Heroes and Heroines: Tlingit-Haida Legend - Softcover

Beck, Mary Giraudo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0882403346 ISBN 13: 9780882403342

Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books, 1989

Synopsis

Over uncounted generations the Tlingits and Haidas of Southeast Alaska developed a spoken literature as robust and distinctive as their unique graphic art style, and passed it from the old to the young to ensure the continuity of their culture.  Even today when the people gather, now under lamplight rather than the flickering glow from the central fire pit, the ancient myths and legends are told and retold, and they still reinforce the unity of the lineage, and clan and the culture.  Mary Beck has selected nine of the ancient myths and legends from the oral literature that are authentic for one group or another from this region.

About this title

About the Author:

Mary G. Beck is a classical scholar (M.A. from Stanford) who has lived in Ketchikan, Alaska beginning in 1951 when she married a third generation Alaskan. Besides rearing a family, she taught literature and writing courses for thirty years at Ketchikan Community College, a branch of the University of Alaska. Mary has an abiding interest in the Native culture of Southeast Alaska and a commitment to recording its oral literature. She is also the author of two other related titles, Shamans and Kushtakas: North Coast Tales of the Supernatural and Potlatch: Native Ceremony and Myth on the Northwest Coast, as well as articles on Native mythology and on travel by small boat to towns and Native communities in Southeast Alaska. She and her husband currently reside in Bellevue, Washington.

Review:

“Mary Beck opens this collection of legends by setting the tradition scene: ‘...It will be a time of feasting, singing, and dancing, of honoring lineages and of telling ancestral stories.’ In this small, beautifully produced volume, enhanced by the wonderful illustrations by Nancy DeWitt, Becks tells nine traditional tales, including Fog Woman, Volcano Woman, Bear Mother and The Boy Who Fed Eagles.”  ---Bill Hunt, Anchorage Daily News

”Another excellent book is Mary Beck’s Heroes & Heroines in Tlingit-Haida Legend. Beck tells some of the classic stories very well in a book that is also worthy of recognition for its attractive design.”  ---Alaska magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0882403346
• ISBN 13: 9780882403342
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128