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A Cycle Of Myths: Native Legends From Southeast Alaska
Folklore. Mythology. With an introduction by the editor and a map of Alaska Native Peoples. This "collection of twenty myths is an excellent introduction into the world of southeast Alaska Native cultures." (--Dr. Alexandr Vaschenko) John Smelcer has dedicated his professional life to recording the traditionally oral tales of Alaskan Native peoples; his latest book contains narrative myths and legends from the Eyak, Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian Peoples of Southeast Alaska. Thoroughly enchanting as literature and crucially important, along with THE RAVEN AND THE TOTEM and ALASKA NATIVE ORAL NARRATIVE LITERATURE by the same editor, as a reference resource, A CYCLE OF MYTHS "keenly captures the mystical world of Alaska Native legend and lore--a world in which the supernatural is natural." (--Tobin Morrison)
- GenresNonfiction
104 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
About the author
John E. Smelcer
32 books33 followersJohn E. Smelcer is the poetry editor of Rosebud magazine and the author of more than forty books. He is an Alaskan Native of the Ahtna tribe, and is now the last tribal member who reads and writes in Ahtna.
His forthcoming novel, LONE WOLVES is being partially funded via an Indiegogo campaign. Check out this video and the unusual gifts offered. Among them, you can choose an autographed, numbered, limited-edition print of an award-winning poem by the author, with original artwork; you can have your name used for a character in the author's next book. http://igg.me/at/Leapfrog-Press/x/399...
Smelcer's first novel, The Trap, was an American Library Association BBYA Top Ten Pick, a VOYA Top Shelf Selection, and a New York Public Library Notable Book. The Great Death was short-listed for the 2011 William Allen White Award, and nominated for the National Book Award, the BookTrust Prize (England), and the American Library Association's Award for American Indian YA Literature. His Alaska Native mythology books include The Raven and the Totem (introduced by Joseph Campbell). His short stories, poems, essays, and interviews have appeared in hundreds of magazines, and he is winner of the 2004 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award and of the 2004 Western Writers of America Award for Poetry for his collection Without Reservation, which was nominated for a Pulitzer. John divides his time between a cabin in Talkeetna, the climbing capitol of Alaska, where he wrote much of Lone Wolves, and Kirksville Mo., where he is a visiting scholar in the Department of Communications Studies at Truman State University.
Smelcer is a prolific writer and poet whose many works focus primarily on subjects related to his Native American heritage. An Ahtna Athabaskan Indian, he also serves as executive director of the Ahtna tribe's Heritage Foundation. He is, noted a biographer on the Center for the Art of Translation Web site, the only surviving reader, speaker, and writer of the native Ahtna language. John holds degrees in anthropology and archaeology, linguistics, literature, and education. He also holds a PhD in English and creative writing from Binghamton University, and formerly chaired the Alaska Native Studies program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
In the Shadows of Mountains: Ahtna Stories from the Copper River contains a collection of twenty-four stories from the Ahtna tribe. The stories consist of material by Ahtna elders and other tales told to Smelcer by his Ahtna relatives. These largely mythical stories "explore the processes that formed this world and created people, animals, places, and the distinctive interactions" between humans and nonhumans in legendary times, noted James Ruppert in MELUS. The tales range from stories common throughout Alaska, such as "The Blind Man and the Lion," to distinctly Ahtna stories specific to individual families and clans, such as "When They Killed the Monkey People." Ruppert concluded that Smelcer's book "has some value as a broad introduction to Ahtna narrative aimed at a general reader."
