NORTHEAST ORAL HISTORIES Long ago there was a village at the top of a hill in the Northeast region of North America Under the moon after the first snow people gathered in the village’s great lodge As the flames of the campfire danced the storyteller took his place He began to weave tales of ghosts heroes and magical canoes THE NORTHEAST REGION The Northeast region has a rich landscape The Atlantic Coast marks its eastern edge A building called a longhouse has traditionally been a community gathering place for Northeast Nations
Marshy lands in Quebec are home to a variety of ecosystems both above and below the water From north to south the towering cliffs of Canada’s Maritime Provinces lead to Maine and the lowlands of North Carolina’s coast The area sweeps west to the Great Lakes and Illinois Thick forests of pine birch and sugar maple crisscross the land There are many meadows lakes and rivers The Saint Lawrence Mississippi and Ohio Rivers flow through the area 6
In the north are boreal forests filled with evergreen trees To the south are the Appalachians This mountain chain stretches for almost 2,000 miles 3,200 km Many Native Nations share this vast area The Omàmiwinini Algonquin Wendat Huron Ojibwe Mi’kmaq and Abenaki are a few of the tribes who live here The PERSPECTIVES KARI KENNEDY HOAG ON STORYTELLING Kari Kennedy Hoag is a member of the Seneca Nation She works at the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum Hoag feels that Seneca families are no longer sharing stories as they once did Children are more likely to learn stories at school or in books Hoag believes storytelling connects us with why we do things today She shares her love of storytelling with children She creates puppet shows based on Seneca tales Haudenosaunee Iroquois a confederacy of six Native Nations also live in this region Their origin stories tell that they have been here forever Each tribe has different beliefs and ways of life 7
