Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival

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Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival

by Velma Wallis, James Grant (Illustrator)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 2,124 ratings · 463 reviews

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.

Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive...more

Paperback, Tenth Anniversary Edition, 160 pages

Published June 29th 2004 by Harper Perennial (first published 1993)

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May 25, 2008 Abigail rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Readers of All Ages

Shelves: folklore-mythology, indigenous-americas

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Jan 27, 2013 Deb rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, youth, bookcrossing-com

What a wonderful tale. I like stories where the main characters are put through the ringer and find themselves capable of more than they thought possible. It was also a very meaningful story that reminds us to value and respect the older generation. This story should be part of schools' reading curriculum. I would imagine that it would spark some very good class discussion.

Note: This was a book that I received as a bookring through
Bookcrossing.com

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Jan 12, 2013 Justin Dela Cruz rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is a legend. Velma Wallis is one of a family of thirteen children. Wallis was born in Fort Yukon, Alaska. She was also raised with Athabascan values. Wallis is a writer and an avid reader. She now lives with her daughter out of Fort Yukon.
This story takes place in Alaska. It tells about two old women trying to survive on their own because their tribe abandoned them in the winter. The conflict of the story is the two old women, Ch'dzigyaak and Sa', have to surv...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Southsidesophiehotmail.com rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sophie Green
January 7, 2013

The book Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is about two women who have to survive the winter cold all alone. Velma Wallis, the writer of this book, got a lot of her inspiration for this book from her mother. Velma said if it weren’t for her mom, she would not be writing books about legends like she is today.
The two old women were abandoned by their tribe and have to survive in rural Alaska. Sa’ and Ch’dzigyaak felt so helpless but when they said “let us die trying, not s...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Gus Schumacher rated it 2 of 5 stars

I don’t know what winter was like 600 years ago in Interior Alaska with an indian tribe but I could guess that it was quite fierce. In Two Old Women, Velma Wallis describes this by sharing the legend of two old women from long ago. A tale that has been passed down from generation to generation until she decided to put it down on paper.
The story starts when the two main characters, Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak, who are both very old, are left behind during a brutal winter famine by their tribe, The Pe...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Alizae rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is a book on two people who have been abandoned by their tribe. They have to survive on their own skills. The author wrote this book with a lot of detail about her mom and personal life that has affected her. She wanted to be a writer. This book has a legend behind it.
This book took place in the rural spot of Alaska, where most of the year was cold and abundant. The two old women’s names are Sa’ and Chidzigyaak. They have been left behind in order for the...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Abigail rated it 4 of 5 stars

Imagine having to live in the wilderness by yourself! That’s what happens in the book Two Old Women by Velma Wallis, one of thirteen children who lived in Fort Yukon, Alaska. The book is based on the legend that her mother had told her.

The book is about Sa and Ch’idzigyaak, two old women that sit around and complain all day. The People soon make their decision to leave the tow old women behind because of their scare food supply. When the two are sentenced to do so, they must find a way to survi...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Ricky York rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book Two Old Women is an excellent legend. Velma Wallis wrote this book because she felt that stories that are told to others may survive to future generations. Hopefully, this will not fade like she predicts of verbal stories.
The main characters are an optimistic Sa’ and a pessimistic Ch’idzigyaak. They have met a terrible fate, being thrown out of their starving tribe. As you can probably tell, the book has three main themes, betrayal, courage and survival. Having to survive an Alaskan in...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Emma Chaussee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Author Velma Wallis, one of 13 children in her family, wrote the novel, Two Old Women. This legend about bravery, courage, and survival is a book I would recommend to some people.

When two old women, Chidzigyaak and Sa get abandoned in the Alaskan wilderness it is a huge struggle to survive. Throughout this book, these women change a lot. When the two are on their own without The People, they have to do so much more by themselves that they didn’t know was possible.

