Sponsor
This work was sponsored by the National Foreign Language Resource Center. The authors wish to express their deep gratitude to the elders and families of G̲unaax̲oo K̲wáan who have contributed to this work. And to all the other knowledge-holders of Yakutat and Hoonah who have helped us along the way, as well as to Professor X̲’unei Lance Twitchell, we wish to say Gunalchéesh haa éet yidasheeyí. The authors also wish to thank Mary Beth Moss, Michelle Jesperson, and Wayne Howell for their indefatigable support of this research, Jamie Hebert for her vast contributions as our research assistant, and Eric Owen for producing the maps within this chapter. This research was partially supported by the National Park Service through the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units, under Task Agreements P13AC01117 and P16AC01857 through Portland State University.
Published In
Language and Toponymy in Alaska and Beyond: Papers in Honor of James Kari. Language Documentation & Conservation Special Publication no. 17.
ISBN
978-0-9973295-4-4
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
1-1-2019
Subjects
Raven (Trickster), Tlingit Indians -- Alaska -- Folklore, Tlingit Indians -- Alaska -- Social life and customs, Tlingit mythology, Ethnology -- Alaska
Abstract
This is a chapter in Language and Toponymy in Alaska and Beyond: Papers in Honor of James Kari.
Book description:
It is difficult to imagine place names research in Alaska without the work of James Kari. Through his tireless field work and advocacy, Dr. Kari has collaborated with speakers of all of Alaska’s Dene languages to help build a comprehensive record of Dene geographic knowledge. When Jim came to Alaska in 1972, the documentation of Dene languages was fragmentary at best, and the only records of Native place names were those found inaccurately spelled on maps and gazetteers. Now nearly a half a century later we are surrounded by Native names—from K’esugi Ridge in Susitna Valley to Troth Yeddha’ on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. The increased visibility of Alaska Native place names today is due in no small part to Jim’s efforts. His work has inspired a generation of scholars, including the contributors to this volume, and continues to set the standard for toponymy research in Alaska and beyond.
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/28641
Citation Details
Thornton Thomas F., Douglas Deur and Bert Adams. 2018. Raven’s Work in Tlingit Ethno-geography. In Holton, Gary and Thomas F. Thornton. (Eds.) Language and Toponymy in Alaska and Beyond: Papers in Honor of James Kari. Language Documentation & Conservation Special Publication no. 17. [PP 39-55] Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.