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Legends of the Nahanni Valley
A non-fiction exploring some of Northern Canada's greatest forgotten mysteries- the stories and legends surrounding the watershed of the South Nahanni River. . Deep in the heart of the Canadian North lies a mysterious valley shrouded in legend. Lured by tales of lost gold, prospectors who enter it tend to lose their heads or vanish without a trace. Some say that the valley is cursed- haunted by an evil spirit whose wailings echo in the canyons. Others claim that it is home to monsters- relics of its prehistoric past. What secrets could the valley be hiding? What mysteries lie buried beneath its misty shroud?
- GenresParanormalNonfiction
478 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 4, 2018
47 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 6, 2019
This book is five stars in some regards and zero in others. The main five-star aspect is the obviously large amount of research it took to draw together and organize so many legends and their myriad variations together into one volume. The acknowledgments section shows how many libraries and archives the author consulted. To this end, such books are important as they bring to light otherwise forgotten tales and they elucidate social beliefs common to 1890s gold rush and later prospectors and explorers of the Canadian north and the obvious interest fantastic tales had for the newspaper-reading southern Canadian. These stories could help expand our understanding of social mores and how early settlers related to their natural world. Unfortunately, it seems like the author is also writing from the 1890s, as such analysis is lacking.
There are several zero-star aspects. The first is the author’s antiquated writing towards First Nations. While fortunately not calling them “savages”, almost the entire book they are called “Indians” and terms like “tribe” and “brave” also make appearances. Further, FN are presented with just the barest agency of their own. Their actions can either be categorized as conveying legends to white settlers (in the legends the natives are usually scared by creatures or long-lost tribes in the Nahanni, or scared of the valley itself) or working in service of white settlers. They are slightly exotic and certainly “othered” despite the Nahanni Valley being their ancestral territory. I thought that for a book published in 2018 we were beyond such caricatures. Throwing in a Pierre Burton quote from 1947 saying that the legend of the Headless Valley is one of the few pieces of “bone fide” folklore in Canada (!) doesn’t help.
The second problem is the lack of any scholarly grounding from any academic discipline - sociology, psychology, anthropology, First Nations studies, or even from researchers who specialize in folk tales. Scientific subjects like geography and geology make appearances not for the science itself but for the actual scientists who went into the Nahanni to map it and were fortunately able to dispel some of these legends. Without scholarly grounding we are not able to get an adequate modern perspective on these legends. We are left at the same perspective as someone reading a “boys’ own” tale from the 1910s and half believing it all. Any academic research into folk tales will show how the tale actually says a lot about the society at the time. To me, this would have been very interesting. While the legends themselves are important enough to be told, I think taking the analysis further, even if the author isn’t an expert in anthropology, to tie it into northern Canadian frontier settler culture would have been most welcome. The author says that he consulted locals, but his biggest assistance was from “experts” in “Fortean” or unexplained phenomena. This raised obvious alarm bells for the unsceptical Ancient Aliens treatment I feared. I’m happy that the author did say when some of the legends are clearly that, but for many of the chapters the reader is left with a “well, maybe...” suggestion that I think an academically-rigorous, more sceptical treatment would avoid.
The third big problem I have is with the book formatting itself. Using a heavily-serifed “Wild West” font for the entire book while not justifying the right margin does not for an easy read make. Further, it makes the book look like it is one of those print-to-order copies of 19th century public domain books hastily scanned and sold on Amazon. I had to do some research to convince myself that it was actually published in 2018. Vanity publishing should try to hide the fact that it’s vanity publishing.
Overall, great job to the author for the Herculean task of gathering and presenting these valuable legends. However, I cannot overlook the antiquated treatment of First Nations and the fact that the author couldn’t rise above the legends themselves to present them in a modern, academically-rigorous light.
There are several zero-star aspects. The first is the author’s antiquated writing towards First Nations. While fortunately not calling them “savages”, almost the entire book they are called “Indians” and terms like “tribe” and “brave” also make appearances. Further, FN are presented with just the barest agency of their own. Their actions can either be categorized as conveying legends to white settlers (in the legends the natives are usually scared by creatures or long-lost tribes in the Nahanni, or scared of the valley itself) or working in service of white settlers. They are slightly exotic and certainly “othered” despite the Nahanni Valley being their ancestral territory. I thought that for a book published in 2018 we were beyond such caricatures. Throwing in a Pierre Burton quote from 1947 saying that the legend of the Headless Valley is one of the few pieces of “bone fide” folklore in Canada (!) doesn’t help.
