Nanapush: Trickster And Cultural Hero
Nanapush acts as a mythological figure, the trickster. His name is also a reference to Nanabush or Nanabozho who is the Chippewa trickster and cultural hero. The trickster is a central figure of Chippewa narration. He protests the injustice of the dominant society. He is responsible for creating and reordering the world. Gerald Vizenor says about trickster:
[T] he trickster is revealed to plants and animals and trees; he is a teacher and healer in various personalities who, as numerous stories reveal, explains the values of healing plants, wild rice, maple sugar, basswood, and birch bark to woodland tribal people. More than a magnanimous teacher and transformer, the trickster is capable of violence, deception, and cruelties: the realities of
[T] he trickster is revealed to plants and animals and trees; he is a teacher and healer in various personalities who, as numerous stories reveal, explains the values of healing plants, wild rice, maple sugar, basswood, and birch bark to woodland tribal people. More than a magnanimous teacher and transformer, the trickster is capable of violence, deception, and cruelties: the realities of