I'm glad we started the course with American Indian literature, because that underscores the very legitimate place First Nations people hold in American culture and history (and continue to hold into the present day). They are the original inhabitants of the continent and the first storytellers of our common landscape. Many First Nations works memorialize not only that geography but also the complexities of human experience.
Discussing ancient trickster cycles makes me think of the modern day, and how we tend to relegate American Indians to the past. It seems hard for mainstream American society to understand that those cultures and traditions are living, evolving things in the present.
Specifically, I am thinking about a digital media piece put together by artist Luke Warmwater based on the Lakota Iktomi cycle. I used portions of the following clip in a video essay I did several years ago about Lakota Generation Y cultural expressions. I think it says more than I ever could on the subject, although some people find that to be uncomfortable. But it is real and speaks to contemporary reservation experience, which is a facet of modern life that can't be ignored.
(WARNING: This is definitely not work or child friendly, but it is relevant to contemporary issues. It gets pretty...mature...within the first few minutes.)
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