Week 11 Reading B: Sioux Unit

-It is interesting to have Iktomi's appearance described in such great detail, I have not really seen that in my other readings of the native american tales
-It would be terrible to not have a friend in the world, and I think particularly in the Native American culture where it seems they are very social to not even have an animal that is your friend is a testament to how bad of a person Iktomi is
-I wonder what it would sound like to have ducks singing
-When they all go into the hut to hear Iktomi singing, it really reminded me of a cult. I could turn this into a story where Iktomi runs into money problems and really needs help, so he creates a cult and invites people in, and they are heavily pushed to donate. But maybe one person investigates the cult and finds out the money is going to Iktomi. But Iktomi made part of being in the cult a requirement to not ask any questions, so by asking questions that person "opened his eyes". Something like that. And then of course when he runs away and goes home he would get robbed by someone else, and maybe the robbers beat him up because they found out he has a bunch of money in his house from the cult. It could be set in modern day and maybe the news advertised that a cult leader made away with like $20,000 worth of offerings given by cult members.
-In the rewrite Iktomi could have really elaborate ceremonial garb that he puts on when he begins to recruit people for the cult and they all come to see this grand show that he puts on and they get sucked into the way he sings and dances and the shows he does and then he asks them to give their life savings to the cult.

This story is part of the Sioux unit. Story source: Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Sa (1901).

Artist Gertrude Spaller's rendition of Iktomi in the story Iktomi and the Ducks (Source)