Bringhurst has a strong interest in linguistics, translating works from classical Greek, Arabic, Navajo, and, most significantly, Haida.
His interest in Haida culture stems from his friendship and close association with the influential Haida artist Bill Reid, with whom he wrote The Raven Steals the Light in 1984, among several other significant collaborations.
It was this friendship that in 1987 "started Bringhurst on the philanthropic endeavour of recording the Haida canon".
The result of this labour was a trilogy of works collectively titled Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers.
The essays in its first volume, A Story As Sharp As Knife, and particularly its ninth chapter, "The Prosody of Meaning," constitute an important contribution to the understanding of the poetics of oral literatures.

His translations from Haida have been viewed as an attempt to preserve the Haida culture, which in 1991 was considered part of a group "likely to be lost unless strong efforts are made very quickly to perpetuate them".
 The Haida translation has caused some controversy.
Bringhurst was accused of academic exploitation and cultural appropriation.
In 2001, the CBC radio program Ideas aired a two part series called "Land to Stand On."
 The series' first episode featured "a string of Haida claiming [...] that Bringhurst's work is 'about keeping us in our place,' written 'without asking us,'" and "replete with 'serious errors twisting it into the poetry that he wants'".

In 1999,  the Globe and Mail published a report on the Haida reaction to A Story As Sharp As A Knife by Adele Weder.
 Weder's piece was later criticized for citing only two Haida sources, claiming they could speak for the entire Haida community, and was described as an "inflammatory article ... not likely to be mistaken for exemplary journalism".
The Globe and Mail published Bringhurst's response, which was later called "considerably more measured".

In 2001, Jeff Leer reviewed A Story As Sharp As A Knife saying Bringhurst has neither formal linguistic education nor significant experience with spoken Haida, and doubting Bringhurst's ability to translate from Haida.
Leer's review compared Bringhurst's work unfavourably to Enrico's Skidegate Haida Myths and Histories, and referred to the Weder review as an authoritative source.
Leer's publisher, the International Journal of American Linguistics,  retracted the review and apologized to Bringhurst for publishing:
some unfounded statements from another author that might be read to impugn Prof. Bringhurst's qualifications or integrity.
The Journal's sole intention in publishing the book review was to bring an important work by a well-respected scholar to the attention of its readers. [...]
it was not the Journal's intent to transmit erroneous perceptions of Prof. Bringhurst's training or scholarship.

Most academic discussion and recognition of Bringhurst's work in Haida has been positive.
Linguist Dell Hymes wrote a review of the Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers trilogy (of which A Story As Sharp As A Knife is part) in Language in Society, praising  the trilogy.
 He said it "should become a classic reference point" for Haida scholars in the future.
In 2004, Bringhurst won the Edward Sapir Prize for Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers.
The committee giving the award was headed by Leanne Hinton, an expert in American Indian languages, and chair of the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Bringhurst has been defended by Margaret Atwood, who says that "territorial squabbling cannot obscure the fact that Bringhurst's achievement is gigantic as well as heroic", and that far from appropriating native voices, Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers "restores to life two exceptional poets we ought to know".
The CBC documentary was attacked in print for relying "entirely on the fallacy, convenient to the producers, that Bringhurst had not consulted with any Haida".
 Bringhurst with the help of Bill Reid had spent the better part of the previous decade working with mem
Bringhurst has a strong interest in linguistics, translating works from classical Greek, Arabic, Navajo, and, most significantly, Haida. His interest in Haida culture stems from his friendship and close association with the influential Haida artist Bill Reid, with whom he wrote The Raven Steals the Light in 1984, among several other significant collaborations. It was this friendship that in 1987 "started Bringhurst on the philanthropic endeavour of recording the Haida canon". The result of this labour was a trilogy of works collectively titled Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers. The essays in its first volume, A Story As Sharp As Knife, and particularly its ninth chapter, "The Prosody of Meaning," constitute an important contribution to the understanding of the poetics of oral literatures.
His translations from Haida have been viewed as an attempt to preserve the Haida culture, which in 1991 was considered part of a group "likely to be lost unless strong efforts are made very quickly to perpetuate them".  The Haida translation has caused some controversy. Bringhurst was accused of academic exploitation and cultural appropriation. In 2001, the CBC radio program Ideas aired a two part series called "Land to Stand On."  The series' first episode featured "a string of Haida claiming [...] that Bringhurst's work is 'about keeping us in our place,' written 'without asking us,'" and "replete with 'serious errors twisting it into the poetry that he wants'".
In 1999,  the Globe and Mail published a report on the Haida reaction to A Story As Sharp As A Knife by Adele Weder.  Weder's piece was later criticized for citing only two Haida sources, claiming they could speak for the entire Haida community, and was described as an "inflammatory article ... not likely to be mistaken for exemplary journalism". The Globe and Mail published Bringhurst's response, which was later called "considerably more measured".
In 2001, Jeff Leer reviewed A Story As Sharp As A Knife saying Bringhurst has neither formal linguistic education nor significant experience with spoken Haida, and doubting Bringhurst's ability to translate from Haida. Leer's review compared Bringhurst's work unfavourably to Enrico's Skidegate Haida Myths and Histories, and referred to the Weder review as an authoritative source. Leer's publisher, the International Journal of American Linguistics,  retracted the review and apologized to Bringhurst for publishing:
some unfounded statements from another author that might be read to impugn Prof. Bringhurst's qualifications or integrity. The Journal's sole intention in publishing the book review was to bring an important work by a well-respected scholar to the attention of its readers. [...] it was not the Journal's intent to transmit erroneous perceptions of Prof. Bringhurst's training or scholarship.
Most academic discussion and recognition of Bringhurst's work in Haida has been positive. Linguist Dell Hymes wrote a review of the Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers trilogy (of which A Story As Sharp As A Knife is part) in Language in Society, praising  the trilogy.  He said it "should become a classic reference point" for Haida scholars in the future. In 2004, Bringhurst won the Edward Sapir Prize for Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers. The committee giving the award was headed by Leanne Hinton, an expert in American Indian languages, and chair of the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.
Bringhurst has been defended by Margaret Atwood, who says that "territorial squabbling cannot obscure the fact that Bringhurst's achievement is gigantic as well as heroic", and that far from appropriating native voices, Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers "restores to life two exceptional poets we ought to know". The CBC documentary was attacked in print for relying "entirely on the fallacy, convenient to the producers, that Bringhurst had not consulted with any Haida".  Bringhurst with the help of Bill Reid had spent the better part of the previous decade working with mem
Robert Bringhurst