The Trap, Smelcer's first novel, is an "unforgettable survival tale, with both a life and a culture in the balance," commented Vicky Smith in Horn Book Magazine. Septuagenarian Albert Least-Weasel still clings to the old ways he has known all his life. While checking his traplines one cold winter day, Albert gets caught in one of his own wolf traps. Unable to reach his store of supplies, Albert faces certain death by exposure, dehydration, or animal attack, unless he can free himself or is rescued. At home, Albert's seventeen-year-old grandson Johnny becomes increasingly worried about his grandfather's welfare. Despite his best efforts, he is unable to generate much concern for the old man from his uncles, and cultural pride and the unwillingness to disrespect his elders prevents him from setting out on a search until his grandmother asks him to find her husband. By then, however,
His forthcoming novel, LONE WOLVES is being partially funded via an Indiegogo campaign. Check out this video and the unusual gifts offered. Among them, you can choose an autographed, numbered, limited-edition print of an award-winning poem by the author, with original artwork; you can have your name used for a character in the author's next book. http://igg.me/at/Leapfrog-Press/x/399...
Smelcer's first novel, The Trap, was an American Library Association BBYA Top Ten Pick, a VOYA Top Shelf Selection, and a New York Public Library Notable Book. The Great Death was short-listed for the 2011 William Allen White Award, and nominated for the National Book Award, the BookTrust Prize (England), and the American Library Association's Award for American Indian YA Literature. His Alaska Native mythology books include The Raven and the Totem (introduced by Joseph Campbell). His short stories, poems, essays, and interviews have appeared in hundreds of magazines, and he is winner of the 2004 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award and of the 2004 Western Writers of America Award for Poetry for his collection Without Reservation, which was nominated for a Pulitzer. John divides his time between a cabin in Talkeetna, the climbing capitol of Alaska, where he wrote much of Lone Wolves, and Kirksville Mo., where he is a visiting scholar in the Department of Communications Studies at Truman State University.
Smelcer is a prolific writer and poet whose many works focus primarily on subjects related to his Native American heritage. An Ahtna Athabaskan Indian, he also serves as executive director of the Ahtna tribe's Heritage Foundation. He is, noted a biographer on the Center for the Art of Translation Web site, the only surviving reader, speaker, and writer of the native Ahtna language. John holds degrees in anthropology and archaeology, linguistics, literature, and education. He also holds a PhD in English and creative writing from Binghamton University, and formerly chaired the Alaska Native Studies program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
In the Shadows of Mountains: Ahtna Stories from the Copper River contains a collection of twenty-four stories from the Ahtna tribe. The stories consist of material by Ahtna elders and other tales told to Smelcer by his Ahtna relatives. These largely mythical stories "explore the processes that formed this world and created people, animals, places, and the distinctive interactions" between humans and nonhumans in legendary times, noted James Ruppert in MELUS. The tales range from stories common throughout Alaska, such as "The Blind Man and the Lion," to distinctly Ahtna stories specific to individual families and clans, such as "When They Killed the Monkey People." Ruppert concluded that Smelcer's book "has some value as a broad introduction to Ahtna narrative aimed at a general reader."
The Trap, Smelcer's first novel, is an "unforgettable survival tale, with both a life and a culture in the balance," commented Vicky Smith in Horn Book Magazine. Septuagenarian Albert Least-Weasel still clings to the old ways he has known all his life. While checking his traplines one cold winter day, Albert gets caught in one of his own wolf traps. Unable to reach his store of supplies, Albert faces certain death by exposure, dehydration, or animal attack, unless he can free himself or is rescued. At home, Albert's seventeen-year-old grandson Johnny becomes increasingly worried about his grandfather's welfare. Despite his best efforts, he is unable to generate much concern for the old man from his uncles, and cultural pride and the unwillingness to disrespect his elders prevents him from setting out on a search until his grandmother asks him to find her husband. By then, however,
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 13, 2024
A beautiful book of collections of different native Alaskan mythologies from different native Alaskan people’s.
I got to experience some of the Tlingit and Haida culture when I worked on the cruise ship but this was nice to learn about some of the other Native groups to Southeast Alaska. Having lived on the ship I could almost visualize these people living and telling these stories to each other. Mythologies are foundational to people and their culture, I find it to be my favorite way to try to understand the history and truth of a group of people, where they came from, the origin of their lives and yet it always saddens me because it is a stark reminder of what has or is in danger of being lost. It makes me want to help preserve their culture and language by talking about their beauty. These mythologies help you to see how they viewed the world, their place in it, how they came to respect the world, nature, the animals and also the mysticism that formed their world. A wonderful albeit brief book that made me want to read more about the Tlingit, Haida, Eyak, and Tsimshian people and their mystical experience of their origins. I especially loved how it taught them to respect the animals, and how most animals would transform into people or acted as people would, reminding you of their intrinsic spirit and the importance of honoring and respecting them.