The second problem is the lack of any scholarly grounding from any academic discipline - sociology, psychology, anthropology, First Nations studies, or even from researchers who specialize in folk tales. Scientific subjects like geography and geology make appearances not for the science itself but for the actual scientists who went into the Nahanni to map it and were fortunately able to dispel some of these legends. Without scholarly grounding we are not able to get an adequate modern perspective on these legends. We are left at the same perspective as someone reading a “boys’ own” tale from the 1910s and half believing it all. Any academic research into folk tales will show how the tale actually says a lot about the society at the time. To me, this would have been very interesting. While the legends themselves are important enough to be told, I think taking the analysis further, even if the author isn’t an expert in anthropology, to tie it into northern Canadian frontier settler culture would have been most welcome. The author says that he consulted locals, but his biggest assistance was from “experts” in “Fortean” or unexplained phenomena. This raised obvious alarm bells for the unsceptical Ancient Aliens treatment I feared. I’m happy that the author did say when some of the legends are clearly that, but for many of the chapters the reader is left with a “well, maybe...” suggestion that I think an academically-rigorous, more sceptical treatment would avoid.
The third big problem I have is with the book formatting itself. Using a heavily-serifed “Wild West” font for the entire book while not justifying the right margin does not for an easy read make. Further, it makes the book look like it is one of those print-to-order copies of 19th century public domain books hastily scanned and sold on Amazon. I had to do some research to convince myself that it was actually published in 2018. Vanity publishing should try to hide the fact that it’s vanity publishing.
Overall, great job to the author for the Herculean task of gathering and presenting these valuable legends. However, I cannot overlook the antiquated treatment of First Nations and the fact that the author couldn’t rise above the legends themselves to present them in a modern, academically-rigorous light.
June 24, 2023
Legend, history and great story telling
I really enjoyed reading this book. A mixture of history, folklore and anthropology. Really enjoyed the reference to where the stories came from. Like the letters, news paper articles and Natives lore. This book kept me up at night, because I didn't want to stop reading!
I really enjoyed reading this book. A mixture of history, folklore and anthropology. Really enjoyed the reference to where the stories came from. Like the letters, news paper articles and Natives lore. This book kept me up at night, because I didn't want to stop reading!
February 23, 2020
Fun reading
Fun read for the most part. Occasionally got a a little tedious. However I highly recommend mend it for those interested in legends of the north and cryptozoology.
Fun read for the most part. Occasionally got a a little tedious. However I highly recommend mend it for those interested in legends of the north and cryptozoology.
January 10, 2024
Excellent read, we'll written. Definitely exciting and hair raising events!
March 4, 2024
A very fun read for the most part. There are stretches that seem a bit tedious, but I applaud the author for the amount of research this project must have taken.
June 20, 2020
I found Legends of the Nahanni Valley after seeing some of Hammerson Peters's YouTube videos (by way of my penchant for cryptids and mysterious folklore). Having heard some of the stories from the book via these videos, I was eager to sink my teeth into more. Legends didn't disappoint, and in fact it was an even more rewarding read than I had anticipated. The author's research was, I felt, impeccable in its exploration of a mystery and legend-shrouded area of the Northern Canadian wilderness during bygone days of adventurous prospectors, hunters and trappers, along with the beliefs and accounts once provided by the many indigenous tribes who have inhabited those regions since time immemorial. There are plenty of eerie elements and underlying mysteries to this oft-dubbed "Headless Valley" of the Northwest Territories, but what I enjoyed just as much was the grand picture that unfolded of this slice of Canadian history, previously unknown to me.
I look forward to reading more books from Peters, and his Mysteries of Canada: Volume 1 is currently on my reading list.
I look forward to reading more books from Peters, and his Mysteries of Canada: Volume 1 is currently on my reading list.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews