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Native Pathways to Education
Alaska Native Cultural Resources
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Athabascan RavenAthabascans of Interior Alaska

Section 5: THERE'S MORE TO CULTURE THAN BASIC NEEDS
4 to 7 days

OBJECTIVES

1.Students express in writing or drawing the feelings the Athabascans had towards animals.
2.Students recount the origin of one Athabascan custom.
3.Students define and explain "yega".
4.Students express in writing or drawing some non-material and non-subsistence aspects of their own culture.
5.Students recount the origin of one western custom.
MATERIALS
1.Student text, Alaskan Athabascans
2.Student text, When People Meet Animals
3.Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska map
4. Handout 4, The Playground
5.Worksheets IX and X
6.Materials from Appendix C for center
7.Film, videotape, or unit from AVS Center (your choice; see p. 133).
PREPARATION
1.Research the origin of an Anglo-American custom your children engage in. Prepare a talk or a learning center on that custom's origin. (Optional)
2.Duplicate copies of Handout 4, The Playground (1 for every 3 or 4 students).
3.Make copies of Worksheets IX and X, for group activities.
4.Gather books on Athabascan culture for enrichment activity.
5.Check out one of the art-oriented items in AVS Center (your choice) listing is on p. 133
ACTIVITIES
1. Read Chapter V in Alaskan Athabascans.
2. Values clarification activity.
3. Read When People Meet Animals.
4. Mark locations of stories on Native Language map.
5. Discuss texts.
6. Student writing assignment(enrichment).
7. Small group work: Worksheets IX and X.
8. Art Activity.
9. Read Chapter VI in Alaskan Athabascans.
10. Enrichment: in-depth report and mapwork on Eklutna Tanainas.
NEW VOCABULARY:
culture
nihts'iil
ceremony
emerged
yega
Russian Orthodox faith
midwestern United States
commercial fishing
route

TEXT: CHAPTER V., ALASKAN ATHABASCANS
Read Chapter V in the student text, Alaskan Athabascans.

 

CHAPTER V
THERES MORE TO CULTURE THAN BASIC NEEDS
You've learned a little bit about how the Upper Tanana Athabascans adapted to fulfill their basic needs in the area around Tetlin. But you've also learned something else: you've learned some of what the life meant to the people as they were busy getting their food, water, clothing, and shelter. You've learned what they thought about their hunting and trapping. These thoughts are another part of their culture. In your mind, review what you've read and try to think of all the feelings and thoughts Shirley Jimerson expressed about her life.

Then think about your own life. You have certain feelings and thoughts about it too. Most of us have strong feelings about our birthdays, vacations, school, family, and friends. These are all

DISCUSSION
Discuss with students what the title of this chapter means. What, besides basic needs, makes up an important part of our lives? Remind them of the values people hold toward the land as an example.

parts of the culture we live in.

Shirley Jimerson's book was written about a time not too long ago when life was beginning to change for the Upper Tanana Athabascans. The next book you'll read is about a time longer ago than that. It is about a time fifty years ago and more. In those days, people didn't live in villages. They moved around throughout the year, even more than Shirley's family did. They called a very big area of land their home, and each camp they stopped in was home too. And they knew the miles of land in between camps as well as you know your own yard or playground.

This next book, called When People Meet Animals. explores more of the cultures of some of the Athabascan groups. It tells more about the feelings and thoughts the people had about the things they did in fulfilling their basic needs.

 

VALUES CLARIFICATION ACTIVITY: HANDOUT 4, THE PLAYGROUND
The following Values Clarification activity is designed to help students see their own values along a "development-natural environment" continuum. It should be used as a graphic example of the part of their own culture which is beyond basic needs fulfillment. The activity should not be used to convince students that they should fit in any one spot on that continuum.

Divide the class into groups of three or four. Tell the class that you are going to read them a story and that you want each group to make a decision, as instructed at the end of the story, based on their own opinions. Group decisions must be unanimous.

The story follows.

house

THE PLAYGROUND

The new school was finally finished. Now all that was needed was a playground.

There was a small plot of land next to the school that belonged to the town, and in the last election the people had decided it should be saved for use by kids during re-cess. No one had said exactly how the land should be used, though, and now it was up to a small committee to decide.

"I think it should be left completely natural!" said Karen. "It is a beautiful area with a clear stream running right through it. Our children need to learn about nature. And besides, there are hardly any natural wooded areas in this town anymore."

"And with good reason," John interrupted. "You only have to go a couple of miles to get to the State Park. And the land near the school can be dangerous to kids. A child could easily fall into the creek and drown!"

"And moose sometimes come into the area," added Robert. "That can be dangerous."

"Anyway, I don't think it is a good idea to leave the land natural. We have to protect the children," John concluded.

Robert had more to say. "All the trees in that area would make it hard for a teacher to keep a close eye on the kids," he said. "They might not notice if someone got hurt. I think we ought to clear the land and blacktop it. We can make it into four-square, kickball, and basketball courts. Our kids need the practice in basketball. They came in last in the tournament last year!"

If you were on the committee, what would you do?

 

HANDOUT 4
After reading the story, pass copies of Handout 4, The Playground, to the students so they can refer to it during their group meetings. Allow the groups 15 minutes to come to a decision. Then call the class back to order.

Then, explain the concept of continuum to the students. Draw a line on the board to represent a continuum. With the students' help, place the characters in the story along the continuum. A possible continuum might look like this:

Karen John Robert

--X------------X-------------X----

NATURAL PROTECT BLACKTOP

Then ask for the groups' decisions. As each group announces its decision, place it on the continuum. Ask for reasons for their decisions.

Your students' decisions may not have all been placed at the same point in the continuum. If so, use this as an example to explain that all members of a culture do not always agree on everything. This is so today, and it was so in Athabascan culture in the past.

Now ask students where they think Shirley Jimerson would place her attitudes on this continuum.

Explain to students that they have just expressed their feelings and beliefs about a certain issue. They have therefore revealed part of their culture. If you were a foreign visitor, you would know a little more about American culture after listening to the students. Tell them that, in the same way, more of the traditional Athabascan cultures will be revealed to them in the next book they will be reading.

 

TEXT: WHEN PEOPLE MEET ANIMALS
Distribute copies of When People Meet Animals.

DISCUSSION
Briefly discuss the different time the stories in this book refer to. Most of them are traditional stories, describing a time long ago, a time no one can really remember but which people have told about for so many generations that it seems as though they remember it.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The book was designed to show the special relationship between people and animals in the traditional Athabascan belief system. This relationship was one of reverence and thankfulness; reverence because of the close ties between humans and animals in the mythical past when the two worlds mixed freely, and because animals even now have spirits and souls just as humans are able to survive. The relationship between culture and the environment thus has an added dimension which students should see in this booklet. Not only is survival closely tied with the environment but beliefs and spiritual behavior are as well.

TEXT: CHAPTER 1, WHEN PEOPLE MEET ANIMALS
Read Chapter I in When People Meet Animals, "Nihts'iil".

MARK MAP
This story is from the Upper Tanana area. Find that area on the language map. The nihts'iil, the little girl found are the roots of the yellow pond lily (Nuphar polysepalum Engelu).

CHAPTER 1
Nits' iil
During the spring, Upper Tanana Athabascans used to gather nihts'iil, which are little roots that muskrats find and hide in their caches. One day a little girl found one of these caches on a lake and took out all the nihts'iil to take home to her family. She was very excited and very proud of herself when she got home with the tasty food.

"Mom!" she said, "I found a muskrat cache! Here's some nihts'iil."

DISCUSSION
Discuss the story in the context of the Upper Tanana yearly cycle. Discuss students' attitudes about animals. Can animals talk to each other? Do they have spirits or souls? Are pets different from other animals?

