Storytelling: Why We Do It

Happy New Year! Recently, we at Cherokee Community of Puget Sound (Cherokee Nation) had the privilege of hearing from Cherokee National Treasure for Storytelling Robert Lewis. By way of Cherokee traditional stories, some of what he encouraged us to do was to be kind to one another and to seek out our elders to hear their stories.

Robert is an expert in the oral transfer of these sacred stories. He is, after all, a national treasure. As an author of written stories, I had to ask myself why, on this chaotic earth, I write stories. Perhaps it’s something I was born to do. Maybe I cannot help myself. Part of it, I think, is an outgrowth of reconnecting with the tribe after my great-grandmother’s death and the family cutoff so many decades ago. When we tell a story, we share something of ourselves. More importantly, we share community and ancestral values. It’s about the collective, not the individual. When stories are shared within the context of community, a healing occurs that is different from the healing that happens when the proverbial tree falls in the forest and no one hears it. We must have listeners. We need readers.

As storytellers, when we connect with those listeners and readers, we hope that they will be inspired to share our stories for the sake of the seventh generation. Somewhere down the line, someone is going to think you were pretty darned important. What chronicle do you have? Save some oxygen for the room, but please, share your stories.