Acknowledgments

The stories published in this book are the result of a collaborative effort involving elders of the village of Tununeq, the Native Village of Tununak, the Lower Kuskokwim School District, the students and staff of Paul T. Albert Memorial School, the Administration for Native Americans of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Historical Preservation Branch of the National Park Service, and various individuals in the community of Tununak. Especially deserving of our recognition and gratitude is Iitaruaq, Irene Reed, who has worked tirelessly with us for two years, encouraging, assisting, editing, and proofreading the Tununeq narratives. She has generously shared her knowledge and expertise as well as her time and substance. We owe a special debt of gratitude to the Native Village of Tununak, our collaborators and sponsors, especially Mark Charlie, John Oscar, Urban Albert, John Evan, and Teddy Angaiak, all Tununermiut. Gerry Kimsey, the principal of the Paul T. Albert Memorial School, and her staff welcomed us into the school and provided us with all we required to accomplish our mission. She and her staff were always kind and hospitable to our elders, making everyone connected with our project feel as though we were members of the school community. Hugh Dyment, teacher, philosopher and puppeteer, was a constant and loyal supporter whose keen interest in our work was a source of continual encouragement. We were especially fortunate to have again the illustrating talents of Xavier Lincoln and Ira Menegak, both Tununermiuk.
Photographer and artist Andrew J. Chikoyak, Tununermiu, whose fine work speaks for itself, is a new contributor. We also wish to thank Irene Post, Tununermiu, who helped us with the logistics of having elders in the school. Finally, none of this would have been possible were it not for the elders, our teachers and mentors, who told these stories and consented to share their knowledge of the traditions and oral literature of the Qaluyaarmiut. In particular we wish to thank Cuniq, Jents Flynn; Arnaucuaq, Mike Angaiak; Cakataar Jack Angaiak; Uliggaq, Susie Angaiak; Puyangun, Rose Charlie; and Uyuraurluq, Andy Charlie, Sr. All assisted us in the translation and shared their wisdom with us.
The Lower Kuskokwim School District was, along with the Native Village of Tununak, one of our two primary supporters. Without the district's generous support and assistance none of this could have happened. We especially wish to extend our thanks to the Lower Kuskokwim Regional School Board, Superintendent Sue Hare, Administrative Assistant Susan Murphy, and Assistant Superintendent John Weise. Throughout the project we received generous grants from the Administration of Native Americans of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Historical Preservation Grants Division of the National Park Service, and the Alaska Humanities Fonim.
We obtained many of our historical photographs and photographs of Qaluyaarmiut people from the archives of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, the Alaska and Polar Regions Department of the Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Oregon Province Archives of the Gonzaga University Library. We particularly wish to thank Diane Brenner of the Anchorage Museum, Marge Heath of the Alaska and Polar Regions Department, and David Kingma of the Gonzaga University Library for their assistance in helping us locate photographs.
We have borrowed heavily from the ethnographic work and research of two scholars in particular: Margaret Lantis and Ann Fienup-Riordan. Through their work they have helped to clear a path for us, enabling us to better understand the meaning and significance of Yup'ik oral narrative, and for this we are deeply indebted to them.
All definitions for Yup'ik words cited in this book are from the Yup'ik Eskimo Dictionary (Jacobson 1984) and the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary (Fortescue et. al. 1994). We are also indebted to Anthony Woodbury for our method of organizing our text into a line and group format to better reflect the prosody of the original narrative performance.
At last, we wish to thank our publisher, the Alaska Native Language Center, its director Dr. Michael Krauss, and editor Tom Alton, who prepared the manuscript for publication, for their assistance in bringing all this to light.
As the compilers and translators of this present volume, we alone are responsible for all errors and inaccuracies that have come about in the production of this book.

The Authors
Cost: $26.

Information about the resource can be found at:

ANKN Clearinghouse P.O. Box 756730 Fairbanks, AK 99775-6730 Tel: (907) 474-5897 or email: ANKN Clearinghouse

Charles Kashatok Yup'ik Curriculum Specialist P.O.Box 305 Bethel, Alaska 99559 Tel: (907) 543-4853 or email: Charles_Kashatok@fc.lksd-do.org

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