Tricksters. Algonquian Spirit

To finish up this week of Koluskap stories, I wanted to make sure to include this collection of Algonquian writing edited by one of my favorite scholars of Native American literature, Brian Swann: Algonquian Spirit: Contemporary Translations of the Algonquian Literatures of North America.

You will find all kinds of stories here, including stories of Koluskap. There are many translators who have contributed stories here, drawing on many sources. There is also a long introduction from Swann putting the stories and sources in context, along with a historical and geographical overview of the Algonquian languages that are represented in this book.

Swann is also the author of a lovely book of Native American riddles, illustrated by Maria Rendon: Touching the Distance: Native American Riddle-Poems.

Readers of this blog might also remember Swann's book of African riddles, with illustrations by Ashley Bryan (!): The House with No Door: African Riddle-Poems.

So much goodness, just a click away at the Internet Archive, thanks to the power of controlled digital lending!

Algonquian Spirit:

Contemporary Translations

of the Algonquian Literatures

of North America.

by Brian Swann

Tricksters. How Glooskap Outwits the Ice Giants

I'm excited about today's post because I get to share a lot of books, all by author Howard Norman; you can read more about his work at Wikipedia.

First off is his collection of Glooscap stories: How Glooskap Outwits the Ice Giants: And Other Tales of the Maritime Indians.

He is also the author of a collection of stories about the Cree trickster Wisakedjak: Trickster and the Fainting Birds.

He wrote a book of Arctic stories for the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library: Northern Tales : Traditional Stories of Eskimo and Indian Peoples.

And... here's something really exciting: he did two books with illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon. The first is a collection of Native stories from the Arctic: The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese : And Other Tales of the Far North.

And the other book he did with the Dillons is a global anthology of folktales about birds: Between Heaven and Earth: Bird Tales from Around the World.

All these wonderful books are just a click away at the Internet Archive!

Tricksters. Glous'gap Stories of the Micmac Indians

Continuing on with this week of Glous'gap stories, I am really excited about today's book because it is written by two Micmac storytellers: On the Trail of Elder Brother: Glous'gap Stories of the Micmac Indians by Michael Runningwolf and Patricia Clark Smith.

Michael Runningwolf is a Micmac Algonquin who grew up in New Brunswick, Canada, and in Maine. He now lives in New Mexico where he works as a storyteller and artist; he did the illustrations for this book. Patricia Clark Smith is also Micmac, and she grew up in Massachusetts and Maine; she now teaches Native American literature at the University of New Mexico.

Michael Runningwolf's illustrations are beautiful; here is the illustration for the story of Glous'gap and Grandfather Turtle:

The introduction to the book explains some basic elements of Micmac culture and tradition, along with the hero they call Glous'gap, and also ""Elder Brother." As they describe Glous'gap, "he is our spiritual teacher, the ultimate warrior, medicine-person, and occasional trickster. Some say he is a spirit; others think he is human. In any case, the things Glous'gap says and does are models for the way our people approach life." They acknowledge the contributions made by non-Native anthropologists and other scholars who have studied these stories, but "as far as we know, ours is the only book of traditional Micmac stories that have been retold and written down by two Micmac authors."

I was so glad to find this book at the Archive, and if you are interested in learning more about Micmac storytelling traditions, see this online exhibit: The Geography of Mi'kmaq Folklore.

And, of course, the Micmac storytelling tradition extends far beyond the stories of Glous'gap... but his stories are a great way to get started!

On the Trail of Elder Brother:

Glous'gap Stories of the Micmac Indians

by Michael Runningwolf and Patricia Clark Smith

Tricksters. Gluskap the Liar

After yesterday's post about the Gluskap stories collected by 19th-century folklorist Charles Leland, I wanted to share this book by a 20th-century folklorist, much more reliable and methodical in his approach: Horace Palmer Beck, and his book Gluskap the Liar, and Other Indian Tales.

While the introduction to Leland's book was not very helpful, Beck's introduction is useful, as he explains the sources he worked with and his method of selecting and presenting the stories included in the book. 

There are also illustrations by Arthur K. D. Healy; here is the giant beaver who caused some trouble for Gluskap:

Horace Beck (more about him) taught at Middlebury College for many years, and he also was a commentator for Vermont Public Radio. The Internet Archive has other books by Beck including The Folklore of Maine and Folklore and the Sea.

So, I'll be back with more Gluskap stories tomorrow, and I hope you enjoy the stories included here:

Tricksters. Algonquin Legends of New England.

Continuing on with this week of Glooskap stories at the Internet Archive, I wanted to go back to a classic collection of stories by Charles Leland: The Algonquin Legends of New England.

Charles Leland was one of the founders of folklore studies in America; you can read more about his life and career at Wikipedia. He collected these stories as part of a Eurocentric comparative project as you can see in the book's introduction, but you can safely skip the introduction and just focus on the stories which he collected in 1882 from Passamaquoddy storytellers at Campobello in New Brunswick, Canada. The Passamaquoddy people are members of the Abenaki confederation; for more on Abenaki traditions see yesterday's post. I'll have more to say tomorrow about the older sources that Leland was able to draw on at that time, almost 150 years ago.

The collection of stories opens with Glooscap stories; they occupy 140 pages of the book. There then follow stories about another more sinister trickster, Lox the Wolverine, plus Rabbit stories too! There are also Serpent stories, Partridge stories, and tales of magic.

As part of the Virtual Museum of Canada and the New Brunswick Museum, you can find this online collection of Koluscap stories online told by Gwen Bear and Roseanne Clark. who are Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) storytellers. You can even hear the audio recordings in Wolastoqiyik, as well as reading the English translation. So, for example, here is Gwen Bear telling the story of Koluskap and the Giant Beaver and Roseanne Clark telling the story of Koluskap and his Brother, Malsum. To see the Wolastoqiyik version of the site, just use the language options in the upper right corner.

So, stories to read, and also to listen to! And I'll be back with more Glooscap tomorrow!

The Algonquin Legends of New England

by Charles Leland

Tricksters. Gluscabe

I'll be spending this week focusing on the stories of Glooscap, a trickster hero of the Abenaki people. you can find out more at Wikipedia. I've shared some Glooscap stories from Abenaki storyteller Joseph Bruchac in previous posts, and what I decided to do today was to make a list of the different Glooscap stories that I found in his books at the Internet Archive. Of course, these books contain many wonderful stories beyond the ones about Gluscabe that I have listened here!

Native American Stories from Keepers of the Earth includes the stories "The Coming of Gluscabi," "Gluscabi and the Wind Eagle," "Koluscap and the Water Monster," and "Gluscabi and the Game Animals."

Return of the Sun: Native American Tales From the Northeast Woodlands includes the stories "Glooskap and the Whale" and "Glooskap Visits the King." There is also a version of the story of Glooskap and the king in this book: Our Stories Remember : American Indian History, Culture, and Values Through Storytelling.

Tell Me a Tale: A Book About Storytelling includes the story "The Creation of Gluskabe."

Pushing Up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children contains "Gluskabe and Old Man Winter."

Four Ancestors: Stories, Songs, and Poems From Native North America includes "Gluskabe and the Snow Bird."

Finally, there is also the lovely book Gluskabe and the Four Wishes.

I'll be back tomorrow with another blog post about this great trickster hero character!