Spider Spins a Story
Fourteen Legends from Native America
edited by Jill Max
Rising Moon, an imprint of Northland Publishing, 1998 ISBN: 0-87358-611-5
Fourteen Native American Legends including the Kiowa, Zuni, Cherokee, Hopi, Lakota, and Muskogee, featuring the spider character in various forms, and illustrated by six Native American Artists.
A 1998 Oklahoma Book Award Finalist.
“The spiders, honeybees, yellow jackets, and mud
daubers: these insects still speak — a language that is older than
humans. The buffalo, elk, wolf, coyote — they still talk, too.
It's we, the people, who have forgotten how to listen.”
—Osage Storyteller Archie Mason
Like the spider's web, which suddenly appears beautifully complete, this collection of legends came from following strands of seemingly disconnected threads:
Jill Max collaborators Kelly and Ronnie had long shared an interest in American Indian culture. Both traveled extensively exploring the diverse, complex traditions. Too, living in Oklahoma, which has the largest number of tribes of any of the United States, provided them an opportunity to meet many tribal elders and storytellers.
However, it wasn't until Navajo weaver and storyteller Sarah Natani, mesmerized them by sharing the story of how Spider Woman gave the Navajo the gift of weaving while tamping down the threads strung on her loom that the pair began to listen for the Spider.
Spider Spins A Story is the result of their interest in exploring the recurrence of the spider as a unifying thread in the literature of diverse Native American cultures.
“During the process of meeting storytellers, gathering legends, and researching their tribal significance for this collection, we noticed that many tribes and storytellers tell different versions of the same legends, or similar legends featuring different characters, or variations on a story theme,” the collaborators explain in the collection's preface.
“Likewise, different tribes, bands, clans, families, and even family members do not tell the legends in exactly the same way. Every version is valuable and should be preserved as such. Our hope is that this multi-tribal collection, featuring a variety of spider characters and range of voices, will encourage dialogue among storytellers and listeners of varied backgrounds.”
Giving Back
In gratitude for being allowed to share the stories that appear in the collection, and out of respect and support for the struggles of all American Indians to hold onto their cultures, Kelly Bennett and Ronia (Ronnie) Davidson donate one-third of their earnings from Spider Spins A Story to the American Indian Theatre Company, a multi-tribal organization whose goal is to preserve and share Native American culture and history.
Ajo, thank you to all who are slightly touched by the Spider.
Presentations
Classroom presentations can vary from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the school's needs and age level of the students. Writing workshops range from 45 minutes to half-day sessions. With advance notice, presentations can be customized to suit specific interests or areas of study.
Native American Culture & the Spider — Grades K-8
Utilizing slides, artifacts, and traditional Spider legends featured in her multi-tribal collection, Spider Spins A Story, Fourteen Legends from Native America, Kelly Goldman Bennett shares American Indian culture with students. Local tribes and customs will be highlighted.