Story Planning Week 9: Blackfoot Butterfly Effect

I have read one or two stories that implement the cumulative tale style, and I found them to be very interesting. I thought about trying them out a few weeks ago, but I couldn't come up with very good ideas to write about. For next week's story post, I would like to use this style to tell a story about Blackfoot Indian culture. From my reading during week 9, I have found some information about the Blackfoot and also learned about the fables they told. The different steps I use in my cumulative tale may not be one hundred percent accurate, but they will be based off of the stories I read throughout week 9.

"The story about the rolling stone is quite a stretch. The whole time I was focused on the conflict between the man and the rock (which was already pretty crazy), but the purpose of the story didn't even turn out to be about them. It was about the way hawks look today and why they do." (Week 9 Reading Note Part A Post)

Wikimedia Commons

A few of the stories, such as the rolling stone one, involved an old man and events he went through, which lead to something occurring that changed history. The example I wrote about is with the stone that chased the old man, which was stopped by the hawks, leading to hawk beaks changing forever. I think it would be awesome to gather a few of these things from each story, to add together for an overall cumulative tale. In the end, my goal would be to have the specific things add together to cause some grand event at the end. It could also be comical to have a huge list, which end up causing a very small thing to happen (such as a drop of water to fall or someone to sneeze).

My list for the cumulative tale (will be similar to the butterfly effect) is going to include the old man (popular in the Blackfoot readings), a boulder, a drop of water, spices, a fire pit, the old man's wife, the sun, Kut O Yis (a hero from the reading part B) shooting an arrow, some for of animal (probably an actual butterfly to symbolize what is going on), and I may add or subtract any as I figure out what I need. This style is very new to me, but it seems like it will be fun so hopefully all goes well!

Bibliography: Blackfoot Stories by Grinnell

Week 9 Reading Notes: Blackfoot Stories, Part B

The very first story starts off with a new character, the woman chief. I was wondering if the only person throughout the stories would be the old man, but I am glad that a new character has been added in. It will be interesting to see how the two interact. "The Smart Woman Chief" has been more informational than some of the other stories I've read. I think its pretty cool to learn about some of the cultural history (even though it is somewhat brief) of the Blackfoot Indians. This will be really helpful if I choose to do a story planning post where I talk about the culture of the Blackfoot. I wouldn't have to do as much research.

(hercules  --  sinterbear)
Source: Flickr

I like the idea of how children are named in the stores. "Kut O Yis" or "Clot of Blood" seems pretty weird, but I think it's cool because of the background behind the name. Maybe I will look up some different phrases that I could use to name the characters in my storytelling post. The setup of marrying women in the story is very strange. The only reason they say Kut O Yis is a girl is to keep the son in law from killing the child, because he wants to marry the girl. Smart move by the husband and wife. The son in law is turning out to be quite the antagonist. He reminds me of a mythological figure such as Cronos.

Kut O Yis literally grew up in a matter of minutes. From boy to man. I'm not exactly sure how he was able to do that? Is he supposed to have special powers? Maybe I could do a spin on it to make it like an Indian Hercules hybrid story. I know Hercules didn't grow up that quickly, but for some reason this story reminds me of Hercules. It says Kut O Yis punished the wives after he killed the son in law, but I'm not sure how he did so? That part is pretty vague. I wonder why the number seven was chosen for the amount of bad things Kut O Yis defeated. Is there symbolism behind it? Like the luck number 7?

Bibliography: Blackfoot Stories by Grinnell

Week 9 Reading Notes: Blackfoot Stories, Part A

In the description, it says the language has been translated from original Blackfoot Indian stories, so it is readable now. Even from what i've read so far, I can tell which spots aren't quite as translated from the Blackfoot. I thought it would make it harder to read or bother me, but I actually enjoy it a little bit because it gives it more of a realistic feel.

The point of the storytelling is similar to some of the others I have read in the class. They give fictitious accounts of characters, which lead to the reason something is the way it is today. In this case it was about the deer and antelope bodies.

(blackfoot  --  Henning Leweke)
Flickr

The story about the rolling stone is quite a stretch. The whole time I was focused on the conflict between the man and the rock (which was already pretty crazy), but the purpose of the story didn't even turn out to be about them. It was about the way hawks look today and why they do. Pushing their bills against a rock to be formed that way… I don't know about that one as much. I did enjoy the writing style, which sounded authentic. I'm not sure how good I would be at writing in that style though. If I was to do a story based on the Blackfoot, I could use another style and make it a parody. Maybe a super thick cowboy accent or something.

The old man is common in the stories. I wonder if Grinnell meant for this old man to be the same person among each of the stories he is in, or if they are all different old men?

The last story with the sun theft didn't seem to have much of a point. I guess the moral would be not to try and steal, but I think it would've been more comical if it had something to do with the old man lying. Then it could have tied into the common saying, "Liar, liar, pants on fire" because his pants were set on fire in the end.


Bibliography: Blackfoot Stories by Grinnell