--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Indians are marvelous storytellers. In…" description: "\"Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that oral tradition is stronger than the written tradition.\" — N. Scott Momaday" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/n-scott-momaday-12844_indians_indians-are-marvelous-storytellers-in-so_831709.png" --- # Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that… ![“Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that oral tradition is stronger than the written tradition.” quote by N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/n-scott-momaday-12844_indians_indians-are-marvelous-storytellers-in-so_831709.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/n-scott-momaday-12844_indians_indians-are-marvelous-storytellers-in-so_831709.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/n-scott-momaday-12844_indians_indians-are-marvelous-storytellers-in-so_831709.png) > “Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that oral tradition is stronger than the written tradition.” [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Oral storytelling preserves culture and can be more vivid than written records. **In simple terms:** Storytelling can be stronger than writing. Key Takeaway Value oral traditions. Themes culture storytelling heritage Mood reflective proud Type cultural observational When to use this quote - education - family gatherings - cultural festivals Key Concepts anthropology memory communication Questions to Reflect On - How does oral storytelling shape identity? - What risks are there in relying on memory? A Different Perspective Oral traditions may lack permanence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians/) [Indians Marvelous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians-marvelous-564016/) [Marvelous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marvelous/) [Oral tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oral-tradition/) [Storyteller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storyteller/) [Storytellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytellers/) [Storytellers Ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytellers-ways-564017/) [Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [My very first lessons in the art of telling stories took place in the kitchen . . . my mother and three or four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/my-very-first-lessons-in-the-art-of-telling-stories-took-place-in-the/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [“The task of understanding a culture built on the oral tradition is impossible to students steeped in the written tradition. p.55”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-a-innis/the-task-of-understanding-a-culture-built-on-the-oral-tradition-is/) [Harold A. Innis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-a-innis/) > [I think of myself in the oral tradition-as a troubadour, a village tale-teller, the man in the shadows of the campfire. That's the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/i-think-of-myself-in-the-oral-tradition-as-a-troubadour-a-village/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [The point is there is more information now then you can pass along comfortably in an oral tradition, say a strictly speaking culture. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/the-point-is-there-is-more-information-now-then-you-can-pass-along/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [The Irish, as a race, have the oral tradition in their blood. A direct question to them is an anathema, but in other cases,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/the-irish-as-a-race-have-the-oral-tradition-in-their-blood-a-direct/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [I come out of a strong oral tradition in the South.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horton-foote/i-come-out-of-a-strong-oral-tradition-in-the-south/) [Horton Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horton-foote/) > [Although it is tempting to imagine an ancient era innocent of biochemical weaponry, in fact this Pandora's box of horrors was opened thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-mayor/although-it-is-tempting-to-imagine-an-ancient-era-innocent-of/) [Adrienne Mayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-mayor/) > [I have been given something really, really special and really unique, and it is not just in and of itself having learned from my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anoushka-shankar/i-have-been-given-something-really-really-special-and-really-unique/) [Anoushka Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anoushka-shankar/) > [ “The whole tradition of \[oral\] story telling is endangered by modern technology. 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His songs contain the essence of New York in the 1920s and have deservedly become classics of their kind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gershwin/gershwin-s-melodic-gift-was-phenomenal-his-songs-contain-the-essence/) [George Gershwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gershwin/) > [We have oral traditions in Mali, and songs are passed down and around this way. I think in the US you can play all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vieux-farka-toure/we-have-oral-traditions-in-mali-and-songs-are-passed-down-and-around/) [Vieux Farka Toure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vieux-farka-toure/) > [“Here is an oral tradition, legends passed from mouth to mouth, a communal myth created invariably at the base of the mango tree in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/here-is-an-oral-tradition-legends-passed-from-mouth-to-mouth-a/) [Ryszard Kapuściński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Rae Chorze-Fwaz has preserved and passed on their secret meditation techniques in oral tradition from the time of Atlantis until he present day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/rae-chorze-fwaz-has-preserved-and-passed-on-their-secret-meditation/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by N. Scott Momaday > [It is here that I can concentrate my mind upon the Remembered Earth. It is here that I am most conscious of being, here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-is-here-that-i-can-concentrate-my-mind-upon-the-remembered-earth/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“He wondered what his sorrow was and could not remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/he-wondered-what-his-sorrow-was-and-could-not-remember/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [I wonder if, in the dark night of the sea, the octopus dreams of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/i-wonder-if-in-the-dark-night-of-the-sea-the-octopus-dreams-of-me/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Sometimes, I think the best kind of poem is one in which there is an acute balance between what is humorous and that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/sometimes-i-think-the-best-kind-of-poem-is-one-in-which-there-is-an/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [My father was a painter and he taught art. He once said to me, 'I never knew an Indian child who could not draw.