Native american tribal literature : cultural hybridity and the construction of identity

Abstract

One of the recurring themes of recent Native American literature is the issue of identity Human identity, from an Indian perspective, is an event that takes place in the creationof the relationship between the individual and the context he lives in. To attain andpreserve such a relationship Indian people keep in permanent contact with the storiesand ceremonies that nurture their life ways. Storytelling is central to all NativeAmerican cultures, and central to the concept of story is the practical action ofremembering, or remaining aware of the values most necessary for survival. Bycherishing the maintenance of traditional customs, values, and perspectives, tribalcommunities identify themselves with a particular cultural and natural environment,thanks to which they can endure the invasion of white culture. Even though theAmerican Indian communities have long resisted the kind of cultural dominion andoppression imposed on them, they cannot ignore the impact that white contact has hadupon their society, and therefore some useful elements of that culture were integratedinto their own to, paradoxically, survive ethnically.