Richard K. Nelson
"Nelson spent a year among the Koyukon people of western Alaska, studyingÂ their intimate relationship with animals and the land. His chronicle ofÂ that visit represents a thorough and elegant account of the mysticalÂ connection between Native Americans and the natural world."â€”,Outside, "This admirable reflection on the natural history of the Koyukon RiverÂ drainage in Alaska is founded on knowledge the author gained as a studentÂ of the Koyukon culture, indigenous to that region. He presents theseÂ Athapascan views of the landâ€”principally of its animals and KoyukonÂ relationships with those creaturesâ€”together with a measured account of hisÂ own experiences and doubts. . . . For someone in search of a nativeÂ American expression of 'ecology' and natural history, I can think of noÂ better place to begin than with this work."â€”Barry Lopez, ,Orion NatureÂ Â ,Quarterly, "Far from being a romantic attempt to pass on the spiritual lore of NativeÂ Americans for a quick fix by others, this is a very serious ethnographicÂ study of some Alaskan Indians in the Northern Forest area. . . . He hasÂ painstakingly regarded their views of earth, sky, water, mammals and everyÂ creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. He does admire their love ofÂ nature and spirit. Those who see the world through his eyes using theirÂ eyes will likely come away with new respect for the boreal forest and thoseÂ who live with it and in it, not against it."â€”,The Christian Century, "In ,Make Prayers to the Raven, Nelson reveals to us the KoyukonÂ beliefs and attitudes toward the fauna that surround them in their forested, habitat close to the lower Yukon. . . . Nelson's presentation also givesÂ rich insights into the Koyukon subsistence cycle through the year and intoÂ the hardships of life in this northern region. The book is written withÂ both brain and heart. . . . This book represents a landmark: never beforeÂ has the integration of American Indians with their environment been so wellÂ spelled out."â€”Ake Hultkrantz, ,Journal of Forest History
Anthropology,Nonfiction,Spirituality,History,Environment,Nature,Animals,Religion,Planets,Earth,Science,Natural History,Biology,Ecology
Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest