Authors: Nora Marks Dauenhauer
ISBN-13: 9780816520060, ISBN-10: 0816520062
Format: Paperback
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Date Published: February 2000
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Nora Marks Dauenhauer is internationally recognized for her work in preserving Tlingit oral literature and for fourteen years was Principal Researcher in Language and Cultural Studies at Sealaska Heritage Foundation. Her writings have been widely a
The Tlingit Indians of southeastern Alaska are known for their totem poles, Chilkat blankets, and ocean-going canoes. Nora Marks Dauenhauer is a cultural emissary of her people and now tells the story of her own life within the context of her community's. Life Woven with Song re-creates in written language the oral tradition of the Tlingit people as it records memories of Dauenhauer's heritage--of older relatives and Tlingit elders, of trolling for salmon and preparing food in the dryfish camps, of making a living by working in canneries. She explores these recurring themes of food and land, salmon and rainforest, from changing perspectives--as a child, a mother, and a grandmother--and through a variety of literary forms. In prose, Dauenhauer presents stories such as "Egg Boat"--the tale of a twelve-year-old girl fishing the North Pacific for the first time alone--and an autobiographical piece that reveals much about Tlingit lifeways. Then in a section of short lyrical poems she offers crystalline tributes to her land and people. In a concluding selection of plays, Dauenhauer presents three Raven stories that were adapted as stage plays from oral versions told in Tlingit by three storytellers of her community. These plays were commissioned by the Naa Kahidi Theater and have been performed throughout America and Europe. They take the form of a storyteller delivering a narrative while other members of the cast act and dance in masks and costumes. Collectively, Dauenhauer's writings form an "autoethnography," offering new insight into how the Tlingit have been affected by modernization and how Native American culture perseveres in the face of change. Despite thehardships her people have seen, this woman affirms the goodness of life as found in family and community, in daily work and play, and in tribal traditions.
As Dauenhauer's humor leads us to new, somtimes uncomfortable awareness, so this carefully interwoven book leads us to a deeper understanding of a unique Native woman and the culture that nurtured her. Beyond that, it show us the transformative power of Native traditions that are timeless today.
List of Figures | ||
Preface | ||
Some Slices of Salmon | 3 | |
Egg Boat | 17 | |
Magic Gloves | 25 | |
Chemawa Cemetery: Buried in Alien Land | 29 | |
Life Woven with Song: An Autobiographical Essay | 57 | |
A Poem for Jim Nagataak'w (Jakwteen) | 57 | |
Grandpa Jakwteen in Eclipse | 58 | |
Auntie Frances, My Father's Sister | 59 | |
My Auntie Jennie's Bed | 60 | |
Grandmother Eliza | 61 | |
Salmon Egg Puller - $2.15 an Hour | 63 | |
In Memory of Jeff David | 65 | |
Willie | 66 | |
Memorial Day in Kiev | 67 | |
Tlingit Elders | 68 | |
Migration Catalog | 69 | |
Spring | 70 | |
Buds | 71 | |
Blossoms | 72 | |
From Camp Heaven | 73 | |
Constellation Course: Hanging Loose | 74 | |
Totemic Display | 75 | |
For My Granddaughters Genny and Lenny | 76 | |
Letter to Nanao Sakaki | 79 | |
Angoon at Low Tide | 80 | |
Berries | 81 | |
Crossing the Bridge | 82 | |
Raven at Grand Canyon | 83 | |
Coming Down from the Mogollon Rim | 84 | |
Zuni Ring: Glacial Turquoise | 85 | |
Fieldwork | 86 | |
Ernestine's House, Hoonah, Alaska, 6 A.M. | 87 | |
Variations of Two | 88 | |
The Storm | 89 | |
Storms from an Enemy Sky | 90 | |
Steel Gray | 91 | |
Trees in North Wind | 92 | |
Amelia's First Ski Run | 93 | |
Tonio Saves Christmas | 94 | |
For My Granddaughter Amelia | 95 | |
Introduction to the Raven Plays | 99 | |
White Raven and Water | 103 | |
Raven, King Salmon, and the Birds | 112 | |
Raven Loses His Nose | 122 | |
Glossary | 133 | |
Acknowledgments | 137 |