is known in history as oral tradition (the passing of knowledge and information from generation to generation by words) and a way the elders in the tribe were able to educate the young members in the ways and tradition of the tribe itself. It is a survival skill taught at a young age, but is the major focus on how storytelling provides the tools to survive or allows for a type of escapists technique to get away from a current social situation. In reality, it is possibly used as both with most of the focus being drawn to the survival aspect rather than an escapist technique. 

            Storytelling in general is used in a multitude of different things such as entertainment, education, and as tradition. It began when Indians moved to new land or were sent to a reservation they had never seen. It became a way for the Indians to pass down knowledge about how to survive, live off the land, and pay their respects to past generations. It was also used as a form of entertainment on most reservations. Three stories in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” that resemble the survival aspect through storytelling are “Indian Education”, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” and “The Trial of Thomas Builds-The- fire”. In Indian education, the main point of the story is to show the young life of an Indian from first grade all the way to graduation. This story is important because it defines the struggles and obstacles that he had to go through just to live to the end of each day on the reservation as well as in a white society.  In the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven, the main character talks about how city life was tough to adjust to and that many other Indians believed it was a mistake for him to leave the reservation. This is a story used for educating the young members of the tribe on the dangers of leaving the reservation and trying to live in a white society. The third story is the trial of “Thomas builds-the-fire”. This story in particular describes old stories of the past and how Indians were judged for their actions. There is also a sign of how a white society viewed the Indians and there culture. These stories are only a few examples of how education was passed down and mistakes were corrected.

            Storytelling as an escapist’s technique is much different from the survival aspect. This portion focuses more on getting away from everyday life on the reservation and pretending to get away from a certain social situation or a role they were give in their society. These escapist techniques include dreaming and imagination. Two stories go along with this idea of escapist terminology and they are “A Good Story” and “Imaging the Reservation”.  The first story is a simple interaction between a boy and his mother about storytelling. This shows that the characters in the story put a lot of effort and attention into the stories that they told. The main focus in that story was that the mom wanted to hear a happy story than the usual sad story.  In Imagine the reservation, there is an emphasis on life in the reservation and the world without the white man controlling everything. These stories are important because they provided a sense of hope for the Indians in the reservation and give them something to look to everyday rather than the work and poor living conditions that they had.

            Indians found that storytelling was an essential tool for bringing balance and survival skill to each tribe and reservation. It is because of these stories that future generations were able to survive as well as they did and provide a sense of hope.

            Storytelling is an important tool used to describe the ways of the past so that future generations would be able to keep and hold the traditions of their ancestors, while at the same time be able to offer a false hope in the otherwise unsatisfactory livelihood on the reservation. It was used as both a survival tool and an escape in the reservations across the North America.