I got to experience some of the Tlingit and Haida culture when I worked on the cruise ship but this was nice to learn about some of the other Native groups to Southeast Alaska. Having lived on the ship I could almost visualize these people living and telling these stories to each other. Mythologies are foundational to people and their culture, I find it to be my favorite way to try to understand the history and truth of a group of people, where they came from, the origin of their lives and yet it always saddens me because it is a stark reminder of what has or is in danger of being lost. It makes me want to help preserve their culture and language by talking about their beauty. These mythologies help you to see how they viewed the world, their place in it, how they came to respect the world, nature, the animals and also the mysticism that formed their world. A wonderful albeit brief book that made me want to read more about the Tlingit, Haida, Eyak, and Tsimshian people and their mystical experience of their origins. I especially loved how it taught them to respect the animals, and how most animals would transform into people or acted as people would, reminding you of their intrinsic spirit and the importance of honoring and respecting them.
May 24, 2021
Set in SE Alaska, the author retells 20 different traditional Alaskan Native stories from SE Alaskan tribes such as: Tlingit, Haida, Eyak, and Tsimshian. Almost all of the folktales center around animals as the main character and are moralistic in nature. The third person viewpoint, narrative text, and traditional sketched drawings, combined with real life photographs and maps of Alaska make this an excellent collection for every classroom or household.
AK: Alaskan Mythology, Folklore, Oral Storytelling, Raven, Killer Whale, Octopus, Loon
Activity: I’d pair this collection with a unit on oral storytelling in my classroom. I would divide the students up in groups and have each group memorize and act out one of the folktales for the rest of the class.
AK: Alaskan Mythology, Folklore, Oral Storytelling, Raven, Killer Whale, Octopus, Loon
Activity: I’d pair this collection with a unit on oral storytelling in my classroom. I would divide the students up in groups and have each group memorize and act out one of the folktales for the rest of the class.
April 1, 2021
Great collection of SE native stories. Great to read and share.
March 16, 2022
Really liked that this had an intro of each tribe/clan as well as where each story came from. Wish there were more stories included.
Main trickster here: The Raven
Main trickster here: The Raven
October 27, 2011
This book, along with The Raven and the Totem, is a collection of myths/stories told by the indigenous people of Alaska. Of the two of them, this is probably the better volume, as it explains some of the background of the different peoples involved. However, The Raven and the Totem has a higher volume of stories.
The negative of both books is that they are both very short. The tales themselves are very brief, rarely venturing past a page or two. Then again, these aren't scholarly works, but intended for a popular audience.
If you are solely in interested reading some of the mythological stories told by Alaskan people, these will be of interest. If you are looking for a little more depth, you'll have to look elsewhere. (There's suggested reading in the back of both books.)
The negative of both books is that they are both very short. The tales themselves are very brief, rarely venturing past a page or two. Then again, these aren't scholarly works, but intended for a popular audience.
If you are solely in interested reading some of the mythological stories told by Alaskan people, these will be of interest. If you are looking for a little more depth, you'll have to look elsewhere. (There's suggested reading in the back of both books.)
November 6, 2011
This collection is definitely aimed at anthropologists rather than those who consume folk stories for pleasure's sake. The writing was rather clinical, taking away from the merits of the stories themselves. If you're looking for a resource on Southeast Alaska legends, sure, read this. However, I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.
January 21, 2009
yup, it only took 4 1/2 years of living in alaska, im now reading alaskana books by choice!
ps- the wasilla library rocks.
ps- the wasilla library rocks.
December 9, 2013
I don't know much about Alaska, but I did learn quite a bit about the history of this area by reading about the legends of the natives here and their history from this book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews