When Our Words Return: Writing, Hearing, and Remembering Oral Traditions of Alaska and the Yukon

255 Pages·1996·16.56 MB·English

by  Phyllis Morrow

When Our Words Return

When Our Words Return
Writing, Hearing, and Remembering
Oral Traditions of Alaska and the
Yukon
Edited by
Phyllis Morrow and William Schneider
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Logan, Utah
1995
Copyright © 1995 Utah State University Press
"The Weight of Tradition and the Writer's Work" copyright © 1995 Mary
Odden. Photographs on front cover and pp. 12, 19, 78, and 88 copyright ©
1995 James H. Barker. All rights reserved.
Utah State University Press
Logan, Utah 84322-7800
All royalties after expenses from the sale of this book will be donated to support
the Alaska Native Elders in Residence Program
Alaska Native Studies
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Cover photo: Martina Phillip of Alakanuk skins a seal caught in 1982 by her
husband, Joe, who is in the background talking. Photo by James H. Barker.
Cover design by Michelle Sellers.
The book was typeset in TP< from WordPerfect files by The Bartlett Press, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
When our words return: writing, hearing, and remembering oral traditions
of alaska and the yukon/Edited by Phyllis Morrow and William Schneider.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBNO-87421-199-9.-ISBNO-87421-195-6(pbk.)
1. Indians of North America-Alaska-Folklore. 2. Indians of North
America-Yukon Territory-Folklore. 3. Indians of North America-Alaska
Writing. 4. Indians of North America-Yukon Territory-Writing. 5. Oral
tradition-Alaska-History and criticism. 6. Oral tradition-Yukon Territory
History and criticism. 7. Tales-Alaska-Structural analysis. 8. Tales-Yukon
Territory-Structural analysis. I. Morrow, PhylliS. II. Schneider, William,
1946- .
E78.A3W44 1995
398.2'089970798-dc20 95-32445
CIP
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
In trod uction 1
A Note on Consistency 9
Part 1. Writing
With a Vision beyond Our Immediate Needs: Oral Traditions
in an Age of Literacy 13
ELSIE MATHER
On Shaky Ground: Folklore, Collaboration, and Problematic
Outcomes 27
PHYLLIS MORROW
"Pete's Song": Establishing Meanings through Story and
Song 53
JULIE CRUIKSHANK
Part II. Hearing
Seeing Wisely, Crying Wolf: A Cautionary Tale on the
Euro-Yup'ik Border 79
ROBIN BARKER
"They Talked of the Land with Respect": Interethnic
Communication in the Documentation of Historical
Places and Cemetery Sites 99
ROBERT M. DROZDA
A Bright Light Ahead of Us: Belle Deacon's Stories in
English and Deg Hit'a n 123
JAMES RUPPERT
Part III. Remembering
The Days of Yore: Alutiiq Mythical Time 139
PATRICIA H. PARTNOW
v
vi When Our Words Return
Lessons from Alaska Natives about Oral Tradition and
Recordings 185
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER
The Weight of Tradition and the Writer's Work 205
MARY ODDEN
Epilogue 223
Appendix: Polar Bear Story 227
TWO TELLINGS BY BELLE DEACON
About the Authors 241
Illustrations
Alaska and the Yukon (map) viii
Native Languages of Alaska and the Yukon (map) x
Central Yup'ik region of Southwest Alaska (map) 10
Elsie Mather 12
Theresa Charles at the Cama-i Dance Festival 21
Angela Sidney with Julie Cruikshank 52
Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Southeast Alaska (map) 54
Native Regional Corporations (map) 76
Maggie Lind 78
Helen, Shirley, and Maggie Wasuli picking salmonberries 88
Yup'ik translator and Tuluksak elders record place names 98
Sketch map of the Elaayiq River drainage by Joshua Phillip 107
Belle Deacon at work making baskets 124
The Alaska Peninsula (map) 136
Perryville with Chiachi Island across the channel 138
Frieda and Ignatius Kosbruk 159
Alaska, Yukon Territory, and the Northwest Territories (map) 184
John Fredson 194
vii
.[ $ ~ g. fi [ p
N Ala6/<JJ.
OCEA GiJlf of
,
c
n
c
R
A

~
'
#
, ~. "'c
G '~.: ~,~,A" "i' '",: jR:.;;:i
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
,
G ,,
N ;
I ~"
R ~
~ ;
;
? /
1 \
•
:': .
::~: ' :~-:~:
Acknowledgments
We offer our deep and heartfelt thanks to the following:
Robert Drozda for translating his love of place into maps, and
James H. Barker for translating his love of people into photographs;
Our proofreader, Sue Mitchell, for her microscopic attention to
misplaced commas despite impeding (or was that impending?) child
birth; Linda Schandelmeier for a last proofreading;
Barre Toelken for his solid and encouraging affirmation that we
had something to say, for his incisive commentaries, and for shep
herding us through the publication process; Pete Sinclair and Cather
ine McClellan, who along with Toelken acted as observant and
stimulating reviewers of the original manuscript;
Kitty Broderson for patiently sorting out conflicting masters (while
pursuing her own master's degree) as she typed the manuscript, and
Clarice Dickess for careful proofreading;
The Alaska Humanities Forum for that essential ingredient with
out which no humanistic work of this type can proceed: money; the
College of Liberal Arts at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, for a
bit more of that incentive; and the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library for the
many necessities that add up fast: telephone, fax, photocopying, et al;
Supportive spouses (and secretaries, students, and colleagues),
who suspended their needs, left messages, warded off callers, and
picked up loose ends while we sequestered ourselves to work on the
book;
The authors and editors for accepting both criticism and encour
agement across the miles separating Bethel, McGrath, and Anchor
age, Alaska; Vancouver, Canada; and Cambridge, England; from
Fairbanks, Alaska, and Logan, Utah.
Finally, beyond enumeration are all of the oral (and written) tradi
tion bearers-the wits, the raconteurs, the faithful conduits, and the
trenchant observers; the family, friends, and strangers named and
unnamed in this volume-who have led us to love words, images,
and ideas. Our words return to you above all.
ix