"You've got to pay for the nihts'iil, " her mother said when she saw the pile of roots. "Don't forget to leave something in the cache for the muskrat."

"Oh, Mom," her daughter answered, "who would ever know! The muskrat wouldn't know that I was the one that took the nihts'iil. What does it matter?"

"Yes," her mother answered. "The muskrat will know. You've got to pay for what you take. The muskrat worked hard to fill his cache, and you shouldn't empty it without paying for it."

The daughter still wasn't convinced. "What happens if I don't pay for it?" she asked.

The mother answered, "If you don't pay, the muskrat will go into our cache, and take out all our meat."

WRITING
Have the students rewrite the story from the muskrat's perspective. Place the stories in their notebooks.

The little girl went back to the cache and left a bit of cloth for the muskrat. (Adapted from Guedon's People of Tetlin. Why Are You Singing?1974: 47-48.)

 

TEXT: CHAPTER II, WHEN PEOPLE MEET ANIMALS
Read Chapter II, "The Female Beaver."

MARK MAP
This is a Koyukon Athabascan story. Find the Koyukon area on the Language map.

CHAPTER II,
"The Female Beaver"
There is a Koyukon story that the old people used to tell to their grandchildren on winter nights, when all the children were warm between fur blankets. The fire in the middle of the winter sod house would be burning low and the smell of the smoke would blend with the smell of fresh spruce boughs covering the floor.

The story went something like this:

A young man was coming home from a hunting trip late one winter day. He had been walking through deep snow all day and was very tired, but decided to keep walking until he got back to camp. He walked and walked, but didn't see any of the familiar signs of home. He suddenly realized that he was lost.

It was dark by now, but he kept walking, hoping that he would find the camp of another band. Then, he saw a fire through the trees. There was a camp ahead, next to a lake. He started running toward it, and when he got to the camp, was happy to see people, at last!

The man was greeted by the people. They told him that though they looked like people to him, they were really beavers. He had strayed out of human territory and into beaver land.

The young man was very tired. He looked around at the beavers' camp. He saw a pretty young woman next to one of the houses. Although he knew she was really a beaver, he decided to take her as his wife and to stay in the beaver camp. He lived there all winter long, with his new wife and her relatives.

When spring came, the young man knew that it was time to go back to his own home. But springtime is the time of hunger, and the beavers had no extra food to send with the young man for his trip home.

NOTE TO READING
Point out to students the following two elements (part of the Athabascan belief system regarding animals):

1.Humans and animals were once able to slip into each other's worlds
2.From that time of close communication arose an important custom which has been followed throughout remembered history.

 

The beaver-people talked it over. They could not give the man food from their caches, but they decided they would let him take one of their children as food for his trip.

The young man's wife offered to be killed. She would become food for her husband and keep him alive.

Her parents looked at their son-in-law and said to him, "When you have finished with the meat, you must throw the bones into the water, and say 'Tonon Litseey'." This means "be made again in the water".

The young man agreed, and set off for his home village with the beaver meat. The man got home safely, thanks to the meat he had been given. When he had eaten it all, he threw the bones into the water and said, "Tonon Litseey."

Suddenly the female beaver who had been his wife appeared in the water where he had thrown the bones. She swam away to her parents' lodge.

 

DISCUSSION
Discuss: what values were parents trying to teach their children when they told them this story?

The old people would end their story by saying, "And ever since that time, we have followed the custom of throwing beaver bones into the water after we have eaten the meat." (Adapted from Sullivan's The Ten'a Food Quest, 1942: 107-108.)

 

TEXT: CHAPTER III, WHEN PEOPLE MEET ANIMALS
Read Chapter III, "First Salmon Story."

MARK MAP
This is a Tanaina Athabascan story. Locate the Tanaina area on the Language map.

First salmon stories are common wherever salmon is a major food resource for the people. The Tlingit Indians of Southeastern Alaska, for instance, also observed rituals with the coming of the first salmon of the year.

