Virginia Beavert is a member of the Yakama Nation and a native speaker of Sahaptin. She is a recipient of the Washington Governor's Heritage Award and the Ken Hale Prize of the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas. She is the coauthor of Ichishkiin Sinwit Yakama / Yakima Sahaptin Dictionary. Janne Underriner is the director of the Northwest Indian Language Institute at the University of Oregon. Virginia and Janne have been working together for the past twenty years.
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Description
List of Illustrations Map of Hunting, Fishing, and Food-Gathering Sites Preface Acknowledgments 1. The Culture That Made Me Who I Am Now / Inmi Tiinwit Wapiitat 2. My Story / Inmi Ttawax?t 3. Life Circles / Wya'uyt Wa?'ishwit 4. Experiences and Reflections / Pina'ititamat Wa?'ishwit Conclusion / Wanak?'it Appendix: Guidance for Academic Researchers Ichishkiin-English Glossary References Index
"Inspiring and informative. . . . Born in a bear cave in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, raised in a traditional Indian-only speaking household by parents who were shamans, and having served as an Air Force wireless radio operator at a B-29 bomber base during the Second World War, Beavert has spent her adult life tirelessly retrieving, preserving, and sharing Sahaptin knowledge. . . . She began working in her Native language at the age of 12 after meeting linguist Melville Jacobs. Since then she has collaborated with some of the most accomplished linguists and anthropologists. . . . Her passion for and interest in the welfare of her younger readers reverberates throughout every page of The Gift of Knowledge, in which her stated purpose is to record the lifeways taught to her by her family." (Journal of the West) "A Colombia Plateau ethnographic study like no other, Beavert's book shows how her own life story is inextricably connected to the plateau culture and language that she presents. . . . An anthropological text rich in personal biographical detail, context, and warm, vivid prose, this is a must-read for those interested in Indigenous Studies, anthropology, history, and the Columbia Plateau. . . . Adds very important contributions to the fields of sociolinguistics, ethnography, Pacific Northwest history, and cultural anthropology. . . . A shining example of intellectual sovereignty." (Oregon Historical Quarterly)