Spring & Summer 1999

VOLUME 17 - NO. 3 & 4

Alaska Native Writers, Storytellers & Orators
The Expanded Edition

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor's Note	Ronald Spatz
INTRODUCTION

Literary Gambling Sticks		Gerald Vizenor
Gerald Vizenor is a professor of Native American literature at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of more than twenty books on native history and literature, including Manifest Manners: Narratives on Postindian Survivance. His novel, Griever: An American Monkey King in China, won the American Book Award. His most recent book is Fugitive Poses: Native American Indian Scenes of Absence and Presence.

ORAL TRADITIONS AND WRITTEN TEXTS

I·ya·qdalahgayu·,dati'q'lagada'a·linu· —Lament for Eyak (with facing translation in Eyak)	Anna Nelson Harry
Lake-Dwarves
Giant Rat
Anna Nelson Harry, Eyak from Cordova and Yakutat, Alaska.
Kul K'aluudaay — Moldy Collar Tip (with facing translation in Haida)	Victor Haldane

Fish Story: Karta Bay

Shag and the Raven

Story of the Double Fin Killer Whale
Victor Haldane, Haida from Hydaburg, Alaska.
Beaver and Ground Hog Were Pals	Jessie Neal Natkong
Jessie Neal Natkong, Haida from Hydaburg, Alaska.
Haida Hunters and Legend of the Two Fin Killer Whale	George Hamilton
George Hamilton, Haida from Craig, Alaska.
Yéil ka Láx' Kéet Yaanaayí x' eidax sh kalnéek Keixwnéich kawshixít — Raven, Seagull and Crane (with facing translation in Tlingit)	Willie Marks
Willie Marks, Tlingit from Hoonah, Alaska.
Speech for the Removal of Grief	David Kadashan
David Kadashan, Tlingit from Hoonah, Alaska.
*Speech for the Removal of Grief*	Jessie Dalton
Jessi Dalton, Tlingit from Hoonah, Alaska.
*Speech for the Removal of Grief*	Austin Hammond
Austin Hammond, Tlingit from Haines, Alaska.
Nda ckshun Tckaimson dis Laggabula — When Tckaimson and Laggabula Gambled (with facing translation in Tsimshian)	William Beynon
William Beynon, Tsimshian from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Tsetsaut History: The Forgotten Tribe of Southeast Alaska	Reginald Dangeli
Reginald Dangeli, Tsimshian/Tsetsaut from Tombstone Bay, Portland Canal, Alaska.
Sagim Tayaguu Uluuqidax — The Man of Sagix Dried Meat (with facing translation in Unangan/Aleut)	Isidor Solovyov
Isidor Solovyov, Unangan/Aleut from Akutan, Alaska.
Atkan Historical Traditions	Cedor L. Snigaroff
Cedor L. Snigaroff, Unangas/Aleut from Atka, Alaska.
Pugla' allria (with facing transaltion in Alutiiq/Sugcestum)	Ignatius Kosbruk
Ignatius Kosbruk, Alutiiq from Perryville, Alaska.
Ivan Durak Steals a Ring	Dick Kamluck, Sr.
Dick Kamluck, Sr., Sugpiaq/Alutiiq from Port Graham, Alaska.
A Bear Story	Walter Meganack, Sr.
Walter Meganack, Sr., Sugpiaq/Alutiiq from Port Graham, Alaska.
Qulireq — Tale (with facing translation in Yup'ik)	Leo Moses
Leo Moses, Yup'ik from Chevak, Alaska.
The Crow and the Mink	Mary Worm
Mary Worm, Yup'ik from Kongiganak, Alaska.
The First Whales	Kirt Bell
Kirt Bell, Yup'ik from Hooper Bay, Alaska.
Ivaghulluk Ilagaata — Prayer Song Asking for a Whale (with facing translation in St. Lawrence Island Yupik)	Lincoln Blassi
Lincoln Blassi, St. Lawrence Island Yupik from Gambell, Alaska.
Kivalliñigmi Pilguruaq Agnaq —The Kivalina War Heroine (with facing translation in Iñupiaq)	Clinton Swan
Clinton Swan, Iñupiaq from Kivalina, Alaska.
Shamanic Flight	Frank Ellanna
Frank Ellanna, Iñupiat from King Island, Alaska.
The Boy Who Found the Lost	Laura Norton
Laura Norton, Iñupiaq from Kobuk, Alaska.
K'eta Sukdu —The Mouse Story (with facing translation in Dena'ina Athabaskan)	Peter Kalifornsky

