Haboo: Native American Stories from Puget Sound

by V.I. Hilbert (Translator)

The stories and legends of the Lushootseed-speaking people of Puget Sound were an important part of the oral tradition by which beliefs, values, and customs were handed from one generation to another. Vi Hilbert, a Skagit Indian, grew up at a time when many of the old social patterns survived and when everyone still spoke the ancestral language. As an adult, when she realized that native language and culture were being forgotten, she began to work with linguists and anthropologists in recording and translating as much of the Lushootseed oral tradition as possible. Haboo is her collection of thirty-three stories.

Most of the stories in the book take place in the Myth Age, before the world was transformed. Animals, plants, trees, and even rocks had human attributes as well as the characteristics we know today. Characters included Wolf, Salmon, and Changer, who made things the way they are now. Especially prominent are Mink, Raven, and Coyote―three tricksters who are usually caught in their duplicity but who can occasionally rise to heroic deeds. Other worlds exist―the sky world, the Salmon People's world―and it is possible to walk from one to another. Many of the stories are light, humorous, and earthy, reflecting the foibles of human nature. While a serious moral is usually implied, instruction is achieved by humorously detailing the unfortunate, even disastrous consequences of breaking taboos.

In his Introduction, Thom Hess, professor of linguistics at the University of Victoria, places the stories in the context of the Lushootseed world view. Vi Hilbert in her Preface describes the storytellers, many of them relatives and older friends with special knowledge of the old ways.

The vivid and humorous stories in Haboo will be of interest to linguists, anthropologists, and folklorists, as well as to future generations of Lushootseed people and all others concerned with native languages and cultures.

Genres: Short Stories, History, Native American, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Cultural, Philosophy

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Genie McFate]

When I was 18 years old, Vi Hilbert came to my interdisciplinary studies program at Belleview Community College, and told us stories in her lishootshi indian language and English. If I remember correctly, she was also one of the reasons the language was revived for her tribe.

An excellent selection of her tribe's legends and stories that had been passed down for generations.

[Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to give these stories a better score but I couldnt. The stories themselves are interesting and a nice look into Native culture of the area but the style of telling is understandably dated and has evolved for a specific culture. In turn I struggled especially as stories repeated numerous times and had several tonal changes etc which led to me desperately pushing to just finally end the book. I dont regret reading this, just wish I enjoyed it more.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

more interesting in a scholarly way

[Sandy]

I’m definitely not used to this kind of storytelling and I can’t say I would naturally prefer it but it was really nice to learn more about the function and purpose of storytelling for local indigenous people to the Puget Sound area. I think if I had read one of these stories without the context I would have probably not been very interested or pulled in. But, learning about said context and knowing the purpose and importance of the stories made me start to love them anyways. I am also really glad Vi Hilbert did what she did in order for this book to exist so that I had the blessing that it has been to read it. You can tell just from the text how much work and how many people have gone into it which made reading this feel all the more amazing.

It was also really cool to see all the different version of the same story and see how they were different but also the same. I think my favorite story was probably boil and hammer.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. It's very, very cool that there's a record of these stories. You can feel the spontaneity of the stories as you read them, since they were copied down from a live storytelling and not edited in any way afterward.

I just - they don't make sense. Stories that begin about one character suddenly drop that character and start talking about a different one. Tenses shift around all the time. Some of the plots are just vague and wandering.

The introduction talked about finding your own meaning in these stories, but I struggled so much to find out what was even happening in some of them, that there's no chance of pondering the story for a deeper meaning. I understand that they come from a culture that is different from and older than my own, so I fully expect that the problem lies with my own lack of understanding. Three stars out of respect.

[Bryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up in Lacey, WA for the first ten years of my life, in addition to having a slow but sure interest in storytelling - especially from the Native American point of view - I thought this looked like an interesting collection of stories to peruse through.

Man, were the stories here eclectic! The stories left me feeling as if I've traveled through my old homeland through mythical lens, as well as in a time when it underwent a delightful sense of creation. Anyone who's interested in Native American mythology, or just grew up in Western Washington state, should definetely give this book a whirl. It might help them to better appreciate what life was like in this area before the Eureopean settlers came in, as well as the cultural aesthetics of Native American life in general.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

chosen for the "PNW Nature" category in Summer Book Bingo. i love that this book exists, a collection of oral stories that have been passed on through generations on this land. this book makes you wonder if these stories can survive in our society and what does that mean about us

as many other readers i wish this book explained more, but this was not the authors' design, and that ought to be respected. it's an invitation to learn more

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book! So interesting to read the old stories told through time. And to have the opportunity to experience several voices telling the same story.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading these ancient stories. They are so fascinating. My only problem is that sometimes I got lost in the narrative because some stories start from some characters but end up in others.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was hard to read, which is so disappointing. The translation was just straight. There was no support in ensuring the stories made sense.

[Isabella Paxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

i wish i had more context…

[Susan Eubank · Rating 4 out of 5]

We shared these stories with each other at the Reading the Western Landscape Community Book Discussion on Zoom on Wednesday, December 15, 2021,