Reading Notes
Curated excerpts from Edward Curtis's twenty-volume The North American Indian (1907–1930, public domain). Each note features a verbatim passage from the books with brief editorial framing.
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The Navaho Creation Myth: From the World Below to the Making of the Stars
Volume 1 of The North American Indian covers the Navaho (Diné) and several neighboring peoples of the Southwest. This section presents the Navaho creation cycle, one of the most detailed and structurally complex bodies of oral tradition Curtis recorded.
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Nayênayêzganî Kills the Eagles, and Coyote Steals Fire
Volume 1 of The North American Indian covers several Apache groups alongside the Navaho, and this passage comes from Curtis's account of the Jicarilla Apache. It presents two consecutive episodes from the Jicarilla cosmological tradition: the conclusion of Nayênayêzganî's campaign against the monster beings that made…