These gripping and powerful prose narratives relate monumental events in the lives of the forebears of Tlingit clans. The focus here is on the stories and story tellers themselves, twelve tradition bearers passing down accounts of their ancestors for future generations, who lived amazingly different lives, reflecting in a small way the complexity of Tlingit life in the twentieth century, a period characterized by unprecedented political, economic, and social change.

NORA ḴEIXWNÉI MARKS DAUENHAUER was a Tlingit author, poet, scholar, and culture bearer, belonging to the Yakutat Lukaax̱.ádi (Raven Sockeye) clan from Shaka Hít (Canoe Prow House) on the Alsek River. Born 1927 in Juneau, Alaska, Nora was raised among master carvers, weavers, and beaders who lived a subsistence lifestyle. She left school to help support her family, and later obtained her GED. She went on to earn a bachelor’s in Anthropology from Alaska Methodist University in Anchorage and honorary doctorate from University of Alaska Southeast, where she was a professor.