Abstract
This paper examines how the themes in "Power" by Linda Hogan are centered around nature and the unity of nature and human beings and how these are also themes that are touched upon in "Sacred Hoop" by Paula Gunn Allen. It analyzes how, for the Native American, all creatures are united in a "sacred hoop," all events are cyclic ,and how the symbolism used by Hogan focuses on images from nature. It looks at how most prominent among these are the panther, the snake, the tree called Methuselah, and the storm.

From the Paper
"Both the healthy and the sick panther are connected with Omishto's Taiga tribe of the "Panther Clan." Omishto and Ama are representative of a people who is dying, like the panther. She attempts to explain this in an essay for a class assignment, but gives up, knowing they will not understand. This shows that she is experiencing the unfamiliar sensation of being disconnected from other living beings. She cannot identify with the white people, their religion or their traditions. She is unable to adapt to the invasion, and experiences a kind of sickness imposed upon her and her people."

Tags:panther, snake, methusaleh, omishto, ama, nature

Abstract
This paper analyzes the themes of culture, dignity and self-respect in Native-American short stories. "Borders" by Thomas King, for example, is a short story about a mother and a boy who belong to the Blackfoot tribe living on a Canadian reservation. The story is told from the boy's perspective and is a remembrance of an experience he and his mother endured while trying to cross the border between Canada and the United States. Other stories analyzed within this paper include "How to Write the Great American Indian Novel" by Sherman Alexie, "Captivity" by Lousie Erdrich, "Captivity" by Lousie Erdrich and "Indian Boarding School: The Runaways" by Lousie Erdrich.

From the Paper
"To analyze 'How to Write the Great American Indian Novel' by Sherman Alexie, it is important to understand the term 'horse culture' because it is a metaphor mentioned throughout the piece time and time again. The term horse culture is metaphorically used to sarcastically imply a superior culture--stronger, braver, more prosperous, and more beautiful.
"The term 'half-breed' is also used over and over again. The author mentions that the hero should be a half-breed--half white, and half Indian. This implies that being half white makes the Native American look less ethic, more commercially appealing, more acceptable as a human being to the dominant white culture. The author further brings this message home by saying that the Indian woman '...should be compared to nature: brown hills, mountains, fertile valleys, dewy grass, wind, and clear water.' Here he is trying to emphasize a Caucasian commercialized perception of a beautiful Native American woman--something from Disney's Pocahontas--not a real woman."

Tags:culture, dignity, self-respect, experience, themes

Abstract
This paper analyzes the four stories assigned for analysis in Gerald Vizenor's anthology "Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology." ( "Return to White Earth" by John Rogers, "A Good Chance," by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, "The Little People" by Maria Campbell and "Someday Soon," by Paula Gunn Allen). The author discusses their common themes, adaptability and the finding of identity. The writer illustrates how the four stories represent a wide variety of writings about a wide variety of Indian peoples, help the reader understand the history of the Native American experience, and to some degree, today's reality of that changed experience.

From the Paper
"The four stories assigned for analysis in Gerald Vizenor's anthology (Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology) are each, to begin with, quite different, in terms of the point of view and the tone the authors have set. "Return to White Earth" is a very pure and charming story of the homecoming and coming of age of a Chippewa boy, returning to his native northern Minnesota following a stay at a boarding school in South Dakota. This story, by John Rogers, is as much an education in how Chippewa Indians lived, hunted, worked, interacted, and survived, as it is a story merely about characters and events. Beautifully written, and loaded with similes about the natural world and why Native Americans respect that world, this story is an up-tempo, pleasurable experience to read."

Tags:Way, Quah, Chippewa, Cheechum

Abstract
This paper discusses the original uniqueness of Native American Indian identities in terms of their nations, tribes, and culture as expressed through gender, language, and literature and the scientific image of the Indian.

From the Paper
"The cultural, tribal and national identities of Native American Indians are marked by uniqueness that is defined in part by language, literature and gender. The scientific image discussed by Berkhofer was developed by Euro-Americans in their representations of Indians but also figured into tribal and national identities impacting Indians at a conceptual level. While Native American Indian nations and tribes originally had distinctly different cultures that shared neither a universal language nor a known historical experience and consisted of hundreds of aboriginal..."

Tags:uniqueness, Native American, Indian, tribe, nation, gender, language, literature, culture, scientific image

Abstract
This paper reviews the novel "Ceremony" by Lelsie Marmon Silko and the poem "The Idlers" by E. Pauline Johnson. The paper compares how different Native American authors reinforce common images and stereotypes about their people, their history and their culture in varied and conflicting ways.

From the Paper
"Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony" is about the struggle of the Pueblo Indian's to retain their culture and heritage which is threatened by the incursion of the White man's world into their own. In the years following World War II, in which some of their own people served this struggle, it became more difficult as returning soldiers tried to fit once again into reservation life and the old ways."

