Potlatch

Mary Giraudo Beck has lived Ketchikan, Alaska, since 1951, when she married a third-generation Alaskan. Besides rearing a family, she taught literature and writing courses for thirty years at Ketchikan Community College, a branch of the University of Alaska. Mary has an abiding interest in the Native culture of Southeast Alaska and a commitment to recording its oral literature. Previous works include two books, Heroes and Heroines in Tlingit-Haida Legend and Shamans and Kushtakas: North Coast Tales of the Supernatural, essays on Native mythology, and articles on travel by small boat to towns and Native communities in Southeast Alaska.

Acknowledgments 4

INTRODUCTION 5

Raven Survives 12

CREMATION AND SMOKING FEAST 13

Raven Creates the Tides 22

PREPARATIONS 23

Raven and the Flood 34

THE INVITATION 35

Raven s Creations 44

HOUSE BUILDING 45

In the Whales Belly 54

WELCOME 55

Raven Sends Fish to the Streams 62

THE POTLATCH 63

Raven in a Fog 76

GIFTS AND PARTIES 77

Raven Loses His Beak 96

PRESTIGE POTLATCH 97

Raven and the Magic Seal Catcher 108

PEACE CEREMONY 109

Further Reading 126