In her first book; Blonde Indian; Ernestine Hayes powerfully recounted the story of returning to Juneau and to her Tlingit home after many years of wandering. The Tao of Raven takes up the next and; in some ways; less explored question: once the exile returns; then what? Using the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight (and relating it to Sun Tzu's equally timeless Art of War) to deepen her narration and reflection; Hayes expresses an ongoing frustration and anger at the obstacles and prejudices still facing Alaska Natives in their own land; but also recounts her own story of attending and completing college in her fifties and becoming a professor and a writer. Hayes lyrically weaves together strands of memoir; contemplation; and fiction to articulate an Indigenous worldview in which all things are connected; in which intergenerational trauma creates many hardships but transformation is still possible. Now a grandmother and thinking very much of the generations who will come after her; Hayes speaks for herself but also has powerful things to say about the resilience and complications of her Native community.
#2277465 in Books 2009-08-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .54 x 5.98l; .80 #File Name: 0295989254252 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Inside View of ReligiosityBy SongplayermanFrisk's book is one of the rare examples of a first person account of an international experience of religion that is neither condescending or negative. She tells us how women in Kuala Lumpur use religion as a medium for discussion of an array of problems. Islam seems to give them a feeling of control in many life situations. Her Malaysian friends do not seem like informants but co-celebrants. Since she is not Muslim; these women explained many things to her with which she might otherwise have been thought familiar. She brings a sexual conflict subtext of her own; denied by the women in the groups; that is still intriguing. This is an enjoyable ethnographic experience that inspires many questions and gives some answers.