CHAPTER III,
"First Salmon Story"
The Tanaina Athabascans used to tell a story about a salmon. It goes something like this:

One spring day when it was just about time for the salmon run to begin, a rich Tanaina man put out his fish trap as he always did at that time of year. He hoped to catch enough salmon to last his family for the whole year. The man told his daughter not to go near the fish trap.

His daughter was curious. She wondered why her father did not want her to see the trap. So, instead of obeying him, she walked down to the river toward the trap. "Ill be back in a little while," she called to her father as she walked away. When the girl got down to the river, she went straight to the trap. A big king salmon was swimming around in the water, and she started talking to him.

DISCUSSION
Discuss:why did the girl turn into a salmon? What lesson were parents trying to teach their children in this part of the story?

They talked and talked, and before she knew what was happening, she had turned into a salmon herself! She slid into the water and disappeared with the big king salmon.

The girl's father looked everywhere for his daughter. He could not find her. Every day he called her and searched for her, but she never returned.

The next year, when the salmon run was about to start again, the rich man set out his fish trap as usual. The first time he checked it, he saw that it was fill with many beautiful salmon. The man threw them all out on the grass, and began cleaning them. He left the smallest fish for last.

Finally, all but the last small fish had been cleaned. The man turned to pick up the little salmon --and saw that, where the fish had been, there was now a little boy!

The man walked around the boy, staring at him. He walked around him three times. And finally, the third time, he knew why the boy looked familiar. He looked just like the man's lost daughter. The man suddenly knew that this young boy was his grandson, the son of his missing daughter.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This story, like "The Female Beaver", tells of the mixing of the two worlds and the origin of an important social custom. It can be used to highlight the major difference between Cook Inlet Tanaina subsistence patterns and those of the rest of the Athabascan areas; that is, the coastal orientation and adaptation of the Tanainas. Most Athabascans relied on a yearly salmon run, but the Inlet groups took more advantage of it and other resources because of their location.

The boy finally spoke to his grandfather. He told him all the things he should do to show his respect for the salmon. He told the man how to cut the sticks to dry the salmon, and how to be careful not to drop the salmon on the ground while they were being dried. And he told the man that each year, when the first salmon of the year was caught, the people should hold a ceremony for that salmon. They must wash themselves, and dress up in their finest clothes. They must find a weed near timberline, and burn it. And they must clean and cook the first fish without breaking its backbone. The insides must be thrown back into the water.

ANGLO-AMERICAN CUSTOM
Research and discuss the origin of an Anglo-American custom which your students engage in (for instance, trick-or-treating, coloring Easter eggs, putting up a Christmas tree). Alert students to the parallels between the origin of those customs and the ones described in When People Meet Animals. If you wish to have students research customs on their own, be sure to check with your school librarian first to learn what types of information are available.

The boy explained that if the man and his people did all these things, they would have a good year, and would catch many salmon. But if they did not follow the rules, the salmon would never return to them.

The Tanaina used this story to explain to their children how the First Salmon Ceremony got started and why it was performed each year in the springtime. The people did everything the young salmon-boy had told his grandfather to do.(Adapted from Osgood's The Ethnography of the Tanaina, 1966: 148-149.)

 

TEXT: CHAPTER IV., WHEN PEOPLE MEET ANIMALS
Read Chapter IV, "A Bear Hunt".

MARK MAP
This is another Koyukon story. Find, once again, the Koyukon area on the language nap. What communities are in that area?

CHAPTER IV,
"A Bear Hunt"
A Koyukon Athabascan man and his son had been out hunting one winter day. On the way back to camp, they discovered a bear hole. The older man stuck the end of his long bear spear into the hole, hoping to wake the bear up and make him leave his hole. He poked and poked, while his son stood nearby with his own spear ready to stab the bear as it came out of the hole.

