Authentic Alaska:Voices of Its Native Writers

Description

“These are gritty| forthright narratives about late-twentieth-century life in remote Alaska. . . . A wonderful collection indeed!”-Julie Cruikshank| author of The Social Life of Stories: Narrative and Knowledge in the Yukon Territory (Nebraska 1998) and Life Lived Like a Story: Life Stories of Three Yukon Native Elders (Nebraska 1991). “These stories add a new dimension to the genre of Native American literature.”-Robin Ridington| coauthor of Blessing for a Long Time: The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe (Nebraska 1997). In this lively and sometimes poignant collection of essays and autobiographies| nearly fifty Alaska Native writers tell of their unique way of life and bear witness to the sweeping cultural changes occurring in their lifetimes. They explore a range of experiences and issues| including skinning a polar bear; traditional domestic and subsistence practices; marriage customs; alcoholism; the challenges and opportunities of modern education; balancing traditional and contemporary demands; discrimination; adapting to urban life; the treatment of Native peoples in school textbooks; and the social realities of speaking standard and “village” English. With its fresh perspectives and unfailingly authentic voices| this collection is essential for an understanding of Alaska Native peoples today. Susan B. Andrews and John Creed are award-winning journalists and associate professors in the humanities at the Chukchi campus of the University of Alaska in Kotzebue.