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Two old women : an Alaska legend of betrayal, courage, and survival / by Velma Wallis ; illustrations by Jim Grant.
Kislak Center for Special Collections - Schimmel Collection Schimmel 6584
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- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Wallis, Velma, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Gwich'in Indians--Folklore.
- Gwich'in Indians.
- Athapascan Indians--Folklore.
- Athapascan Indians.
- Legends--Alaska.
- Legends.
- Alaska.
- Genre:
- Folklore.
- Penn Provenance:
- Schimmel, Caroline F. (donor) (Schimmel Collection copy)
- Physical Description:
- [2], xiii, [3], 140, [2] pages : illustrations, maps ; 19 cm
- Edition:
- First Perennial edition; tenth anniversary edition.
- Place of Publication:
- New York, NY : Perennial, 2004.
- Summary:
- Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival is a classic Athabascan Indian tale of survival, filled with suspense and wisdom as told by Velma Wallis, an outstanding Native American writer. Her style is a refreshing blend of contemporary and traditional, and her choice of subject matter challenges the taboos of her past. Yet her themes are modern -- empowerment of women, the aging of America, and a growing interest in Native American values. Based on a legend told and retold for many generations in the remote Yukon River region of northeast Alaska, this is the tragic and shocking story (with an unexpected upbeat ending) of two elderly women who are abandoned by a migrating band facing starvation because of unusually harsh Arctic weather and a shortage of fish and game.
- Contents:
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Hunger and cold take their toll
- "Let us die trying"
- Recalling old skills
- Painful journey
- Map
- Saving a cache of fish
- Sadness among the people
- Stillness is broken
- New beginning
- About the Gwich'in people.
- Notes:
- Originally published in 1993 by Epicenter Press. First HarperPerennial edition published 1994.
- Western states book award, 1993
- Pacific Northwest booksellers award, 1994
- Local Notes:
- Schimmel Collection copy presented to the Penn Libraries in 2016 by Caroline F. Schimmel.
- ISBN:
- 0060723521
- 9780060723521
- 0060975849
- 9780060975845
- OCLC:
- 55938402
- Publisher Number:
- 99808205731
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