Our voices : Native stories of Alaska and the Yukon

Storytelling is a precious, vibrant tradition among the Native peoples of the Far North. Collected here for the first time are stories from the communities of interior Alaska and the Yukon Territory. These are the tales the people tell about themselves, their communities, and the world they inhabit. øOur Voices showcases twenty storytellers and writers who represent a full range of Athabaskan and related languages of Alaska and the Yukon. Both men and women recount popular tales of ancient times that describe the origins of social institutions and cultural values, as well as meaningful, sometimes intimate stories about their own lives and families or the history of their people. As representatives of an art transmitted through countless generations and now practiced with renewed interest and vigor by people reclaiming their cultural heritage, these narratives create a broad, brightly colored, richly detailed picture of the world of the Far North, present and past. Deg Hit'an / Belle Deacon -- Deg Hit'an Gixudhoy / The People's Stories -- Taxghozr / Polar Bear -- Nil'oqay Ni'idaxin / The Man And Wife -- Koyukon / Catherine Attla -- Doz K'ikaal Yee Nogheelt'uyhdlee / The One Who Used To Put His Nephew Into A Fishtail -- Dotson' Sa Ninin Atltseen / Great Raven Who Shaped The World -- K'etl'enbaalots'ek -- Dekeltlaal De'ot Etldleeyee / The Woodpecker Who Starved His Wife -- Elts'eeyh Denaa / Wind Man -- Gwich'in / Katherine Peter -- Shaaghan / The Old Woman -- K'aiiheenjik -- From Gwichyaa Zheh Gwats'a' Tr'ahaajil / We Go To Fort Yukon -- Jalgiitsik, Tl'yahdik Haa / Chalkyitsik And Tl'yahdik -- Northern Tutchone / Gertie Tom -- Gyo Cho Chu / Living At Big Salmon, 1930s And 1940s -- K'enlu Man / Northern Lake, 1944 -- K'enlu Man / Northern Lake, 1956 -- Kaska / John Dickson -- Gedeni Ges Gagah Nede / The Girl Who Lived With Salmon / Maudie Dick -- Dzohdie' Guh Cho Dzehhin / Dzohdie' Kills The Giant Worm -- Tagish / Angela Sidney -- Getting Married -- The Stolen Woman -- Southern Tutchone / Annie Ned -- Our Shagoon, Our Family History -- How First This Yukon Came To Be: Crow And Beaverman / Kitty Smith -- Naakw: Devilfish, Or Octopus, Helper -- [to Build A Fire] -- The First Time They Knew K'och'en, White Man -- Upper Tanana / Mary Tyone -- Stsoo Shyaan Oonign': Ch'aldzeek Shyii Dineh Gaay Na'ithadn / My Old Grandmother: The Little Man Standing In The Moon -- Dlign Mba' Hehk'aayh Ts'a' / When The Tree Squirrels Cut Fish. Edited By James Ruppert And John W. Bernet. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Storytelling is a precious, vibrant tradition among the Native peoples of the Far North. Collected here for the first time are stories from the communities of interior Alaska and the Yukon Territory. These are the tales the people tell about themselves, their communities, and the world they inhabit. Our Voices showcases twenty storytellers and writers who represent a full range of Athabaskan and related languages of Alaska and the Yukon. Both men and women recount popular tales of ancient times that describe the origins of social institutions and cultural values, as well as meaningful, sometimes intimate stories about their own lives and families or the history of their people. As representatives of an art transmitted through countless generations and now practiced with renewed interest and vigor by people reclaiming their cultural heritage, these narratives create a broad, brightly colored, richly detailed picture of the world of the Far North, present and past.--Amazon.com