The Thunder Helper
You have probably heard about the Creek Indians. They are native to Georgia and Alabama. The Poarch Creeks in Alabama live on a reservation near Atmore, Alabama.
Visit the Poarch Band of Creek Indians webpage.
Read the Creek legend "The Thunder Helper."
Answer this question about the "Thunder Helper."
Who is the main character in the story?
Answer: An orpphan boy.
Answer this question about the "Thunder Helper."
What was the first conflict the boy encountered?
Answer: The boy encountered the Tie-snake and Thunder fighting.
Answer this question about the "Thunder Helper."
How did the conflict resolve?
Answer: The boy killed the Tie-snake in exchange to be breave, strong, and wise.
Answer this question about the "Thunder Helper."
How did the people in the village regard the boy?
Answer: The people though the boy was good and kind; they listened to him.
Answer this question about the "Thunder Helper."
Lightning, spelled lightening in the story, is a powerful symbol. Explain its meaning.
Answer: Lightning is a powerful symbol in the story, which provided power and speed to the boy.
Answer this question about the "Thunder Helper."
What happened to the boy at the end of the story?
Answer: He transformed into Lightning
Answer this question about the "Thunder Helper."
Who is the Thunder Helper?
Answer: The boy is the Thunder helper.
"The Thunder Helper" is an origin myth that was passed down orally through the Native American tradition.
The legend relies on the supernatural to explain a natural phenomena, such as thunder and lightning.
The story also guides its people through trials of the enemy while instilling a sense of mystery about overcoming those trials.
Sometimes rhythm was involved while telling stories; "The Thunder Helper" could have been paired with drums and cymbals.
Circle of Stories
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.
In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation, and so long as the hoop was unbroken, the people flourished.
The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters
The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance.
This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle.
The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars.
The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round.
Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were.
The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.
Our tepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the Nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.
These were the words of Black Elk, Oglala Sioux Holy Man, 1863-1950.
Can you think of any other circles or references to circles in your everyday life?
Possible Answer: Some possible answers are band of hope, wheel of fortune, life cycles, Arctic Circle, circle of light, circle of friends, and round table.
You will begin a project in Unit 1 called "Circle of Stories" to further expand on the Native American culture of storytelling.
As a child, you may have drifted off to sleep while someone read to you or made up a story. Storytelling is a huge part of our culture.
That is why you will investigate some interesting ideas from a family member so that you can share them with others.
You will work on the project during each lesson, so at the end of the unit, all you will have left to do is fine tune your work.
During the course of your project, you will be writing a personal narrative. That means that you are telling a story that has to do with yourself.
Your personal narrative is told in first person point of view, so you will use pronouns like I, me, we, our.