Synopses & Reviews
Honne, the Spirit of the Chehalis embodies a narrative tour de force that interweaves episodes (that stand alone in ordinary tellings) into an integrated series of installments. This collection of Salish stories features the Changerand#8217;s efforts to successively transform a proto-being or spirit into the present form of a named species (deer, owl, shark, sea otter, and others). Additional stories describe how the Changer allowed Bear or Ant to apportion day and night; permitted Frog to schedule tides; and taught humans how to cook meat and clams, hunt with a bow, dry berries, cure sickness, settle communities, and prepare for the afterworld.
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These tales are told by George Sanders, a master storyteller whose family included chiefs of the Nisqually Indian tribe, which lives south of what is now Tacoma, Washington. As part of the oral tradition, these stories were rarely heard by those outside the area until Katherine Van Winkle Palmer, daughter of the local doctor, collected them for posterity.
Jay Miller introduces this new edition with a close look at the linguistic complexity of the region, which testifies to the rich diversity of the Americas before epidemics and dislocations took their devastating toll. By weaving together these masterful installments, Honne, the Spirit of the Chehalis provides an evocative example of interwoven Salish oral literature at its best.
Review
"This collection of Chehalis folktales is a welcome addition to the body of material about the Indians of the Northwest which is being gradually accumulated."--Erna Gunther, Washington Historical Quarterly
Synopsis
Mythology of the Blackfoot Indians, originally published in 1908 by the American Museum of Natural History, introduces such figures as Old Man, Scar-Face, Blood-Clot, and the Seven Brothers. Included are tales with ritualistic origins emphasizing the prototypical Beaver-Medicine and the roles played by Elk-Woman and Otter-Woman, as well as a presentation of Star Myths, which reveal the astronomical knowledge of the Blackfoot Indians. Narratives about Raven, Grasshopper, and Whirlwind-Boy account for conditions in humanity and nature. Many of the stories in the concluding group, such as “The Lost Children” and “The Ghost-Woman,” were tales told to Blackfoot children. These narratives were collected early in the twentieth century from the Piegans in Montana and from the North Piegans, the Bloods, and the Northern Blackfoot in Canada. Most were translated by D. C. Duvall and revised for Mythology of the Blackfoot Indians by Clark Wissler. Darrell Kipp provides an introduction to the new Bison Books edition.
Synopsis
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About the Author
Clark Wissler (1870-1947) was curator at the American Museum of Natural History and chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University. He is the author of North American Indians of the Plains and Man and Culture. Alice Beck Kehoe is the author of many books, including North American Indians: A Comprehensive Account, America Before the European Invasions, and the anthropology textbook Humans. Darrell Kipp (Blackfoot) is the director of the Piegan Institute, whose national objectives are to promote support for Native language issues through advocacy and education and to provide a voice for the national and international dialogue on Native language restoration.