Native American Heritage Month: Check Out These Animated Stories on YouTube
One may not think of YouTube as being a place to find information about Native American history, but a number of individuals and tribes have taken to using animation to tell their stories.
So, for Native American Heritage Month, here are a few examples of how animation has been used to tell Native stories:
This animation uses puppets to tell the story of The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo Legend, in which the main character is outsmarted by his would-be dinner with flattery.
Some take a more modern approach to tell old tales. This version of Coyote Steals Fire, animated by Daniel Seman with music by John DeBoer, tells the story of how man attained fire with no narrator.
The Haida legend of the creation of the sun, moon and stars called Raven Steals the Light, also gets a modern touch with narration and animation.
The Ramona Band of Cahuilla Indians, a southern California tribe, put together this animated piece, narrated by Cahuilla elder Anne Hamilton, about the history of the tribe.
The Indigenous Language Institute has a number of videos posted with simple animations that illustrate the stories in the native language. This one is Caterpillar Story in Navajo narrated by Susie Store.
This simply animated video includes the narrated story of Earth on Turtle’s Back, which tells the story of how Turtle Island was created, a story of the Onondaga Tribe.
Even a slideshow can be used to tell Native American stories; like this one of The Owl Doctor.
There are plenty more where these came from, so feel free to browse around YouTube on your own as well.
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