Biography source

Biography.com. "Geronimo Biography." Biography. A&E Television Networks, 4 Sept. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.

Folktale Post 4) helping contemporary readers

In all honestly i don't see Ishjinki and Buzzard being a story that help contemporary readers understand the native American Experience. Other then the point i mentioned on my previous post about showing the values on kinship and ancestry. I see it as more of a funny way to show the origins of our present day buzzard with a small hit to native american culture.

Folktale post 3) sense of values

When reading Ishjinki and Buzzard you can see that Native Americans, even in a comic book style, really care about ancestry and respecting your elders and how they are all one people. You can see this in how he refers to Buzzard as grandfather and how he calls the girls that release him form the tree sisters-in-law.

Folktale post 2) what it teaches

This story teaches one simple rule, don't mess with people because you never know how and when they will get back at you. It also give you a look into the origins of the buzzard about why the stink and why the are bald, which i think is really neat.

Native American Folktale post 1) Summary

The folktale i decided to write on was from the Trickster tales graphic novel we read in class, I chose one of the stories we didn't read that i came across and found funny. It is called Ishjinki and Buzzard by Jimm Goodtracks and illustrated by Dimi Macheras. The story opens with Ishjinki talking to Buzzard, who he refers to as grandfather, and asks buzzard if he can walk where he walks, meaning if he can fly. at first Buzzard says no, that Ishjinki is meant to be on the ground, but after saying that Buzzard should pity Ishjinki he takes him on his back and fly Ishjinki in the sky. As they fly Buzzard tilts to one side and almost drops Ishjinki as he approaches a dead tree he dose it agai and drops Ishjinki into it. after tricking some women to open the tree Ishjinki escapes and wants to get back at Buzzard. to do so he turns himself into a dead horse, this doesn't trick Buzzard. Then into an Elk, which does trick Buzzard. Buzzard stars to peck at an open wound on the elk, Which is actually Ishjinki's butt, and gets trapped inside. after days and days buzzard is free and has no feathers on his head and he stinks.

Biography post 3) Response to European / American contact

With the U.S. invading Apache territories after the Mexican-American war tensions were high butt he Chiricahua leader, Geronimo's father-in-law, Cochise, could see where the future was headed (Biograhpy.com,2015). The revered chief called a halt to his decade-long war with the Americans and agreed to the establishment of a reservation for his people on a piece of Apache property (Biograhpy.com,2015). But within just a few years, Cochise died, and the federal government reneged on its agreement, moving the Chiricahua north so that settlers could move into their former lands (Biograhpy.com,2015). This act only further angered Geronimo, setting off a new round of fighting, Geronimo proved to be as elusive as he was aggressive (Biograhpy.com,2015). However, authorities finally caught up with him in 1877 and sent him to the San Carlos Apache reservation, for four long years he struggled with his new reservation life, finally escaping in September 1881 (Biograhpy.com,2015). Over the next five years they engaged in what proved to be the last of the Indian wars against the U.S. Finally, in the summer of 1886, he surrendered, the last Chiricahua to do so (Biograhpy.com,2015). Over the next several years Geronimo and his people were bounced around, first to a prison in Florida, then a prison camp in Alabama, and then Fort Sill in Oklahoma (Biograhpy.com,2015). In total, the group spent 27 years as prisoners of war (Biograhpy.com,2015).

Biography post 2) Significant moment

A very significant moment in Geronimo's life time was his marriage to Alope and the tragedy that befell her and her three kids (Biograhpy.com,2015). While out on a trading trip Mexican soldiers attacked his camp, word of the ransacking soon reached the Apache men and quietly that night Geronimo returned home (Biograhpy.com,2015). Where he found his mother, wife and three children all dead (Biograhpy.com,2015). The murders of his wife and three kids devastated him (Biograhpy.com,2015). Fallowing Apache tradition Geronimo set fire to his family's belongings and then went into the wilderness to morn the deaths (Biograhpy.com,2015). While doing this he heard voice speak to him saying "No gun will ever kill you. I will take the bullets from the guns of the Mexicans … and I will guide your arrows." (Biograhpy.com,2015) Backed by this sudden knowledge of power, Geronimo rounded up a force of 200 men and hunted down the Mexican soldiers who killed his family (Biograhpy.com,2015).

