The Intersection of Karuk Storytelling and Education

in it – sweathouse, menstrual practices and mountain training – and the way these goals
and institutions are infused by traditional storytelling. The beginning of the thesis
considers how classic education existed before being overrun by American scholastic
institutions, and ends with a look at how it is being revived today. The second trend is the
assimilatory goals of establishing American schools in Karuk country, and removing
Karuk people from that country to go to the schools. The rational behind these goals is
deeply infused by American and Christian mythologies. These stories were told in the
boarding schools, and continue to be told in many public schools where Karuk students
study. The third trend exists somewhere between classic Karuk education and
assimilatory American education, and involves telling Karuk stories in the scholastic and
academic settings. This thesis shows of educational structures pose an significant factor
in changes and continuance within the practice of Karuk dramaturgy, specifically the
realm of storytelling.
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