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/my-father-was-a-painter-and-he-taught-art-he-once-said-to-me-i-never/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“If coupling should but make us whole / And of the selfsame mind and soul, / Then couple let's in celebration; / We have contained the population.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/if-coupling-should-but-make-us-whole-and-of-the-selfsame-mind-and/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [In the beginning was the word, and it was spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/in-the-beginning-was-the-word-and-it-was-spoken/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [The Kiowas reckoned their stature by the distance they could see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/the-kiowas-reckoned-their-stature-by-the-distance-they-could-see/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the-2/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is where Creation was begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/your-imagination-comes-to-life-and-this-you-think-is-where-creation/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [As far as I am concerned, poetry is a statement concerning the human condition, composed in verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-is-a-statement-concerning-the-human/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [It's a landscape that has to be seen to be believed. And as I say on occasion, it may have to be believed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-s-a-landscape-that-has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed-and-as-i-say-on/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [There was only the dark infinity in which nothing was. And something happened. At the distance of a star something happened, and everything began.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/there-was-only-the-dark-infinity-in-which-nothing-was-and-something/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [The highest human purpose is always to reinvent and celebrate the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/the-highest-human-purpose-is-always-to-reinvent-and-celebrate-the/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) [Explore all 53 N. Scott Momaday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## More Indians quotes > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-did-not-know-there-were-other-people-besides-the-indian-until/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [“Should Indian adults attempt to use the California courts to bring such killers to justice, they invariably were frustrated because the law of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-stannard/should-indian-adults-attempt-to-use-the-california-courts-to-bring/) [David E. Stannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-stannard/) > [“Wherever the white man goes he attempts to impose the bases of his ordered civilization. He puts down tribal war, he wages truceless combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-lothrop-stoddard/wherever-the-white-man-goes-he-attempts-to-impose-the-bases-of-his/) [T. Lothrop Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-lothrop-stoddard/) > [“Because the Indians are planning to start war now, the common people want all of them destroyed so that they can live in peace;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-martin-boltzius/because-the-indians-are-planning-to-start-war-now-the-common-people/) [Johann Martin Boltzius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-martin-boltzius/) > [Land. If you understand nothing else about the history of Indians in North America, you need to understand that the question that really matters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-king/land-if-you-understand-nothing-else-about-the-history-of-indians-in/) [Thomas King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-king/) > [The Indians are a civilization wrought with culture and a beautiful, deep spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cree-summer/the-indians-are-a-civilization-wrought-with-culture-and-a-beautiful/) [Cree Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cree-summer/) > [Where did all these damn Indians come from?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-armstrong-custer/where-did-all-these-damn-indians-come-from/) [George Armstrong Custer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-armstrong-custer/) > [“Just as the Five Tribes and others were formalizing their tribal governments and running their own programs, legal aid groups were helping nonrecognized tribes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edwin-miller/just-as-the-five-tribes-and-others-were-formalizing-their-tribal/) [Mark Edwin Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edwin-miller/) > [It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-the-simplest-fact-of-indian-life-there-are-too-many-indians/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“The Indians must conform to 'the white man’s ways', peaceably if they will, forcibly if they must. They must adjust themselves to their environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-morgan-u-s-commissioner-of-indian-affairs/the-indians-must-conform-to-the-white-man-s-ways-peaceably-if-they/) [Thomas Morgan U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-morgan-u-s-commissioner-of-indian-affairs/) > [The Indian is but a sketch in red crayon of a rudimental manhood. To the problem of his relation to the white race, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-indian-is-but-a-sketch-in-red-crayon-of-a-rudimental-manhood-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is why Indians are thought to be stupid. They can't think, they don't know anything, they say. But we have hidden our identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/this-is-why-indians-are-thought-to-be-stupid-they-can-t-think-they/) [Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/) [Browse all 549 Indians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that oral tradition is stronger than the written tradition.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N. 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