Anakú Iwachá: Yakama Legends and Stories

by Virginia R Beavert (Editor), Michelle M. Jacob (Editor), Joana W. Jansen (Editor)

Central to the Yakama oral tradition, storytelling enables Tribal Elders to share lessons, values, and customs with younger generations across the Columbia River plateau and the Pacific Northwest. Drawn from a time before the coming of human beings when animals were like people, the stories present characters and motifs that paint a bigger picture of the world as Yakama ancestors knew it.

The original edition of Anak� Iwach� featured stories that Yakama Tribal Elders recorded in several dialects of the Ichishk�in language that were collected and translated into English by renowned linguist and scholar Virginia Beavert. This new edition adds a preface from the Yakama Nation and essays on the history of the project and on Ichishk�in-language education. It includes four additional legends in Ichishk�in and English, annotations, an updated glossary, and more artwork by Tribal artists, helping readers, teachers, and students engage with the legends as teaching and learning tools and as a precious gift to current and future Yakama generations.

400 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2021

Reviews

[Patrick Tullis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book supersedes ratings. It is a gift from the Yakama people to everyone. For me, Reading their stories and learning about their culture was one of the highlights of this year. I enjoyed the illustrations by Yakama children, as they made the stories come to life and added to the authenticity of the stories.

I purchased this book in Astoria, Oregon from a shop in the Columbia River Maritime Museum. I was immediately drawn to it and I am forever thankful to the Yakama people for sharing.