12.07.2015 Views

Download - Sealaska Heritage Institute

Download - Sealaska Heritage Institute

Download - Sealaska Heritage Institute

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

S e a l a s k a H e r i t a g e I n s t i t u t eAs younger Native American writers began to appear in print, I became excitedand inspired initially by their work and subsequently by meeting in person Simon Ortiz,James Welch, Joy Harjo, Luci Tapahonso, and others. (I still get excited by the work ofnew generations of Native American writers.) I also began to discover the work of earlierNative writers such as D’Arcy McNickle.Following my first year at the university, I was hired by Dr. Michael Krauss ofthe University of Alaska-Fairbanks to do field work with Tlingit elders in southeastAlaska as a project of the Alaska Native Language Center (ANLC). These elders alsobecame my instructors as I worked with them. Some of them gave me advice when Iworked with them; others told me off and declined to have their traditions documented.Working with the ANLC helped me to be in the right place at the right time and to taperecordmany elders who have since passed on. We are still working with the backlog.This work gives rise to mixed emotions. On the one hand, it gives me great delight torestore and polish these priceless gems of Tlingit oral literature, composed by the greatmasters of the tradition. On the other hand, it can be stressful always to be dealing withdeath, dying, and grief.283

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!