Once Upon an Eskimo Time
Continuing the sacred tradition of her ancestors, in Once Upon an Eskimo Time Edna Wilder retells a year in her Eskimo mother’s life. Wilder eloquently captures the oral storytelling traditions of her people, and she employs descriptions of the weather and harsh climates of Alaska’s Norton Sound to illustrate the hardiness of her mother’s spirit. Family values, subsistence living, and the cycle’s of life form a narrative that captures the now-vanished lifestyle along the Bering Sea.
“Readers of whatever age will enjoy Nedercook’s delightful account of the day-to-day, legends, and beliefs of the ancient Eskimo village of Rocky Point.”—Ames Tribune
Edna Wilder lives in Fairbanks. She has taught classes in skin-sewing and basket weaving at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for over twenty years.
Foreword
Introduction
Description of an Inne
List of Characters and names
1. First Goose
2. Miracle Man
3. Squirrel Hunting
4. Bear
5. Nedercook’s Enjoyment
6. Eggs
7. Women of the Sea
8. Salmon Fishing Time
9. Killer Whale
10. Beluga Whale
11. Farewell, Murres
12. Colder Nights
13. Winter Storm
14. Big Black Duck
15. Festival Time
16. Marriage
17. Under-Ice Net
18. Nedercook Hurt
19. Oopick Dies
20. Barter
21. Nedercook’s Birth
22. Seal Hunting
23. Baby
24. Catching Murres
25. Rocks
26. Spring