The Gambling Story

Raven and the Half-Human

The Boy Who Talked to the Dog

About Shamans and the Men with Gashaq

The Old Dena'ina Beliefs
Peter Kalifornsky, Dena'ina Athabaskan from Unhghenesditnu ("farthest creek over"), Kasilof River, Alaska
The Susitna Story	Shem Pete
Shem Pete, Dena'ina Athabaskan from Susitna Station, Alaska.
Raven and the Mallard Girl	John Fredson
John Fredson, Gwich'in Athabaskan from Sheenjek River, Alaska.
Wolverine and the Wolves	John Fredson
John Fredson, Gwich'in Athabaskan from Sheenjek River, Alaska.
Ggaadookk	Sally Pilot
Sally Pilot, Koyukon Athabaskan from Koyukuk, Alaska.

CONTEMPORARY WORKS

Saginaw Bay: I Keep Going Back	Robert H. Davis
Robert H. Davis, Tlingit from Southeast Alaska.
Egg Boat	Nora Marks Dauenhauer

Grandmother Eliza

Museum

After Ice Fog
Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Tlingit (Raven, Lukkax.ádi Clan, Sockeye Crest) from Alsek and Chilkat, Alaska. She is a contributing editor to the original edition of Alaska Native Writers, Storytellers and Orators, she is a native speaker of Tlingit, a published poet, and co-editor of three major volumes on Tlingit oral literature.
Why Subsistence is a Matter of Cultural Survival: A Yup'ik Point of View	John Active
John Active, Yup'ik from Bethel, Alaska.
Asraaq, The Girl Who Became a She-Bear When the Owl Disappeared	Sister Goodwin

Sacrifice: A Dream/ A Vision

Nomadic Iñupiat for Kappaisruk

Piksinñaq
Sister Goodwin, Iñupiaq from Kotzebue, Alaska.
Shagoon 1,2,3,4	Andrew Hope III

Diyeikee
Andrew Hope III, Tlingit from Sitka, Alaska.
Native Identity: What Kind of Native Are You?	Eleanor Hadden
Eleanor Hadden, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian from Ketchikan, Alaska.
Night Without Dawn	Glen Simpson

Tahltan Country

Traveling in the Land of the Native Art Historians

Front Street
Glen Simpson, Tahltan Athabaskan from Atlin, British Columbia, Canada.
Seed Potatoes and Foxgloves	Julie Coburn

Raven Speaks to Haidas
Julie Coburn, Haida from Kasaan, Alaska.
There is no Such Thing as an Aleut	Barbara Svarný Carlson
Barbara Svarný Carlson, Unangan/Aleut from Unalaska, Alaska.
O Dark Sister	Mary TallMountain

Seahorse Music

Nuliajuk, A Sequence
Mary TallMountain, Koyukon Athabaskan from Nulato, Alaska.
Super Cockroach Tale	Tim Afcan, Sr.
Tim Afcan, Sr., Yup'ik from St. Mary's Alaska.
Salmon in the Pond	Randall Johnson
Randall Johnson, Tlingit from Southeast Alaska.
Magic Maker	Buell Anakak
Buell Anakak, Iñupiaq from Northwest Alaska.
What Hope Can Do	Mary Jane Nielsen
Mary Jane Nielsen, Sugpiaq/Alutiiq from South Naknek, Alaska.
Candle Lite	June McGlashan

