NAIS 80.01 Bear Clan Texts
Wherever ursidae carnivora finds a natural habitat, the indigenous peoples of these geographies honor and acknowledge the Bear in particular ways that are central to individual and cultural expression. This course engages various texts that feature Bear imagery in traditional stories, songs, and ritual representations-all vehicles that transmit both sacred and practical knowledge. We use readings in mythopoetics, performance narratives, nature writing, some early ethnographic accounts and recordings, environmental literature, and the contemporary writing of several Native American authors. Discussion about the tribal significance of the Bear is a means to examine ontological distinctions between human self and animal being, and the constructions of human consciousness within the natural world. We also discuss how concepts of "wildness" and "wilderness," and ideas about "control" and "freedom" are expressed within imaginative and geographical spaces.