Traditions of the Arapaho: Sources of American Indian Oral Literature

Anthropologists George A. Dorsey and Alfred L. Kroeber joined forces to record and preserve the rich cultural traditions of the Arapaho Indians, long split into two bands. Dorsey had done fieldwork with the Southern Arapaho after they moved from Colorado to Oklahoma and would soon be known for his study of their Sun Dance. Kroeber had visited the Northern Arapaho, who were still living in Wyoming. Traditions of the Arapaho, first published in 1903, is the result of their collaboration.

 

This collection of tales bears witness to the religious feeling, imagination, and humor of the Arapaho. Beginning with creation myths, Dorsey and Kroeber offer stories about Found-in-Grass, Blood-Clot-Boy, Badger-Woman, Blue-Feather, White Dog, the Rolling Stone, Porcupine, and the Woman Who Climbed to the Sky. Entities marvelous and mundane—water monsters, speckled horses, dancing ducks, cannibalistic dwarves—populate these vibrant tales, where spirit permeates everything, and everything has meaning.