Pacific Northwest: Reading Diary A

I have been so excited to read this unit! The Pacific Northwest if my favorite place in the world, and I am very interested to read the stories that have stemmed from this area. While reading through the first section, I noticed that each tribe has their own way of telling tales. They also value different animals. Some stories focused on the coyote while other the beaver and so on. They also have their versions of how the world was created. It is amusing to think about people of different tribes getting together and arguing over which creation story was correct, assuming that they could communicate with each other at all.

My favorite story in the beginning of this unit is The First Totem Pole. It is about a chief who didn't have a dance of his own. The animals recognized his disappointment and took him on a trip around the world. They finally found a group who had music and a dance. The chief wanted to take these back to his tribe. The group was reluctant but eventually lent him the necessities. When he performed for his tribe, they were all amazed. He had the best dance by far. This story surprised me. I always thought that Native Americans closely stayed with their tribes. I didn't expect this chief to go searching the lands to find a dance. I am already trying to think of a good story to spin off of this one. I can't wait to start!

Totem pole. Wikipedia.