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 |  | Monday November 23, 2009 2:46 AM |
 | | Poetry and Songs by Native Americans | |
ABOUT these POEMS
the poems above are simply poems and chants I have come across in my readings that appeal to me.
They are not in any way intended to be representative of their cultures.
They are presented out of context and with minimal historical information.
You might even get the impression that Native Americans wrote small haiku-like poems, but this would be mistaken.
I am no expert, but the books make clear that these "poems" are really songs or chants, almost always accompanied by music, dancing and drums.
They were often repeated over and over again, perhaps like lyrics on some contemporary dance music.
Other songs came to individuals in vision quests, or may have been the property of certain families, who were the only people who could sing them.
Most of these songs come from anthropological literature that originally appeared over 75 years ago and are therefore in the public domain, no longer protected by copyright.
For those who want study of Native American songs and chants, the resources cited in the
bibliography
can provide sources in starting out.
Last Updated
December 23, 2004
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