Ikto And Rowlandson's Tale Summary

The Native American trickster tale with Ikto and Iya and Rowlandson’s account on her kidnapping are both meant to portray the villains. Iya would eat towns of people, however he is also recognized for keeping the land from over-population; similarly, the Indians in Rowlandson’s story are at first viewed as barbarous, but as time goes on their good nature is also portrayed. Iya and the Indians are similar in that they are both villains in the beginning, but their benevolence is disclosed as the stories progress, which indicates open-mindedness, or a willingness to consider (new) ideas unbiased, of the narrators because they are willing to judge even a villain objectively, and furthermore it matches the trajectory of the Native American from

enemy to citizens with rights and voices.
In the Sioux tale, the villain, Iya, is a character with both good and evil sides instead of being purely wicked, which reflects the natives’ fluid and open-minded attitude towards the supposed villain or enemy.

Iya is a villain because he eats people, which supposedly makes him a public enemy. However, ironically, he seems to be a very naive giant in the tale, rather than some dangerous villain. When asked about what he fears, he replies, “the sound of rattles, and drums, the hooting of owls, and the shouts of men--all these I fear” (White 9). These are things that represent war, and the fact that Iya fears them is surprising because as someone who literally eats people, he shouldn’t be afraid of wars. However, because of the fluid perception of good and evil, a villain can at the same time have a sensible and relatable nature. The natives’ ambivalent attitude towards Iya is further shown at the end of the story: “Iya was killed and that is why the entire country is now so full of people that it is impossible to find any open spaces anymore” (White 10). It shows that despite the apparent evilness of what he does, Iya keeps the land from over-population. Ikto in killing Iya creates new problems. In fact, even though the natives praise Ikto for killing Iya, Deloria notes that “there seems to be at least a bit of mixed emotion” (White 10) in their praise. The natives think that Ikto’s behavior is also questionable because they believe that anyone, including a mortal enemy, can

potentially have two sides, and that it is important to consider them both equally. This supports the claim that the Native Americans are truly open-minded.
The same open-mindedness also applies to Rowlandson; her attitude on the “villains”, the Indians, changes from thinking of them as savage beasts initially to reasonable people by the time she leaves.

The Indians during the raid are brutal and merciless. She describes them as “murderous wretches [who] went on, burning, and destroying” (White 16), and their party at night “place[d] a lively resemblance of hell” (White 17). The image that she has of the Indians is very gloomy at first, and it is quite justified. As the story unfolds, however, Rowlandson sees more and more of the humane side of her imprisoners. She starts addressing them with more neutral words like “Indians” rather than “Barbarous Creatures” or “Wolves”. Perhaps she is softened by the fact that they have made an effort to bury her child, or that they haven’t harmed her anymore. Later on, when she meets Philip’s crew by the river, she writes, “I fell a weeping which was the first time to my remembrance, that I wept before them” (White 19). It further shows that Rowlandson truly believes that the Indians are relatable people, because her weeping is a way to gain sympathy from them. If she still thinks of them as brutal villains who wants to kill her, she would panic and despair, but there isn’t any of that in her language. Indeed, the Indians turn out to be friendly. Rowlandson is not reluctant to appreciate that; she writes that “[she] has never tasted pleasanter meat in [her] life” (White 19) in regard to the

tiny pancake. The word “pleasant” is a strong word that means enjoyable. She thanks the Indians for giving her that pancake. Rowlandson sees that there is a humane side of her kidnappers, even though they have just killed her friends and family. She does not describe all Indians as terrible and dangerous villains but judges them according to their actions, which indicates that she is very open-minded.
Even though it is unconvincing to say that people are open-minded based on these two texts, the attitude expressed in these stories coincides with the trajectory of the Native Americans from long-term enemies to citizens under democracy. The settlers and the natives had many conflicts and wars, and viewed each other as the villain. It is therefore similar to the stories that both parties have now learned to tolerate and respect each other, and understood that they can live peacefully together, which is difficult to do without viewing the past and each other with an open mind.
The literature by Native Americans and white people depicts the villain with objectivity and open-mindedness. It is perhaps in some way a reflection of their culture, especially the tale of Iya because it was a tale told collectively in the Native American tribes. In any case, the same open-mindedness as in the stories shows up in the history of the Native American and white relation. In the beginning, they were enemies; today, both parties have more or less reconciled and united, as in both having American citizenships, and it requires open-mindedness for that to happen. In general, open-mindedness is a character of the democratic political system, because democracy lets different opinions of the people be heard, even the ones that oppose the traditions.