BACKGROUND: DEFINITION OF YEGA
This story introduces the concept of the "yega", or spirit. It is the animal's yega that travels through space and becomes aware of human activities. It is also the yega that reports these activities back to the animal itself and either gives a favorable report or an unfavorable report to that animal. A favorable report results in the animal allowing itself to be killed and thus allowing humans to survive. An unfavorable report results in the animal remaining aloof and hiding from human hunters.

The bear started growling. The man felt him moving about -- he was going to come out! As the big animal emerged angrily from his den, the two men panicked.

The son lunged at him with his sharp-pointed spear. His father followed with another stab at the bear. There was a struggle -- and the bear fell down, and slid back into his den.

The two men were horrified. They knew that after a bear has been killed, its forepaws must be cut off, and its eyes must be burst. Although the bear was dead, its spirit, or yega, could still harm the men if these things were not done.

The man and his son tried to remove the bear from the hole, but it was already dark by this time and the bear was very heavy. They could not pull it out.

The men returned to camp. They felt very worried. because they had not followed the rules. The bear's yega would be angry. Days and weeks went by, and nothing bad happened to either one. Finally, they for-got about the dead bear in its den.

A year later, the son went blind. The people in his band said he had gone blind because he had broken a rule--he had failed to burst the bear's eye after killing it. (Adapted from Sullivan's The Ten'a Food Quest, 1942: 86.)

WORKSHEETS IX AND X
Hand out copies of Worksheets IX and X to students. They should be filled in individually or in small groups. Direct each group to answer the questions on the two worksheets. All members in the group should agree on the final answer.

When the worksheets have been completed, reassemble the class as a whole. Help students to clarify in their own minds the values of the Athabascans toward animals, as well as the students' own values.

REVIEW
Review with students the meaning of the sentence, "There's more to culture than basic needs." Have them enumerate some of those "other" parts of their own culture.

ART ACTIVITIES
One of the parts of culture other than basic needs fulfillment is art, both visual and performing. This would be a good time to invite an Athabascan beadwork expert to your classroom to teach beading and talk about her life as an Athabascan. Contact the Community Resources Coordinator at 278-9531 for scheduling of an Athabascan beadwork expert, if one is available to the District.

Before the expert comes, you might want to have on hand UN 624, Trade Beads and Beadwork of Alaska.

Other art-oriented items from the AVS Center include F 3429 Athabascan Art, Where Two River's Meet; VT 61 The Story Knife; VT 67 The Legend of Denali; VT 68 Edashla, the Wolverine; VT 74, Raven the Trickster; UN 240, Alaska Folklore Puppet Theater; UN 487, Athabascan Stories; and UN 642, Far North Unit.

In addition, Appendix C at the end of this guide contains a listing of juvenile literature about Athabascan culture which you might gather for a classroom center. Note particularly those books which recount traditional stories or information about music and dance.

TEXT: CHAPTER VI, ALASKAN ATHABASCANS
Read Chapter VI in Alaskan Athabascans. This is designed as an update on the study of Athabascan cultures and as a further explanation of the Anchorage area's cultural history.

Reiterate the themes of adaptation and basic needs, paying close attention to the new adaptations the Eklutna residents have made to each change in their environment.

 

CHAPTER VI
AN UP-DATE - TANAINA (DENAINA) TERRITORY TODAY
At the beginning of our study of Athabascan culture, you learned that the Tanaina (or Denaina) Athabascans came to the Anchorage area long ago. At least 300 years ago, perhaps longer, they first began living here.

Of course, Tanainas still live in the Anchorage area. Many Tanainas live in Anchorage itself, while others live in villages close to town. The closest one is Eklutna, north of Anchorage near Eagle River and Chugiak.

Eklutna has been a winter village of the Tanainas since they first came to this area. It is close to Cook Inlet fishing resources. Eklutna flats plant resources, and good sheep hunting areas. Eklutna was one of many settlements which the Cook Inlet Tanainas used. Other Upper Inlet Tanainas used the land in the Matanuska and Susitna Valleys, up and down the Knik and Susitna River systems. They had villages in all of those areas. The large and small lakes, including Big Lake, Nancy Lake and Eklutna Lake were part of their territory. The Upper Inlet Tanainas also used the land where the city of Anchorage is now. The area at the mouth of Ship Creek was at one time an important Tanaina fish camp.

