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Northwest Readers
Badger and Coyote Were Neighbors: Melville Jacobs on Northwest Indian Myths and Tales
Anthropologist and folklorist Melville Jacobs worked to preserve the fast-disappearing languages and traditions of the Indian peoples of Oregon and Washington. This book presents an introduction to Jacobs's seminal research and gathers twenty stories that he collected and translated.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 21, 2018
Loved this book.
Entertainment / Quality of Writing: 3/5 - It is a collection of recorded myths and tales from Pacific Northwest tribes along with Jacobs' analysis and commentary. His observations and interpretations are really interesting and it is obvious that he spent a LOT of time researching this field. The writing style itself is a bit dry, as many scholarly research writing tends to be. However, the subject matter is fascinating. I am not very familiar with folklore methodology, but some of the analysis of the accounts was so in-depth and very interesting. I loved seeing the Native informants featured at the beginning of each section with information about their lives and how they came to work with Jacobs. There are so many historical and cultural notes about Oregon tribes that made it into this book.
Literary Value: 5/5 - Anthropology field work can be full of problems and tensions, because the informants are graciously volunteering their priceless knowledge without much compensation while the researcher is the one who receives the prestige for "saving" the info. There is no denying, however, that Melville and Elizabeth Jacobs are partially responsible for some of the linguistic and cultural information about PNW tribes that has survived to the 21st century, since they worked tirelessly to collect it through decades when it was often thought better for these tribes to forget their traditions and "progress" to mainstream American cultural values. Some of this recorded information later contributed to tribal language restoration projects or was otherwise reclaimed by tribes in more recent decades. Jacobs was also a forerunner in his field through his insistence that these stories were as worthy of serious scholarly attention as other cultural forms. Special shout-out to Elizabeth Jacobs, who helped her husband with his research throughout their marriage and was a scholar in her own right.
Entertainment / Quality of Writing: 3/5 - It is a collection of recorded myths and tales from Pacific Northwest tribes along with Jacobs' analysis and commentary. His observations and interpretations are really interesting and it is obvious that he spent a LOT of time researching this field. The writing style itself is a bit dry, as many scholarly research writing tends to be. However, the subject matter is fascinating. I am not very familiar with folklore methodology, but some of the analysis of the accounts was so in-depth and very interesting. I loved seeing the Native informants featured at the beginning of each section with information about their lives and how they came to work with Jacobs. There are so many historical and cultural notes about Oregon tribes that made it into this book.
Literary Value: 5/5 - Anthropology field work can be full of problems and tensions, because the informants are graciously volunteering their priceless knowledge without much compensation while the researcher is the one who receives the prestige for "saving" the info. There is no denying, however, that Melville and Elizabeth Jacobs are partially responsible for some of the linguistic and cultural information about PNW tribes that has survived to the 21st century, since they worked tirelessly to collect it through decades when it was often thought better for these tribes to forget their traditions and "progress" to mainstream American cultural values. Some of this recorded information later contributed to tribal language restoration projects or was otherwise reclaimed by tribes in more recent decades. Jacobs was also a forerunner in his field through his insistence that these stories were as worthy of serious scholarly attention as other cultural forms. Special shout-out to Elizabeth Jacobs, who helped her husband with his research throughout their marriage and was a scholar in her own right.
July 2, 2023
More of a textbook versus a collection.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews