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M a K E T O the R a V E N a K O Y U K O N V I E W O F T H E N O R T H E R N F Make to the Raven A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest Richard K, Nelson The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London „ ''A** j J CENTRA1- RICHABD K. NELSON has taught at Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Hawaii, the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the Uni­ versity of Alaska at Fairbanks. He is a self-employed cultural anthropologist, consultant, and writer. His previous works include Hunters of the Northern he; Hunters of the Northern Fdrest: Designs for Survival among the Alaskan Kutchin; Shadow of the Hunter. Stories of Eskimo Life; and numerous field reports. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 This book is dedicated The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London to the people of Huslia and Hughes, Alaska; ©1983 by The University of Chicago to my teachers, Steven and Catherine Attla; All rights reserved. Published 1983 and to those who will find wisdom Printed in the United States of America in a world Raven made. 90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Nelson, Richard K. Make prayers to the raven. Bibliography p. Includes index. 1. Koyukon Indians. 2. Human ecology—Alaska. 3. Natural history—Alaska I. Title. E99.K79N44 1983 304.2'09798 82-8441 ISBN 0-226-57162-9 AACR2 'AUSTIN PIMJC imm -^JVT'E*?-•"',:""• "^resrv. r; mmy ••$&&>: Contents Acknowledgments ix Orthography xi Introduction xiii 1. The People 1 2. The Watchful World 14 3. Earth, Air, and Sky 33 4. The Plants 47 5. Earth Animals 58 6. The Fishes 66 7. The Birds 77 8. The Small Mammals 121 9. The Predatory Mammals 139 10. The Large Mammals 163 11. Ecological Patterns and Conservation "Practices 200 12. Principles of Koyukon World View 225 •13. Nature and the Koyukon Tradition 238 "Ml - WnrTiH viii / Contents Epilogue 248 Appendixes 249 Acknowledgments 1. The Study 249 2. The Boreal Environment 254 3. Koyukon Terms for Natural Entities 261 4. Uses for Selected Major Species 272 Bibliography 277 Index 283 Illustrations follow p. 164 This portrayal of the Koyukon people and their natural Surroundings is based on sixteen months of living in the villages of Huslia and Hughes, Alaska. Most of the formal ethnographic'work'was done from September 1976 to July 1977, but I have also drawn information and experiences from several extended "vacations" spent in these villages (1968, 1970, 1971, 1972). An ethnographer never works alone, and whatever merit his (or her) work may have derives largely from the interest and astuteness of his in­ structors. In Huslia and Hughes I have been fortunate enough to know people who not only were excellent teachers but also 'showed me a special kind of friendship and hospitality. My greatest wish is that every page of this book should reflect my admiration for them, should accurately record their teachings, and should have yalue and significance in their lives dur­ ing these difficult times of change. Members of virtually all families in Huslia and Hughes have contributed in some way to the work underlying this book, and I want to express my sincere' thanks to them. I am particularly indebted to a number'o'f people who have helped in special ways. Steven and Catherine Attla, my principal instructors, have become much more than teachers and friends to me. Their teaching is the basis for this study, and their words are quoted or para­ phrased throughout the following chapters. Steven and Catherine remain much a part 'of my life today, and I cannot fully express my feelings of warmth toward them. IX kuim ii, xii / Contents kk' Pronounced like Koyukon kk, but with a slight popping sound; a globalized back velar stop. Voiced /, similar to English lid. Introduction Voiceless /, pronounced with air released off the sides of the tongue. m As in English^mi/fe. n As in English nice or bun. nh Voiceless n, pronounced like English n but with air released through the nose (voiceless apical nasal) o As in English cough or called. oo As in English boot. •s As in English side. t As in English tip. t' Pronounced as t but with a slight popping sound of releasing the vocal chords (a globalized apical stop). ( Similar to English butler, but with air released off the sides of the tongue. W Pronounced like tl, but with the slight popping sound of releasing the vocal chords. ts As in English shuts. ts' Pronounced like ts, but with the slight popping sound of releasing the vocal chords (glottalized sibilant affricate). I was traveling alone with my dog team one bitter cold morning, on the trail As in English put. that crossed Moosehorn Lake and led toward a distant bend 'of the Koyukiik y As in English yes. River. An hour earlier, I had set out from the'village ofHuslia, where I was yh Similar to the ch in German ich (voiceless palatal fricative). living with the Koyukon people, studying their ways of understanding and z As in English zebra ox jazz. interacting with the natural world. 