In the 1800's, Russians traveled up Cook Inlet to Tanaina territory. They brought money and goods to exchange for furs. They also brought something else--their religion.

More than a hundred years ago, a Russian Orthodox church was built in the village of Eklutna. That church, along with a new one completed in 1963, still stands today. Many Tanainas belong to the Russian Orthodox faith.

In the late 1800's and early 190O's, many Tanainas trapped for furs and sold the furs to traders. They used the money they got to buy some items of food, clothing, and tools. They still used many of the old skills and knowledge of their natural environment. And they still hunted for most of their food. Even so, they had adapted to a new way of life which used money.

Then in 1914 the Alaska Railroad was begun. This was to run from Seward to Fairbanks, and it cut right through the Tanaina area. Many Upper Inlet Tanainas worked on building the railroad. Eklutna itself became one of the railroad stations along the route. The people living there could now easily get the goods they wanted from other parts of Alaska and the lower 48. They had winter jobs on the railroad close to their homes. They fished commercially during the summer months. Their fishing sites were the same ones they had used before the new town of Anchorage was started. In fact, some of these sites on Fire Island and Point Possession have been in the same families for 100 years.

Soon after the railroad was built, a school to train people for jobs was started in Eklutna. Many Tanainas got training to work in the new town of Anchorage. But new jobs meant that people didn't have as much time for hunting and fishing as they had in the past. Many people had to buy most of their food and clothing. They had adapted to still another way of life.

In the 1930's, there was another change in the Upper Inlet Tanaina territory. During that time a number of settlers came to the Matanuska Valley from the midwestern part of the United States. These settlers cleared land. They built farms in the territory that had been Tanaina land. With some of the hunting and trapping areas now gone, even more Tanainas moved further south to Anchorage where they could find jobs.

In the early 1950's a tunnel was built through the mountain from Eklutna Lake. This brought water to a power plant which provided electricity to the Anchorage area. It also provided jobs for some village people.

ENRICHMENT: REPORTS
Students in your class from Eklutna might want to report further on the community, from their own or their parents' experience. Encourage them to bring in photographs or objects to share with the class. Or, members of your class can read and report on Kari's The Heritage of Eklutna (see appendices C and E). Students good at mapwork can locate and label, on a detailed map of the northern Tanaina area (Upper Cook Inlet and Anchorage bowl), the place names by which the Tanainas knew each location.

Today, most adults from Eklutna work in the Anchorage area. Some of the older people still fish commercially for a living. Their children go to local schools. People buy most of their food and clothes in stores.

Yet something still remains of the older culture. Parents and grandparents know a lot about the area and its natural resources. Some of them can recall the old ways of adapting to the environment, and some of the old beliefs about the environment. Many people still use the natural resources in fulfilling some of their basic needs. They hunt moose and ducks, pick berries, and fish for some of their food and money. They still feel that the land and its creatures are to be respected and thanked for providing for them.

 

QUIZ:
No quiz has been prepared for this section. If you wish to administer one, worksheet IX would serve this purpose.

house

HANDOUT 4
THE PLAYGROUND

The new school was finally finished. Now all that was needed was a playground.

There was a small plot of land next to the school that belonged to the town, and in the last election the people had decided it should be saved for use by kids during re-cess. No one had said exactly how the land should be used, though, and now it was up to a small committee to decide.

"I think it should be left completely natural!" said Karen. "It is a beautiful area with a clear stream running right through it. Our children need to learn about nature. And besides, there are hardly any natural wooded areas in this town anymore."

"And with good reason," John interrupted. "You only have to go a couple of miles to get to the State Park. And the land near the school can be dangerous to kids. A child could easily fall into the creek and drown!"

