Synopses & Reviews
The rich storytelling traditions of Salish-speaking peoples in the Pacific Northwest of North America are showcased in this anthology of story, legend, song, and oratory. From the Bitterroot Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, Salish-speaking communities such as the Bella Coola, Shuswap, Tillamook, Quinault, Colville-Okanagan, Coeur d'Alene, and Flathead have always been guided and inspired by the stories of previous generations. Many of the most influential and powerful of those tales appear in this volume.and#160;Salish Myths and Legends features an array of Trickster stories centered on Coyote, Mink, and other memorable characters, as well as stories of the frightening Basket Ogress, accounts of otherworldly journeys, classic epic cycles such as South Windand#8217;s Journeys and the Bluejay Cycle, tales of such legendary animals as Beaver and Lady Louse from the beginning of time, and stories that explain why things are the way they are. The anthology also includes humorous traditional tales, speeches, and fascinating stories of encounters with whites, including and#8220;Circling Raven and the Jesuits.and#8221;and#160;and#160;Translated by leading scholars working in close collaboration with Salish storytellers, these stories are certain to entertain and provoke, vividly testifying to the enduring power of storytelling in Native communities.
Review
“A thoroughly fascinating and carefully argued investigation of the Ojibwe religious cosmology exploring two critical mythic beings. . . . Extremely accessible.”—Religious Studies Review Gary Laderman
Review
“The Island of the Anishnaabeg is excellent scholarship, empathetic interpretation, and engaging. [Smiths] book is enhanced by a clear prose augmented by well selected pictures of artwork by Manitoulin Ojibwe which illustrate many points.”—North Dakota Quarterly Religious Studies Review
Review
“[Smith] provides valuable primary sources in contemporary religious thought and interestingly synthesizes much past material in the light of the present. Appropriate for cross-cultural theology and philosophy courses as well as Native American studies, mythology, religious revitalization, and hermeneutics.”—R. A. Bucko, Choice Gregory Gagnon - North Dakota Quarterly
Review
"Any thorough reclaiming of a particular storytelling heritage enriches study of mythology, folktales, native cultures, and storytelling in general. This anthology serves all these purposes powerfully."and#8212;M. F. McClure, CHOICE
Review
"The recording of oral texts is slow, difficult work full of intellectual and practical problems. One can only be grateful for the efforts of the several generations of scholars and communities members, including those represented here, who undertook this task."and#8212;Bruce Miller, Montana, the Magazine of Western History
Synopsis
In this study, Theresa S. Smith explores the lived experience of the contemporary Ojibwes (or Anishnaabeg) amid the remarkable revival of both belief in and practice of the Ojibwe religion. Scholars have contended that traditional Ojibwe religion was gradually lost during the three centuries following Euro-American contact. And yet even though traditional religion no longer exists as a plausibility structure for a hunting-gathering culture, historic and contemporary accounts and a revival in the arts attest to the changing and vital nature of Ojibwe religion.
The Island of the Anishnaabeg is a nuanced look at traditional Ojibwe religion and its structure, interpretation, and revival among contemporary Ojibwes.
The Ojibwe life-world, as experienced and described through religious symbols, beliefs, and practices, is alive with the presence of other-than-human people, known as manitouk. This book is the first thorough and systematic interpretive treatment of the relationship between Thunderers and Underwater manitouk. Smiths work reveals the Thunderers and Water monsters as determinative beings and symbols in the Ojibwe world and explores how their relationship inscribes a dialectic that both reflects the lived reality of that world and helps to determine the position and existence of the human subject in it.
Synopsis
First published in 1934, this collection of tales was recorded and edited by Thelma Adamson (1901and#8211;83), a student of Franz Boas and one of the first women to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in the Pacific Northwest. A major contribution to our knowledge of western Washington Salish oral traditions, Folk-Tales of the Coast Salish contains 190 texts from nineteen consultantsand#8212;most collected in English or in English translation. The 155 stories represent Upper Chehalis and Cowlitz Salish narrative traditions, primarily myths and tales, and constitute the largest published body of oral literature for either of these groups. Adamson included as many as four variants of the same tale-type, and Adele Froehlichand#160;prepared a useful forty-three-page section of abstracts with comparative notes from eight regional text collections. Folk-Tales of the Coast Salish provides a rich data source for those interested in the content and comparative analysis of Native texts told in English. With few exceptions, the tales refer to the time and#8220;when all the animals were people.and#8221;and#160;This new edition enhances Adamsonand#8217;s seminal work with the inclusion of a biographical sketch of Adamson and of her friend and noted ethnomusicologist George Herzog, who produced the appended music transcriptions.
About the Author
William R. Seaburg is a professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences at the University of Washington, Bothell. He is the coauthor of Coquelle Thompson, Athabaskan Witness: A Cultural Biography and the editor of Pitch Woman and Other Stories: The Oral Traditions of Coquelle Thompson, Upper Coquille Athabaskan Indian (Nebraska 2007). Laurel Sercombe is ethnomusicology archivist in the School of Music at the University of Washington.