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Pueblo Indian Watercolors: Watercolors and Artists

Velino Shije Herrera, Story Teller

Among most Native Americans, storytelling was traditionally the most important method of preserving, teaching, and passing on collective and individual knowledge. Most American Indian cultures did not have written languages before the arrival of Europeans. Important information was stored in a people's collective memory and was passed on from generation to generation. In many communities, the older members worked hard to ensure that all the information they had memorized was in turn memorized by the young.

Sometimes the information took the form of amusing and thought-provoking stories that were often used to entertain children. However, a great deal of important knowledge, such as religious beliefs and practice, the understanding of plants and animals useful for food or healing, and information such as other practical activities were taught to younger generations through their participation in the daily life and religious ceremonies of the community.

Questions for Students

Do you have family stories that your parents or grandparents tell? If so, where do you think those stories came from? Did someone make them up, or have they always been around?

What have you learned by listening, and what have you learned by doing?

What kind of information, if any, is best learned by reading?

How do you learn the lyrics to a favorite song? After hearing a song several times, you can easily memorize the lyrics. You can also quickly memorize stories or legends.

Pictured above: Velino Shije Herrera, Story Teller, about 1925–35, gouache and pencil on paperboard, 25.6 x 38.2 cm. Corbin-Henderson Collection, Gift of Alice H. Rossin