Biography post 1) Background

For my biography I decided to look at the Native American war hero Geronimo.

Tribal Affiliation-
       Geronimo was an Apache, belonging to the smallest band within the Chihuahua tribe, the Bedonkohe, which only had around 8,000 tribesman and women (Biograhpy.com,2015).

Childhood Experiences-
        Geronimo was born in June of 1829 in No-Doyohn Canyon in Mexico (Biograhpy.com,2015). As a young boy he was a gifted hunter and, supposedly a the story goes, he ate the heart of his first kill to "ensure a life of success on the chase.", this is common practice as it shows that killing is not to be taken lightly as it shows that the kill is giving its life so you may live (Biograhpy.com,2015). At the age of 17 Geronimo led four successful raids on neighboring tribes and villages, at this time the Mexican government was offering money for the scalps of Apaches, this though did not deter Geronimo (Biograhpy.com,2015).

Contact with Europeans/Americans-
       After the Mexican-American War in 1848 the united states began to take large areas of territory from Mexico, including Apache land (Biograhpy.com,2015). After gold was found in the Southwest many American settlers and miners moved int the area, which made tension between the U.S and Apaches grow (Biograhpy.com,2015). This caused increasing larger attacks on stage coaches and wagon trains (Biograhpy.com,2015).

How the graphic novel bring the stories to life.

I fell like visualization is the hardest things for people who don't read often to do when reading, to make the words on the page into an image in your head. Graphic novels and comics help that, it gives the reader an idea of what they need to be visualizing and give the reader an idea of how the settings and characters look. Graphic novels are also a great way for people who are good visualizers to validate what they think characters and settings look like, kind of how movies do... but better. That's how I think graphic novels bring stories to life.

Lessons taught by the rabbit, coyote, and raven

In many folk tales the goal of the story is to teach a lesson of some sort. They normal due this through the main character and his or her actions but sometimes it can be an event or secondary characters actions. In the tale When coyote decided to get married a well know coyote decides to settle down and start a family and a chief, who is a friend of his, helps him do so. he sends runners in all directions to find the most beautiful women in the land but they must be pure for them to marry coyote. The most beautiful maiden is brought to coyote but she is not pure and coyote turns her and her family into stone. So, you could say that this story teaches the lesson always be honest because the truth comes out. Sometimes the tales show you the origin of how something is the way it is as well as teaching you a lesson. In the tale Rabbit's Choctaw Tail rabbit tries to trick fix into giving him his catfish, fox refuses but in turn teaches him how to fish. At this point in time rabbit has a large tail  and fox says all he has to do is cut a hole in the ice and stick his tail in and hell catch a fish. Rabbit does this and to get out of the cold water he jumps up when he feels something tugging on his tail, After jumps out he complains that his rump is cold and and he sees that his tail is gone. So this story teaches the reader that you shouldn't bother people with nonsense and you should trick them out of there things. In the tale Raven the Trickster, a raven tricks his way out of being held captive by a sea anemone, tricks a beluga whale into opening his mouth open wide so raven can fly in, for what ever reason, and tricks some whalers into leaving there whale blubber because raven makes them believe its cursed. So, the lesson i would take away from this... don't trust ravens.

Trickster rabbits similarities and differences.

In the stories we have read the rabbits as a trickster is a common theme. In most stories they are very similar, These rabbits always have similar goals in mind, they want something (food, power, safety) and they exploit others to get it. In Rabbit and the Tug of War rabbit tricks to buffalo into facing each other in a tug of war thinking that they are both facing rabbit. After the buffaloes figure out that they have been tricked they banish rabbit from the watering hole. After rabbit is banished he uses a deer's hooves to trick the poorly sighted buffalo into thinking he is a deer so he can get water from the watering hole. Similarly in one Diasporic African tale brer rabbit tricks a cow into ramming a persimmons tree. She gets her horns stuck and brer rabbit and his family milk her, which she is against. The types of stories really don't differ all that much, the characters all have the same motivation, be it food, or safety, or power and each story teaches the reader a lesson most of the time.