I can definitely not relate to...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Haley Mckinley rated it 2 of 5 stars

Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is an Alaskan legend that she was told when she was younger. She decided to rewrite and publish the story so that, over the years, the tale wouldn’t be forgotten.
The book is about two women named Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak, who are abandoned by thier tribe and are trying to survive the brutal Alaskan winter.
I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be abandoned as Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak were, I doubt that I could’ve achived what they did.
Two Old Women is written well e...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Cooper Bailey-parsons rated it 2 of 5 stars

Two Old Women
By: Cooper Bailey-parsons
The book Two Old Women is written by Velma Wallis. This book is a legend. I think Velma Wallis wrote this because she grew up in a large family up by Fort Yukon. This legend has been passed down for centuries and centuries.
The story is about two old women named Sa’ and Ch’zigyaak. They were left behind by their Athabascan tribe in the bitter cold winter with nothing, but a hatchet and some caribou leather. You then follow them on their epic journey of surv...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Ali rated it 1 of 5 stars

The legend Two Old Women is written by Velma Wallis. Velma grew up in a traditional Athabasca family and was one of thirteen children. She has written one other book that went to the press which is called Bird Girl and the Man who followed the Sun.
This story takes place in the Alaskan wilderness. There is a tribe known as The People that live in this area. The main characters are Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak (the two old women.) They are the ones that get left behind from their tribe. Also, the chief...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Avery Shaw rated it 1 of 5 stars

Two Old Women is a legend written by Velma Wallis. Velma was raised in Fort Yukon, Alaska, and grew up learning Athabascan Traditions. She can relate to Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak because her father passed away when she was 13, so Velma was the one to help raise her younger siblings. Velma has another book called Bird Girl and the Man Who Followed The Sun.
This legend takes place in the Alaskan Wilderness a very long time ago. Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak are the main characters. They face the challenge of be...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Quyanna Whittaker rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is a legend of survival that takes place in northern Alaska. Velma Wallis lives outside of Fort Yukon where Athabaskan tribes used to live.
In this book, two old women get left behind by their people. That have to survive in a cold Alaskan winter. The main characters are Sa' and Ch'idzigyaak. That must show a lot of courage to survive.
In my experience, I have never been left behind. I think that I can relate to Ch'idzigyaak's grandson because if someone got left b...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Allie Williams rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two Old Women by Velma Wallis is a legend of two old women left behind by their tribe. This has been passed down to generations for years in the Gwich’in tribe. Velma Wallis’s mother told it to her and Velma loved it so much she decided to make into a novel. Though this is a true legend and may have actually happened Velma Wallis puts some of her own imagination into this interesting and well written book.

The two women in this book are used to being pampered and taken care of. “We are like pa...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Dominic Laflamme rated it 4 of 5 stars

Two Old Women
The book, Two Old Women, written by Velma Wallis, is a story that was told by her mother when she was a little girl. Velma Wallis was born in Fort Yukon, Alaska, where they have work for their food. Her mother would tell her stories and including this legend to her. When she grew up, she could still remember the legend she was told. The reason she wrote the book because it told her that there is no limit to one’s ability-certainly not age-to accomplish in life what one must.
In th...more Two Old Women
The book, Two Old Women, written by Velma Wallis, is a story that was told by her mother when she was a little girl. Velma Wallis was born in Fort Yukon, Alaska, where they have work for their food. Her mother would tell her stories and including this legend to her. When she grew up, she could still remember the legend she was told. The reason she wrote the book because it told her that there is no limit to one’s ability-certainly not age-to accomplish in life what one must.
In the book, Two Old Women, Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak live in the Alaskan wilderness with a tribe known as, The People. The season was winter and The People were running out of food and options. At the last resort, the Chief declared that they should leave the old women because they would slow them down on the trip. The old women were agitated by the idea, but it was their fault for complaining about every little thing that bothered them. They knew that they would die if they stayed there, just like Sa’ said,” So I say if we are going to die, my friend, let us die trying, not sitting.” That’s when they knew they had to survive.
Even though I don’t have a experience like Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak I might know how they feel. It must be hard to be left by your own family membersand the people that you known for a long time. My cousins have experienced something like that. They had to go to a orphanage when they were young. That’s how I relate to the old women.
When I read this book for the first time, it was a very interesting book. The ideas were different than I usually read about. My favorite part was when they arrived to the old camp they used to be when they were children. My least favorite was when they were left by The People and been left alone.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes Alaskan legends, or like survival books. If I were to score this book from 1-10, I would pick 10! I hope you will this book and enjoy it like I have.(less)

