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De Jesus Avalo 1
Marino De Jesus Avalo
Professor Daniel
Eng 122-1K
17 February 2014
Land, Beliefs, Pride
We have all heard the stories of Native Americans. They are even movies of them such as
Pocahontas. But what most people don't know is the struggle and trails these Native American went and
go through. In the stories “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by N. Scott Momaday and “The Man to Send
Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko, the beliefs and struggles of the Native Americans can be seen
by example of the death of two elderly people. And in the poems “The Reserve Cab Driver” by
Sherman Alexie, and “Heartland” by Linda Hogan, the way the Natives Americans cope with their
losses of land and rituals/beliefs is very apparent.
In the story “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by Momaday, it is spoken about Momaday's
grandmother and Native Americans tribe by the name of Kiowas. It's explained how the Kiowas were
defeated and forced to move out of their land by the U.S army. Their land in which they had special
rituals and a specific way of living. Though, Momaday himself never got to actually see any of this, his
grandmother did. His grandmother told his stories of how their tribe used to be the best horsemen the
world had ever seen. How they were prideful and a warlike clan. She even explained the downfall of
the Kiowas. How the were pushed out their lands, forced to adapt to new things. Also how they made
friends with another tribe called the Crows. The Crows taught them how survive in their new lands and
gave them horses and other supplies. Momaday's grandmother was the last person to be connected to
the direct past of the Kiowas. Warlords of their tribe would come just to see her so they could feel in
touch with the past. She, though Momaday did not understand, still spoke the Kiowas language, she
prayed Kiowas prayers and even until her dying day remembered everything that her tribe had gone
De Jesus Avalo 2
through in their struggles and bountiful times.
In “The Way to Rainy Mountain” it can be seen that the Kiowas like many Native American
tribes were stripped of their lands. Throughout this story it could be seen that the Kiowas tribe went
through many struggles. They could not even preform their religious rituals, like Momaday's
grandmother told, “[The Kiowas] could find no buffalo[for the sacrifice]; they had to hang an old hide
from the sacred tree. Before the dance could begin, a company of soldiers rode out from Fort Sill to
disperse the tribe”(374). They were not allowed to do their ritual, even though they had done it for
generations and generations. In one fell swoop that ended for them; forever.
The religious beliefs of Native American tribes can be seen in Silko's “The Man to Send Rain
Clouds.” In Silko's story an elderly Native American dies while sitting under a tree wile watching
sheep. The story continues to explain how things are being set for the elder's funeral and how the
