When Raven Cries

Description

Ever since high school Samuel John did not want to have anything to do with Tlingit history and culture. But as the potlatch to memorialize his father’s passing is approaching, and under the watchful eye of Raven, events forces Samuel to lean upon the things he had learned from his father and the elders of the village of Yakutat. This novel by Native American author, Kadashan, is set in the village he grew up in during the mid-century. But the realities this story uncovers: the culture clashes, the alcoholism, loss of faith are still present in these Alaskan village are still real today. The miracle reveled in this novel is that Kadashan is able to tell this story with such lightness, such reverence for his human and nonhuman characters that the reader is left with such sadness yet hope for the future for a dying culture.