It is Very Quiet
June McGlashan, Unangan/Aleut from Akutan, Alaska.
Mood Music	Jeane Breinig
Jeane Breinig, Haida (Raven, Brown Bear, Taaslaanas Clan) originally from Kasaan village in Southeast Alaska.
A House I Remember	George Westdahl
George Westdahl, Yup'ik from Yukon River, Alaska.
Gaslight	Fred Bigjim

Ballet in Bethel
Fred Bigjim, Iñupiaq from Nome and Sinrock, Alaska.
Untitled	Andrew Evan
Andrew Evan, Yup'ik from Anchorage, Alaska.
Cannery Children	Mary Jane Peterson
Mary Jane Peterson, Aleut from Anchorage, Alaska.
Willow Was Her Name	Dixie Alexander
Dixie Alexander, Gwich'in Athabaskan from Fort Yukon, Alaska.
The Anti-Depression Uliimaaq	Susie Silook

Uncle Good Intentions

Adventure in Chinatown 1958
Susie Silook, St. Lawrence Island Yupik from Gambell, Alaska.
Wolves	Anna Smith

WatsÍx Shaayí Mountains

*Naatasse Héen*
Anna Smith, Tlingit from Anchorage, Alaska.
River Woman (from Spirit of Woman)	Diane Lxéis' Benson

*What She Wanted*

Now They WannaBE Us
Diane Lxéis' Benson, Tlingit from Sitka, Alaska.

CONTEXTS

Translation Issues	Marie Meade
Marie Meade is a Yup'ik linguist from Nunapitchuk, Alaska. She has worked for more than twenty years researching, transcribing, and translating Yup'ik oral histories, and also is teaching and writing bilingual educational materials.
Considerations about the Oral Tradition and Writing	William Schneider
William Schneider is a curator of oral history for the Alaska Polar Regions Department, Elmer Rasmuson Library, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Oral and Written Narrative	Patricia H. Partnow
Patricia H. Partnow is a contributing editor to this edition of Alaska Native Writers, Storytellers & Orators. She is a cultural anthropologist who has worked in Alaska for the past 28 years in the fields of education, oral history and oral tradition, and ethnographic research. She completed her Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993 and her ethnohistoric examination of the Alutiiq people of the Alaska Peninsula, Making History, is currently in press. Partnow is vice president of education at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, a nonprofit organization for the celebration, preservation, and sharing of Alaska Native traditions.
Political Perspective and Literary Framework for the Text Commentaries	Jeane Breinig
Jeane Breinig is a contributing editor to this edition of Alaska Native Writers, Storytellers & Orators. She is one of only three Alaska Haida to earn a doctorate. Breinig received her Ph.D. in English (American and Native Studies) from the University of Washington. Breinig is currently working on a book about Haida narrative and has published in American Indian Quarterly and Studies in American Indian Literatures. She is an assistant professor of English at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Cultural and Historical Text Commentaries	Jeane Breinig Patricia H. Partnow

Commentary on Eyak texts

Commentary on Haida texts

Commentary on Tlingit texts

Commentary on Tsimshian/Tsetsaut texts

Commentary on Unangan/Unangas/Aleut texts

Commentary on Alutiiq/Sugcestum texts

Commentary on Central Yup'ik texts

Commentary on St. Lawrence Island Yupik texts

Commentary on Iñupiaq texts

Commentary on Athabskan texts

A Talk with Peter Kalifornsky: *the* Stories Are for Us to Learn Something From	Katherine McNamara
Katherine McNamara worked under Mr. Kalifornsky's direction on several versions of his stories and commentaries on their meaning.

Special thanks to Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Richard Dauenhauer, and Gary Holthaus who served as contributing editors to the original 1986 version of Alaska Native Writers, Storytellers & Orators. Their work is the foundation of this expanded edition.