'Halfway down the narrow lake, the Glottal stop, as the'r is often pronounced in Englislrmolmtam. perfect stillness was broken by a,rush of wings "overhead. Looking up„I saw A hyphen is used to separate two letters that would otherwise be read a raven flap heavily to the top of a nearby spruce. It scrutinized me as I drew as a single sound. near, then flew on and landed in a tall tree* farther along'the trail. (Source: Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska) I whistled softly to quicken the* dogs* pace, as I watched the silhouetted bird cock its Head one way and another. During the inany months,! had spent among the Koyukon, I had gradually begun to look quite differently at ravens, as I'b.egan not only to know about, but also to feel the further dimension,m' nature that was so preeminently important to my teachers. Ravens had'become: more than just beautiful and intelligent birds. I,found myself watching them and feeling watched in return ... watched fby some­ thing mofe than the ravens' gleaming black eyes. I found myself listening to their calls, not*just to enjoy their strange ventriloqiial gurglings but also^ to hear what 'they might be saying. ' ,j/ A third time the raven flew as I passed its high vantage; then it lit clumsily in another spruce at trie end of the lake, whereJth'e trail ran up the bank and entered a stretch of timber. !* I glanced back along the trail arid saw only a dense cloud of vapor from the dogs' breath, hanging there in "the stillness. Having' confirmed what' I already knew—that I was'entirely alone—I looked intently at the raven xiii *mm xiv / Introduction Introduction / xv above me.* After a long, self-conscious hesitation, I shouted'"Tseek'aai example, the chapter_on birds is extensive, as it must be to encompass^the [Old Grandfather], bring me luck!" Then I looked behind me again, as hjgWy^e^^kjp^d^Coyukon ornithologyr^r^. ,i "*• j f i \>.%i< my words echoed into the surrounding forest. t A third purpose of this book, the most elusive perhapsj i§fo show how^real andfangible theM'oyukon belief in nature is. Because'tnis.belierhfr^ers1 vastly About the Book frmnour owrT7^we4nay'liave^dirriculty appreqiatingrits'power anebsubstan- tiality for those who are its inheritors^ It lies beyond our emotiorial grasp^so During my year of study among the Koyukon people, I learned a different we are inclined to pass it off as quaint folkloreor mere:fantasy. Lhopethe perception not only of the raven, but of every living and nonliving thing in chapters that follow will make this *.Koyukon> view of nature-more concrete the northern forest. Although I must emphasize that I did not relinquish my for persons^ who-have learned to see'a different one. •*' '• >' agnosticism, I nevertheless acquired an entirely new way of seeing an envi­ Many ethnologists andjnative North American? will find th&.Koyukon ronment I had experienced fairly intimately over the previous ten years and people's basic perspective on nature a familiar one, sharing much'in cdm- T thought I knew well. Through the Koyukon, I became aware of a rich and mon with othermative ideologies ori this confident. Although>thb»perspec- eloquent natural history that extends into realms unknown or ignored in my tive is not new in anthropological literature,'ffew (ifany)'studies* have^inte- own culture. grated it into a comprehensive natural history'. The book therefore presents This book is a detailed exploration of that natural history through the both a body of information and aniexpression ofiits emotional" force fonthe teachings of Koyukon tradition. Aside from my own fascination with the Koyukon people. This is significant from not only a cultural .but also an subject matter, I have several purposes in writing it and a number of differ­ environmental, standpoint, because'Koyukon. teachings can add a compel­ ent audiences in mind. Potential readers include anthropologists, of course, ling new diih'ension to bun understanding of the-boreah forest. >' 4 but also persons interested in natural history, environmental studies and The book's, final and most importarit'purpose is tot serve the -Koyukon* conservation, northern regions and peoples, native American religion and people themselves by educating others about the substance and value of their culture, Jiuman geology, and- hunting-gathering, peoples. The following lifeway and by providing'for them a newway to pass traditional knowledge summary of1 purposes mayfyelp to further orient readers to the material.
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