Tags:native, Americans

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that combining the melodious sounds of a sophisticated oral tradition with the beautiful imagery of an untainted United States' wilderness, Native-American authors have given American literature a unique selection of poetry and prose. The writer discusses that both David Cusick's version of the Iroquois Creation Myth and Luci Tapahonso's poem "A Breeze Swept Through" illustrate the importance of a feminine and motherly earth while still expressing a uniqueness in imagery and style. The writer points out that though many Native- American writers compose on similar themes, differences in style between authors can be extensive. The writer notes that David Cusick's Iroquois Creation Myth and Luci Topohonso's "A Breeze Swept Through" excellently illustrate this fact as both works detail the existence of a feminine and motherly earth but accomplish this through two wildly different literary styles.

From the Paper
"Though both Cusick and Tapahonso's works identify an important trait in Native-American folklore, the existence of a female and motherly earth, the works do this in very different ways. Cusick's work is prose, a story or myth that is meant to explain some universal truth for the listener. Though it is beautiful in its prose, its true beauty is in its content; its purpose is to inform the reader about how the earth was created. For this reason, readers are awed more with the sophistication and symbolism of an earth divided into good and bad by two twins born of a mother whose body now shines in the sky than the artful language and description in the story. On the other hand, Topohonso's poem primarily uses language to establish a beautiful sound worthy of the Native-American oral tradition."

Tags:motherhood, births, nature, folklore

Abstract
This paper is a review of peer-reviewed literature to determine current incidence and subsequent risk factors for health-related problems among Native-Americans today. The author concludes that, because Native-Americans remain at a higher risk of HIV, alcoholism and suicide than their white counterparts with incidences even higher than for many other American minority groups, there is a growing consensus among healthcare experts and lawmakers at all levels that something must be done to correct this situation.

Table of Contents:
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview
Cultural Issues Affecting Native-American Healthcare
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Even those Native-Americans fortunate enough to have healthcare providers from their own tribes who are familiar with these cultural perspectives are faced with some issues that are unique to their heritage and culture. For example, in some cases, healthcare providers have been fired from their positions with the state for participating in religious rituals involving the use of peyote and have even been denied unemployment benefits as well. According to Kellhofer (2001), in one case that went to the Supreme Court (Employment Division vs. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, 1990), dealt with the use of peyote."

Tags:rural inferior, medical services, lawmakers funding

Abstract
This paper discusses and compares "The Treaty of Canandaigua 1794: 200 Years of Treaty Relations between the Iroquois Confederacy and the United States" by G. Peter Jemison and Anna M. Schein and James Wilson's "The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America". The paper shows that "The Treaty of Canandaigua" provides an in-depth analysis of the treaty and its effects on both the Native American and European population of the United States, while "The Earth Shall Weep" encompasses the lives and history of many diverse Native American tribes, over almost their entire known history.

From the Paper
"Interestingly, James Wilson is not a Native American, and yet he writes The Earth Shall Weep as if he were. Wilson's analysis is clearly written outside of the Eurocentric, Christian view that has dominated the world stage for so long. As such, Wilson's review of Native American history is fresh and inviting. He manages to create a somewhat balanced overview of the indigenous North American population, while never idealizing or demonizing their culture. As such, Wilson's somewhat detached viewpoint works wonders in this lengthy (480 page) work by creating a book that is both instructive and balanced.

This balance is especially refreshing give the tendency of many books on native American culture to be written either from a dry, academic standpoint, or from a somewhat naive and idealistic viewpoint of indigenous North American culture. Wilson's book gives a useful review of Native American history without falling prey to the either extreme of analysis. As such, the book is engaging and readable, without being overbearing or exclusionist in its point of view."

Tags:Pickering, Treaty, Quakers, Haudenosaunee, Trail, of, Tears

Abstract
When examining this phenomenon, it is vital to emphasize that written literature and scholarship, in the way it is known in the Western world, does not exist in North American languages. This fact serves as the foundation to how and why Native American communication exists in the form of symbolism and visualized images.

Abstract
The paper discusses how, as the political and social climate has changed, American literature has evolved to include previously disenfranchised voices, such as Native-Americans, women, African-Americans and disenfranchised immigrants from many nations of origin. The paper then explores how we define an American writer and American literature.

From the Paper
"The representation of both women and African American writers is not the only body of inclusion. Contemporary movements have made significant strides toward the inclusion of almost every immigrant group into the canon of American literature and into the body of publishing in general in history and contemporary works. These groups include Asian immigrants, Eastern European Jews, Germans, Italians and of coarse Native Americans who have a rich tradition of their own. Yet, we must remember that this is a relatively new experience and that for the majority of the development of "American Literature" the system was one of elitism that preferred almost exclusively the point of view of the Western white male."

Tags:immigrants, diversity, exclusion, inclusion