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Dec 20, 2012 Dalton Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book that we reading period one language arts was “Two Old Women” by Velma Wallis. This book tells an Alaskan legend of betrayal, courage and survival. The author Velma Wallis was one of thirteen Athabascan children that grew up in Fort Yukon, Alaska. Today, as an author and mother of one daughter, she still lives outside Fort Yukon.

This Indian legend takes place in Northern Alaska, telling a story about Sa’ and Ch’idzigyyak. The two oldest women are neglected by their tribe and left in the...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Addie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Two Old Women, a book by Velma Wallis is a legend of betrayal, courage, and survival. Velma knows what its like in an Alaskan winter because she grew up, and currently still lives in Fort Yukon with her daughter. Living in Alaska for so long helps her with her descriptions and writing what she might even see outside.
Two Old Women is the tale of two women trying to survive in the harsh Alaskan winter left behind by their band to die,they struggle to live day by day. Sa' and Ch'idzigyaak are the...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Dawson Drake rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book review is on the novel Two Old Women by Velma Wallis. Velma was born in fort Yukon was apart of a family of thirteen. She was also born into a vast-fur trapping company.
The novel is about two old women getting abandoned and having to survive on their own. The two main characters are 80 year old Sa' and 85 year old Ch'idzigyaak. The theme I think is the most important in this story is courage. Another important theme in the story is survival because its about surviving.
I have no pers...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Savannah N. rated it 4 of 5 stars

The novel Two Old Women, written by Velma Wallis, is an Alaska legend about betrayal, courage, and survival. Velma Wallis is one out of 13 from her family in Fort Yukon and has taken this folktale and made it her own.

In the novel, two old women who are always complaining, are abandoned by their tribe. They have to rely on old skills to survive the deadly winter that awaits them. The novel also shows many examples of how the two old women, Chi’idzigyaak and Sa’, stay alive in the Alaskan Wilderne...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Roger rated it 5 of 5 stars

Do you like survival in harsh terrains and areas. Well then Two Old
Women is a great book for you. I personally believe that this book is amazing and nobody should miss the experience of betrayal and survival. This amazing Legend is about an Alaskan tribe on the brink of survival. They are running low on food and supplies so they must let go of their Elderly. The Elderly that they leave behind is Two complaining Old Women who don't even take care of themselves.

The Characters in this Legend are Sa...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, travel

While this may have been a smaller book, it was filled with depth. While it looks like a children's book with its pictures and large text, this was found in the non-fiction section and could probably be considered mythology. It's based on an Athabascan Indian legend that the author's mother had passed down to her. The story inspired her so much, that Wallis wanted to put it down to share with others.

Two older women have been abandoned by their tribe and left for dead because they are thought of...more While this may have been a smaller book, it was filled with depth. While it looks like a children's book with its pictures and large text, this was found in the non-fiction section and could probably be considered mythology. It's based on an Athabascan Indian legend that the author's mother had passed down to her. The story inspired her so much, that Wallis wanted to put it down to share with others.

Two older women have been abandoned by their tribe and left for dead because they are thought of as a hindrance to the tribe in starvation time. Sa' and Ch'idzigyaak at first are unsure of what to do. They know they don't want to die, but they haven't cared for themselves in so long that they don't have much hope of survival. However, be it luck or other, they manage to procure some food for themselves which gives them hope that they can make it on their own despite their advanced age and the hardships that come with it. Packing up their meager supplies, they decide to head for better ground to try to make it through the winter.

