Manabozho & Me
I am writing a story. It is a retelling of a Native tale about the Ojibwe trickster's figure. The Ojibwe Peoples are a major component group of the Anishinaabe-speaking peoples, with whom my own tribe, the Potawatomi, share language and folklore. Of course, the trickster is such a powerful character of humanity that most every mythology on earth has one, and the Ojibwe's trickster is called Manabozho.
In my handy copy of North American Indian Fairy Tales: Folklore and Legends (1905), by R.C. Armour, the story is about four 3"x5" tiny pages long, with one beautiful woodcut. It is incredibly brief, considering the subject matter, and really short on details. I was inspired to flesh it out. I've dreamed up characters and an outline, lots of inside jokes to other Native references, and a tidy setting. I've got Ojibwe phrasebooks and maps open all over the place and am listening to a lot of A Tribe Called Red to get in the mood. So far I've written 3,000 words and have given strengths to a part of the story that the good Mr. Armour gave less than 10 sentences to. I'm really digging it and am hoping to have the first draft done today.
Of course, my beloved smartass Iko insists on calling it Native folk fan-fic, but he reads the drafts, laughs at the jokes, and gives me good feedback anyway.
In my handy copy of North American Indian Fairy Tales: Folklore and Legends (1905), by R.C. Armour, the story is about four 3"x5" tiny pages long, with one beautiful woodcut. It is incredibly brief, considering the subject matter, and really short on details. I was inspired to flesh it out. I've dreamed up characters and an outline, lots of inside jokes to other Native references, and a tidy setting. I've got Ojibwe phrasebooks and maps open all over the place and am listening to a lot of A Tribe Called Red to get in the mood. So far I've written 3,000 words and have given strengths to a part of the story that the good Mr. Armour gave less than 10 sentences to. I'm really digging it and am hoping to have the first draft done today.
Of course, my beloved smartass Iko insists on calling it Native folk fan-fic, but he reads the drafts, laughs at the jokes, and gives me good feedback anyway.