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These collected myths and tales of the Indians of the Pacific
Northwest--the Klamath, Nez Perce, Tillamook, Modoc, Shastan,
Chinook, Flathead, Clatsop, and other tribes--were first published
in 1910. Here are their stories concerning the creation of the
universe, the theft of fire and daylight, the death and rebirth of
salmon, and especially, the formation of such geographical features
as The Dalles, the Columbia River, the Yukon River, and Mounts
Shasta, Hood, Rainier, Baker, and Adams. Katharine Berry Judson
began with native oral tradition in retelling these stories. They
represent, as Jay Miller says, "a distillation of tribal memory and
a personification of environmental wisdom." Some legends--"Duration
of Life," "Old Grizzly and Old Antelope," and "Robe of Kemush"--are
almost literal translations, recorded by government ethnologists.
Animating the beautifully wrought tales are entities like Coyote,
Old Man Above, Owl and Raven and other Animal People, and Chinook
Ghosts.
Ancestral Mounds deconstructs earthen mounds and myths in examining
their importance in contemporary Native communities. Two centuries
of academic scholarship regarding mounds have examined who, what,
where, when, and how, but no serious investigations have addressed
the basic question, why? Drawing on ethnographic and archaeological
studies, Jay Miller explores the wide-ranging themes and variations
of mounds, from those built thousands of years ago to contemporary
mounds, focusing on Native southeastern and Oklahoma towns. Native
peoples continue to build and refurbish mounds each summer as part
of their New Year's celebrations to honor and give thanks for
ripening maize and other crops and to offer public atonement. The
mound is the heart of the Native community, which is sustained by
song, dance, labor, and prayer. The basic purpose of mounds across
North America is the same: to serve as a locus where community
effort can be engaged in creating a monument of vitality and a safe
haven in the volatile world.
"Oh God, here comes Esther Ross." Such was the greeting she
received from members of the U.S. Congress during her repeated
trips to the Capitol on behalf of Stillaguamish Indians. Tenacious
and passionate, Esther Ross's refusal to abandon her cause resulted
in federal recognition of the Stillaguamish Tribe in 1976. Her
efforts on behalf of Pacific Northwest Indians at federal, state,
and local levels led not only to the rebirth of the Stillaguamish
but also to policy reforms affecting all Indian tribes.
In this rare, in-depth portrait of a contemporary American
Indian woman, Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown document Ross's life
and achievements. At the turn of the twentieth century, the
Stillaguamish tribe, located on the Puget Sound in Washington
State, had all but disappeared. With no organization or system of
communication, tribal members dispersed. Desperate for help,
surviving members asked Ross, a young, well-educated descendant of
Stillaguamish and Norwegian heritage, to assist them in suing for
lost land and government services. For fifty years, she waged a
persistent campaign, largely self-staffed and self-funded. Despite
personal problems, cultural barriers, and reluctance among some
tribal members, Ross succeeded, but she was eventually forced from
tribal leadership.
Oh God, here comes Esther Ross."" Such was the greeting she
received from members of the U.S. Congress during her repeated
trips to the Capitol on behalf of Stillaguamish Indians. Tenacious
and passionate, Esther Ross's refusal to abandon her cause resulted
in federal recognition of the Stillaguamish Tribe in 1976. Her
efforts on behalf of Pacific Northwest Indians at federal, state,
and local levels led not only to the rebirth of the Stillaguamish
but also to policy reforms affecting all Indian tribes. In this
rare, in-depth portrait of a contemporary American Indian woman,
Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown document Ross's life and
achievements. At the turn of the twentieth century, the
Stillaguamish tribe, located on the Puget Sound in Washington
State, had all but disappeared. With no organization or system of
communication, tribal members dispersed. Desperate for help,
surviving members asked Ross, a young, well-educated descendant of
Stillaguamish and Norwegian heritage, to assist them in suing for
lost land and government services. For fifty years, she waged a
persistent campaign, largely self-staffed and self-funded. Despite
personal problems, cultural barriers, and reluctance among some
tribal members, Ross succeeded, but she was eventually forced from
tribal leadership.
The Tsimshians are a Northwest Coast Native people known for their
dazzling works of art and rich array of social, religious, and oral
traditions that have captured the attention of scholars for over a
century. Jay Miller brings together for the first time a wealth of
material about the Tsimshians, presenting an unforgettable picture
of their cultural universe. That universe is built around the
metaphor of light, which was brought into the world by Raven; its
refraction forms the chief social, religious, and symbolic
institutions of Tsimshian culture. Family heraldic crests express
light in one way, masks in another. Miller argues convincingly that
the genius of Tsimshian culture, and one of the main reasons for
its continuing vitality, is that its people are sensitive to
different, and often creative, ways of capturing and embodying
light.
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