When Our Words Return : Writing, Hearing, and Remembering Oral Traditions from Alaska and the Yukon / / edited by Phyllis Morrow and William Schneider.

• Author: Schneider , William
• TeilnehmendeR: Schneider, William.; Morrow, Phyllis.
• Place / Publishing House: Logan, Utah : : Utah State University Press,, 1995.; ©1995.
• Year of Publication: 1995
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (244 pages) :; illustrations

The title to this interdisciplinary collection draws on the Yupik Eskimo belief that seals, fish, and other game are precious gifts that, when treated with respect and care, will return to be hunted again. Just so, if oral traditions are told faithfully and respectfully, they will return to benefit future generations. The contributors to this volume are concerned with the interpretation and representation of oral narrative and how it is shaped by its audience and the time, place, and cultural context of the narration. Thus, oral traditions are understood as a series of dialogue

Table of Contents

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- A Note on Consistency -- Part I: Writing -- With a Vision beyond Our Immediate Needs: Oral Traditions in an Age of Literacy -- On Shaky Ground: Folklore, Collaboration, and Problematic Outcomes -- "Pete's Song": Establishing Meanings through Story and Song -- Part II: Hearing -- Seeing Wisely, Crying Wolf: A Cautionary Tale on the Euro-Yup'ik Border -- "They Talked of the Land with Respect": Interethnic Communication in the Documentation of Historical Places and Cemetery Site -- A Bright Light Ahead of Us: Belle Deacon's Stories in English and Deg Hit'an -- Part III: Remembering -- The Days of Yore: Alutiiq Mythical Time -- Lessons from Alaska Natives about Oral Tradition and Recordings -- The Weight of Tradition and the Writer's Work -- Epilogue -- Appendix: Polar Bear Story -- About the Authors.