The Floating Island The Floating Island, is a great tale from the Montagnais Indians and first heard about in 1633^1. The account was related and was written down by Josiah Jeremy, a Micmac Indian, in 1869^1. This is a story that is a great Native American tale that has been told and remembered through the years because of the great surprise of the Native American tribes when the French landed in this new land. I believe that most of this story is true, but not all of it. I assume that most of the witchcraft and foretelling in this story was not true and added to captivate the audience and make it memorable to the many Native Americans that heard it. This tale is believable in many of its parts.
I am able to believe that these Native Americans did think that this large ship was a floating island with large bears on it. I also think it is conceivable that the Native Americans thought that the Frenchmen decided to go ashore with their priest and teach these people the Bible and God’s teachings. There are many things in this Native American tale that I believe were added to keep interest in this story and to make it more fantastic than it really was. I am sure that this was a great and exciting event for these people who had never seen a white man before, but I do not believe that this whole story was foretold by a young girl in a dream. There are many stories about sorcery and witch doctors throughout Native Americans history, but I do not think that these details could be a dream that happened just the night before something of this magnitude would sail upon the new world.
The Term Paper on Native Americans 6
Native Americans When Whites started to come over to America, they didnt think twice about taking over the Native Americans land. As it says in Strangers to These Shores, Columbuss first impressions of the Arakawa Tribe in the Caribbean reflected ethnocentrism I knew they were a people who would better be freed and converted to our Holy Faith by love than by force they are all generally of good ...
This story just seems amazing enough without these necromancers and sorcerers running about. I think that this was all added throughout the 236 years that this story was floating around tribes by word of mouth. If a story of this great history was repeated over and over again for that many years it had to be embellished in someway throughout the years. Whether, these necromancers and foretelling are added to the story or if these events really happened as the story says, we will never know. But the reliability of this story being all true throughout the many year it has been told is relatively low. Many of the Native Americans have tales that help teach their people about their heritage.
This seems to fit in that category well. I think that these people helped each other remember these stories by embellishing them. I do not think that these people would necessarily make these stories greater than they actually were, but people tend to remember the good things about the past and forget the bad parts. I believe this story got better and better throughout the many years it has been told.
^1 Josiah Jeremy, “The Floating Island” in The World Turned Upside Down, Edited by Collin G. Calloway (New York: Bedford) pgs. 33-34 ^1 Josiah Jeremy, “The Floating Island” in The World Turned Upside Down, Edited by Collin G. Calloway (New York: Bedford) pgs. 33-34.