They have to recall skills that they thought had been long forgotten in order to fend for themselves. But with an inner strength and will to survive, they do better than they ever thought possible. With only each other for company they have a strong companionship, but their feelings are mixed between wanting to see their people again, and also being afraid of what the people might do to them and their food stores if they were to join up again.

Wallis tells the story very clearly. She adds enough detail to present the picture, but doesn't overload it with useless descriptions of things that don't matter. The reader is able to feel the old women's anguish and betrayal of their people. Yet, they also feel hope when the old women try to survive on their own. Her story tells very important lessons as well. For example, one of the women mention that they spent so long convincing everyone that they were old and helpless, that eventually the people decided it was true. They had to redeem themselves and prove that they were something and could care for themselves.

A great story, this is a book that I very much enjoyed reading. I'll definitely be looking for more by this author and in this same genre.

Two Old Women
Copyright 1959
140 pages; also includes maps, backgrounds, and other pertinent information relating to the story

Review by M. Reynard 2010 (less)

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Sep 11, 2009 kelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, book-club

This story is delightful. The author wrote with such skill that I felt I sat at her feet, while gazing into the embers of glowing fire while she told the tale of these two brave women. She literally took me to this place in her memory. Ms. Wallis makes a valid point in her introductory of this book that the oral histories of our people and families need to be preserved. She also acknowledges the elders of her tribe and gives them respect in her dedication.

I was reading this book while waiting in...more This story is delightful. The author wrote with such skill that I felt I sat at her feet, while gazing into the embers of glowing fire while she told the tale of these two brave women. She literally took me to this place in her memory. Ms. Wallis makes a valid point in her introductory of this book that the oral histories of our people and families need to be preserved. She also acknowledges the elders of her tribe and gives them respect in her dedication.

I was reading this book while waiting in a doctor’s office with my mother. My mother has had a rough decade as her body has been ravaged by the effects of heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and neuropathy. She complains about her woes from time to time and her diseases do limit her capabilities. More than once she has muttered a phrase similar to this, “why don’t you just take me out and shoot me and put me out of my misery”. Of course she doesn’t really mean it, she’s just trying to make light of her difficulties. Despite all of her challenges she still plugs dutifully through life doing what she needs to. I’ve watched her meet a challenge with fear, worry it through, figure it out and in the end get it done. I admire her cheekiness.

So back to the book, I was reading and my mother chuckled and once again muttered one of those I’d rather be dead comments exactly when I read this passage from the book, “However, the two old women shared a character flaw unusual for people of those times. Constantly they complained of aches and pains, and they carried walking sticks to attest to their handicaps. Yet no one reprimanded the two women, and they continued to travel with the stronger ones—until one fateful day.”

That fateful day was the one when their people abandoned them on the freezing cold Yukon tundra. This was a practice reserved for extreme times. “The people” were required to follow their food source to survive. The band was facing starvation and the old ones could not keep up. So they were left behind to meet their fate.

These two old women sat for a time in shock and despair, considering their plight. Then the younger of the two, Sa’, speaks her mind, “Our time of leaving this world should not come for a long time yet, but we will die if we just sit here and wait. This would prove them right about our helplessness. Yes, in their own way they have condemned us to die! They think we are too old and useless. They forget that we, too, have earned the right to live! So I say if we are going to die, my friend, let us die trying, not sitting.”

I find this advice pertinent to all. The story continues as these two women pluck their courage from deep inside, put it on and face the daunting task of survival in a hostile environment. Surprisingly they find the will and ability to do it.

I enjoyed the story, and as all good tales do it ended with a lesson learned, ready to be passed on to generations.

