Han, People of the River
Han Hwëch’in
The art of oral narrative folklore is richly illustrated in this collection of traditional tales recorded by five Dena’ina Athabaskan storytellers. Presented here in Dena’ina with facing-page English translations are stories that describe the ways of the world and events that occurred in ancient times. Characters such as Raven, Lynx, and Wolverine had the ability to be either animal or human, and their stories convey essential Dena’ina beliefs. The twenty-four texts were compiled by linguist Joan Tenenbaum who worked on the recordings, transcriptions, and translations in Nondalton from 1973 to 1975. They offer a lively insight into the Dena’ina people, their beliefs, their heroes, and their views of the world. An accompanying audio CD includes six of the stories from the original Nondalton recordings, representing all five Dena’ina storytellers. The book includes twelve original works by renowned Alaskan artist Dale DeArmond.
