When Grizzlies Walked Upright

1. When Grizzlies Walked Upright Retold by: Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz

2. Summary • The Chief of the Sky Spirits was tired of his home in the sky and decided to carve a hole in the sky and created a giant mound, which is called Mount Shasta today. He walked onto the land and everywhere he pointed, trees would grow. As he stepped on snow, it melted which created rivers. He created animals and plants. His daughter got caught in the wind and was lost in the forest and taken in my a grizzly bear family. She married one of the grizzly bears and had a child. When her father found out, the Sky Spirit, he said “Get down on your hands and knees. You have wronged me, and from this moment all of you will walk on four feet and never talk again.” His grandchild became the first Indian and that is why Indians will not kill grizzly bears and Indians killed by grizzly bears would be burned.

3. Main Points • Setting: • Mt. Shasta • Sky • Forest • Characters: • Sky Spirit • Sky Spirit’s Daughter • Grizzly Bear Family • Sky Spirit’s Grandchildren

4. Point of View and Importance of the Story Point of View: Importance of the Story to the Culture They Come From: Native Americans had questions about the world and how things were created so they made up myths to answer their questions. The short story gives the Native Americans an idea as to how they were created. It gives them a purpose to turn to. • The story is told in 3rd person omniscient.

5. Attitudes • Life: • Indians were created by grizzly bears and both have the right to live. They have a purpose for being on the earth. • Nature: • The Sky Spirit is the creator of nature. It is responsible for creating animals, plants, mountains, and other things. Nature should be preserved and that is why Indians will not harm grizzly bears. • Death: • Indians will not kill grizzly bears. It is like killing themselves. If a grizzly bear kills an Indian, the body was burned.

6. Questions • In the story, the Sky Spirit lives inside Mt. Shasta and builds great fires inside, and whenever he places a log into the fire, the mountain spews sparks and smoke. Why would the Native Americans describe a volcano in this way? • Is the Wind Spirit the antagonist of the story? Why or why not? • In the eyes of the Great Spirit, what was the crime of the bears? • “… the Indians around Mt. Shasta would never kill a grizzly bear. Whenever a grizzly killed an Indian, his body was burned on the spot.” The Native Americans in the story held a respect for the bears and nature. In what other ways was this shown in the story? • Is the fact that bears once walked upright and talked important to the story? Explain.