The illustrations in this book were pen and ink, roughly and simply done lending to the simplicity and authenticity of the story.(less)

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Dec 20, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book Two Old Women is a legend by Velma Wallis. Velma’s ancestors passed the legend down from generation to generation. When Velma’s mother shared the story with her, Velma wanted to share the story with others. So Velma made the legend into a novel.
Two Old Women is about two elders, Ch’idzigyaak and Sa’, and their journey of betrayal, courage, and survival when the two women are left behind from their tribe. This novel is about the two women and their quest for survival as they battle the...more

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Jun 28, 2009 Chana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Chana by: book crossing

Shelves: historical-fiction

This is a legend told to a daughter by her mother and it feels like that: that the reader is snuggled down for a bedtime story of power, morals and significance. Two old women, members of a tribe who live up near the Yukon river, are abandoned one cold winter as too burdensome to the tribe when there is not enough to eat. It is a shock but these two women pull together and survive. The book recounts the decision of the tribe and what it cost the chief to make such a decision and how the people o...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book Two Old Women by Velma Wallis a fantastic book about survival, betrayal, and courage. The author, Velma Wallis, tells the story of two old women with clarity and detail, leaving no loose ends. Velma Wallis herself lived in Fort Yukon, a remote part of Alaska, which is probably why the story seems so realistic and heartfelt.
Two Old Women is basically the story of two old women, betrayed by their tribe in the midst of winter. The old women, Ch’idzigyaak and Sa’, must survive in the harsh...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is actually a reread and thought of it after reading An Owl Called My Name. It takes place in Alaska before Western Culture invaded the life of native tribes. Faced with a famine, the tribal leaders decide to leave behind the two old ones of the tribe. Realizing that they will not live long if they do nothing, they decide that if they are to die, they will die trying instead of die sitting. They recall a somewhat sheltered area the tribe once stayed in where fish were abundant and pulling t...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Nic rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: map-in-the-front

A 3.5, really. My younger self would have loved this book - I was crazy about survival stories. And this is basically Hatchet only with two old women instead of a young man.

This is a very fast read, with short chapters and large text - I think it was originally written as a short story, then expanded. Anyway, I read it because it's being considered for a One Community One Book thing in my area. It took me maybe two hours to read, if that, and seems like it will be quite accessible.

Not a lot of c...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Mack Toomer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two Old Women Essay

Velma Wallis is the author of Two Old Women. Velma grew up with 12 siblings. She was born, raised, and resides in Fort Yukon, AK. The genre type of the book is an Alaskan Legend.

The setting of Two Old Women is hundreds of years ago in the Alaska wilderness. The conflict of the story is that the tribe leaves the two old women behind to fend for themselves, because they are seen as a weakness to the tribe’s ability to survive. The characters in the story are Ch’idzigyaak, Sa’,...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Sherrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: already-read, 2011-reading-challenge

This is another book that has been on list to read for ages. This is a really good book. The writer takes you deep into the heart of Alaska during the bitter cold of Winter. These two women must survive somehow or die. I really liked the characters, Ch'idzigyakk, meaning Chickadee bird, and Sa' meaning Star. They are very determined to live what has happened to them. You can feel the worry, hunger and tiredness that these women go through. I was rooting for them the whole time I read the book. I...more

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About Velma Wallis

Velma Wallis (born 1960) is an Athabascan Indian and bestselling U.S. novelist. Her work has been translated into 17 languages.

She was born and raised in a remote Alaskan village near Fort Yukon, approximately 200 km north-east of Fairbanks. This location could be accessed only by riverboat, airplane, snowmobile or dogsled. Velma grew up among twelve siblings. Her father died when she was thirteen...more

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Books by Velma Wallis

Bird Girl & the Man Who Followed the Sun: An Athabaskan Indian Legend from Alaska

Raising Ourselves: A Gwitch'in Coming of Age Story from the Yukon River

Two Old Women, 20th Anniversary Edition: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival

Zwei alte Frauen. Eine Legende von Verrat und Tapferkeit

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“They forget that we, too, have earned the right to live! So I say if we are going to die, my friend, let us die trying, not sitting.” — 3 people liked it

“La otra anciana se llamaba Sa', que significa «estrella», porque su madre miraba el cielo nocturno de otoño, concentrada en las lejanas estrellas, para distraerse de los dolores del parto.” — 1 person liked it

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