"Native American Chiefs" by, Claude Niepce
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There's quite a few things to be aware of when reading Native American tales about their most highly thought of heroes in their stories. Even though I say that, not all of the qualities that each hero or antagonist possesses will be necessarily idealistic according to the culture of the story. And this is true for nearly every genre of storytelling: there are some characters that break the mold. However, I will start off by try to isolate characteristics that keep on appearing despite the circumstances of the tales.
One characteristic is seems to be at the essence of each hero in the stories is that of attunement with nature. All the heroes to a degree show that they are able to commune with both plant and animal life alike, as well as spirits of the dead, or embodiments of forces of nature themselves. They often use their knowledge of nature itself to help them succeed in their efforts. Obviously, maintaining a strong connection and wealth of knowledge about the land and the life in it was important for Native American in their most idealized figures.
Another characteristic that is exhibited strongly in Native American heroes is that of taking great care to amalgamate their specific tribe's unique practices and beliefs into their mode of accomplishment. What makes native americans unique in this though, is that they exhibit these qualities in almost immediate contrast to other tribes' practices or beliefs, as if they want to prove something they have is superior than the other tribe. This isn't inherently the same as a pair of rival gangs in a city: instead, the heroes of each tribe immediately seem to attribute their successes to the personal qualities, practices, or beliefs that their specific tribe has. Not every tribe has the same goals for their own salvation, their differing paths certainly shape the stories of their heroes.
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