"And moose sometimes come into the area," added Robert. "That can be dangerous."

"Anyway, I don't think it is a good idea to leave the land natural. We have to protect the children," John concluded.

Robert had more to say. "All the trees in that area would make it hard for a teacher to keep a close eye on the kids," he said. "They might not notice if someone got hurt. I think we ought to clear the land and blacktop it. We can make it into four-square, kickball, and basketball courts. Our kids need the practice in basketball. They came in last in the tournament last year!"

If you were on the committee, what would you do?

 

WORKSHEET IX
What Athabascans Think of Animals

MULTIPLE CHOICE: Circle the letter in front of the correct ending to the sentence. You may use the book, When People Meet Animals, to check your memory.

1.The little girl in the story called "Nihts'iil" was told to give the muskrat something because

a.the chief had made a law about it
b.it was her pet muskrat
c.it was not nice to take something without giving something in return

2.In "The Female Beaver", the man threw the beaver bones back into the water because he felt

a.that he wanted to get rid of the garbage
b.thankful that he had been saved from starvation
c.afraid of what would happen to him if he didn't

3.In "First Salmon Story", the girl turned into a salmon because

a.she disobeyed her father
b.it looked like so much fun to be swimming in the river
c.she slipped and fell into the water

4.The girl's son returned to the world of people because

a.he had learned something that he wanted to share with the people
b.he was accidentally caught in a trap
c.he missed his grandfather

5. In "A Bear Hunt", the man and his son were worried because

a. they would go hungry without the bear meat
b.they had not followed the rules of the hunt
c.they thought the bear's mother would be after them

6.In the old days, if an Athabascan did not follow certain rules toward animals, he felt

a.that the animals' spirits would be mad at him.
b.that the rules were stupid anyway
c.that maybe no one would notice.

7.An Athabascan feels that animals are like people because

a.they look like people
b.they act like people
c.they have feelings like people

 

Answer Guide
WORKSHEET IX
What Athabascans Think of Animals

1.The little girl in the story called "Nihts'iil" was told to give the muskrat something because

c.it was not nice to take something without giving something in return

2.In "The Female Beaver", the man threw the beaver bones back into the water because he felt

b.thankful that he had been saved from starvation

3.In "First Salmon Story", the girl turned into a salmon because

a.she disobeyed her father

4.The girl's son returned to the world of people because

a.he had learned something that he wanted to share with the people

5. In "A Bear Hunt", the man and his son were worried because

b.they had not followed the rules of the hunt

6.In the old days, if an Athabascan did not follow certain rules toward animals, he felt

a.that the animals' spirits would be mad at him.

7.An Athabascan feels that animals are like people because

c.they have feelings like people
WORKSHEET X
What I Think of Animals

DIRECTIONS:Each sentence below asks you to make a choice: would you or wouldn't you do what the people in When People Meet Animals did? Circle the one you believe. It also asks you to explain your choice.

WRITE YOUR OWN OPINION THERE ARE NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWERS!

1.If I had been the little girl in the story "Nihts'iil", I (would) (would not) have given the muskrat something in return for the nihts'iil because:

 

2.If I were the man in "The Female Beaver", I (would) (would not) have thrown the bones into the water because:

 

3.If I had been the grandfather in "First Salmon Story" I (would) (would not) have followed the rules my grandson gave me because:

 

4.If I had been the man in "A Bear Hunt" I (would) (would not) have been worried because:

 

5.I feel that animals(are) (are not) like people because:

 

Section 1 Adaptations to Basic Needs
Section 2 Athabascans
Section 3 Upper Tanana Athabascans
Section 4 The Yearly Cycle
Section 5 There's More To Culture Than Basic Needs
Section 6 Could You Survive?
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
ALASKAN ATHABASCANS
WHEN PEOPLE MEET ANIMALS
A VIEW OF THE PAST
TETLIN AS I KNEW IT

OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES UNITS

 
 

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Last modified August 17, 2006