Bird Girl & the Man Who Followed the Sun: An Athabaskan Indian Legend from Alaska in Into the Forest

Apr 10, 2015 Jalilah rated it really liked it

Shelves: folk-fairy-tales, first-nation-native-american

This spellbinding story is set in the pre-Colombian Alaskan wilderness where the Ch'eekwaii (Inuits)and the Gwich'in (Athabeskans ) are often at war with each other over border disputes regarding hunting territory.
The author Velma Wallis is Athabaskan herself and grew up in the very area the novel takes place with the legends of her people. It says in her bio that she lived on her own in a cabin in the wilderness for many years, doing all her own hunting and trapping and experiencing the wilder ...more

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Apr 26, 2014 Christine rated it liked it

Shelves: native-american-first-peoples, diverse-hero-or-heroine, diverse-and-women-authors, myth-and-lore-first-peoples, literature-indigenous

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
My reaction to this is based on my modern, feminist perspective. I know this beyond a doubt. And it is impossible to talk about my reaction to this book without spoilers, so sorry.
First off, let me say I love Wallis’ writing. Two Old Women is a great book, and the writing in this book is just as good. I love the fact that she does book length retellings of Native American tales.
And I know that my problem with this is modern.
A two part tale, this short novel tells the story of two outsiders a
My reaction to this is based on my modern, feminist perspective. I know this beyond a doubt. And it is impossible to talk about my reaction to this book without spoilers, so sorry.
First off, let me say I love Wallis’ writing. Two Old Women is a great book, and the writing in this book is just as good. I love the fact that she does book length retellings of Native American tales.
And I know that my problem with this is modern.
A two part tale, this short novel tells the story of two outsiders and how they become part of their tribes. My problem is Bird Girl, which is also where Wallis makes the bravest decision, so I think she is also wrestling with her modern view as well. Bird Girl was a tomboy. Her father raised her like he did all her brothers. She is a better hunter and wrestler than some of the men in her village. This upsets the status quo, and it is decided that she should marry. She doesn’t want to, so she runs away, is captured by an enemy tribe, and is raped. (Wallis gets so many points about not sugarcoating this).
I think that is what has me upset. It’s true that there is Daggoo, a boy who wants to explore but is forced to take his place in the tribe with the death of other men. But it seems to me that Bird Girl is being punished, horribly punished, for wanting to be different, for bucking against the “woman’s role”. And as a modern feminist, I can’t really take the punishment.
YET, the tale is a Native American one, about a group that lives in the wild and a group that survives because people fulfill those prescribed roles. There is a reason for everyone in the group having a place and taking responsibility. There are reasons. Survival depended on that. I know this, and so I feel like having the idea of punishment sticks in my craw. Then I feel like the ugly white person because I am aware of the cultural differences and feel it is unjust.
What makes me feel better is that this conflict of modern vs. traditional viewpoint is something that Wallis herself wrestles with. Bird Girl doesn’t fully conform at the end of the book and it softens the idea of punishment. Furthermore, Wallis decides to keep the truer, harsher ending of Bird Girl’s capture. A brave choice in today’s PC world.
A very interesting book simply because of the view points.

Crossposted at Booklikes . ...more

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Apr 04, 2015 Katy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A good read that I enjoyed. It gets an extra star because it remains true to its roots.
Interestingly it shows the brutality of a culture that is the same as many others -- murder, slavery and rape. And unfortunately we have two young women who felt they would not be able to return to their homes, because they would not be fully accepted back because of the rape. Still true today in so many instances. But these are only a small part of the story which follows a legend of returning to family and ...more

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Oct 03, 2016 Rachel rated it liked it

Normally I start my reviews with a recap of the book. The best way I can describe it is "the story that never got off the ground". This book follows two separate characters. One is Bird Girl and the other is the Man who followed the sun. Their stories don't really intersect.

While the legend itself was interesting, the real drawback was the execution. It suffered from too much explanation. Most of the time I thought "get on with it...". From a historian perspective, it was filled with a rich amo ...more

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