Named after a line in N. Scott Momaday’s “Carriers of the Dream Wheel,” this unit is an

introduction to the constant, circular motion of storytelling. Through its continuity, oral tradition keeps history and culture alive. As people “shape their songs upon the wheel,” these songs shape every aspect of their lives. Momaday’s poem ends with the lines, “Let us tell the old stories, / Let us sing the sacred songs.” Ultimately, this unit is a call to keep carrying on our stories in order to never forget the past.

         The second poem in this unit, Simon Ortiz’s “My Father’s Song,” demonstrates how someone is able to bring a memory of his father to life through the vivid language of a song. While this poem showcases a personal history, Linda Hogan’s “Trail of Tears: Our Removal” and Luci Tapahonso’s “In 1864” extends the significance of storytelling to tribal histories. In the 1830s, the federal government, led by Andrew Jackson, drove Chickasaw, Seminole, Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw people from their homes in southeastern United States to “Indian territory” on a 1,200-mile march that came to be known as the Trail of Tears (“Trail of Tears”). The speaker in Hogan’s poem gives a personal perspective to the suffering on the Trail of Tears as well as the psychological aftermath. The speaker addresses readers, telling them to respect the stolen land and the stories that it holds. “In 1864” tells of the forced-removal of the Navajos and how this is not a dusty piece of history, but a story of suffering, strength, and hope that affects their lives today.

         These poems show that there is much to be gained from learning and remembering the past. Yet, it is not enough to simply know the old stories; one needs to tell them in order to shape the future.