Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend

Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend — page 2 — Clockwise from top left Illustrated Hibbing souvenir postcard depicting Paul Bunyan and the Iron Range c 1950. Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society Photo of William B. Laughead Courtesy Kerlan Collection University of Minnesota Libraries Paul Bunyan animation frame Disney Corp.All rights reserved THE by Lee Francis IV PUEBLO OF LAGUNA POWER OF STORYTELLING People often ask me for advice on authentic and accurate books about Native peoples My primary focus on all aspects of education in and around Indigenous and Native American communities in North America has always led me to advocate for all kinds of stories to be told But what do you do when you find out that a story you loved as a kid is a tall tale spun by an advertising man intent on justifying the clear cutting of our ancestral lands by lumber companies As a six year old Pueblo kid I came to the Paul Bunyan story by way of a 1958 Disney cartoon a Silly Symphony treatment of the oversized lumberjack and his blue ox I found it delightful and it helped cement my love of American culture To be sure all societies and nations have unique mythologies but the feeling of being American is essentially built on myths From Columbus to Pocahontas to Johnny Appleseed to John Henry the American story is one in which history and fiction are woven together often at the expense of marginalized groups The character of Paul Bunyan was manufactured to help promote the timber industry but its overarching theme is broader it's the common colonial theme of settling various lands and regions that once belonged to Indigenous peoples to make way for American civilization SUPERIOR Many years later I am still a fan of those old Disney cartoons but I am now much more aware of the ways in which popular culture influences the collective consciousness I see how in America the lines between commercial speech and folklore were often blurred in the country's quest to secure its fledgling identity and expand its global footprint At home Bunyan seems to many like authentic Americana and abroad there's nothing more American than Mickey Mouse But this American identity is often much too narrowly defined Stories and myths are essential for our sense of identity and community but knowing the true origins of our stories and unearthing the stories they replaced or eradicated is the key to a truly inclusive American culture If we continue to tell all our stories and also give readers the means to understand their creation and their impact we can come closer to accepting the diversity of our heritage And ultimately it's only the acceptance of that diversity that can reveal the true strength of the American experience The original characters of Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox were created around the 1910s by William B. Laughead pronounced low heed an advertising man Nowadays many people imagine them the way they were portrayed in a 1958 Walt Disney short cartoon Paul dropped the lumberman's shirt and the two of them became considerably cuter

Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend — page 3 — WINTER MINNESOTA 1914 And you Have you also been with the industry all your life I just love it Lumber's got my heart I was Kicked out of school as a lad and Iran off to a logging camp Assistant to the cook surveyor construc tion engineer timber cruiser you name it These days I'm the advertising manager 4 YES We're expanding to California and the Pacific Northwest I wasn't built to be a strongman but I did what I could so they'd keep me ACH The industry let us down I gave them the best years of my life as a timber cruiser but look now that all the old growth has been cut you folks are just moving west

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