Raven's Cry

by Christie Harris, Robert Davidson (Foreword), Margaret B. Blackman (Foreword)

Raven's Cry is a Northwest Coast classic ― a moving and powerful work that is a fictionalized retelling of the near destruction of the Haida nation.

The Haida are a proud and cultured people, whose home is Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the coast of northern British Columbia. Until the first Europeans arrived in 1775, the Haida were the lords of the coast. The meeting of cultures was a fateful the Europeans had the advantages of firearms and immunity to their own deadly diseases. In just 150 years, the Haida and their culture were pushed to the edge of extinction.

Christie Harris recreates this tale of tragedy and the ultimate survival of native spirit with dignity, beauty and ethnographic accuracy.

Genres: Fiction, Indigenous

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

A Canadian children's author best known for her portrayal of Haida First Nations culture in the 1966 novel Raven's Cry.

In 2002, the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize was created in her honor.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyment aside, this is an incredibly important part of Pacific Northwest history, and I'm glad I read it. The Haida people who once lived on the coast must not be forgotten. Raven's Cry catalogs the decline of the Haida people, starting at the first appearance from the Europeans on their shores in 1791, to about one hundred years later in 1894. Before the white man's arrival, the Haida had a thriving culture and history, and boasted about ten thousand people. Due to war, disease, and conversion, it only took one hundred years to reduce them to less than a hundred. We can see in this small community the devastating reality of the impact of the modern world on the indigenous peoples of America.
Most of the time, this narrative read like a text book, and I found it difficult to follow. I understand the importance of keeping as much of it as possible true to history, but I feel as though the author could have done a better job to make it more palatable; instead she chose to tell it as a removed, third person omniscient storyteller. It also would have been very helpful to have a family tree showing all of the chiefs and their descendants to avoid confusion with relations and how the chiefdom was passed down. An english pronunciation guide would also have been helpful, as I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say "7idansuu".
All in all, an important, if sometimes dry, at times work, and a great starting point for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of the Pacific Northwest.

[Benjamin Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most captivating piece of literature that I have come across as far as Haida history is concerned. Harris borrows from historical accounts that the Haida people have had with missionaries, fur traders, and neighboring tribes. She weaves aspects of our complex social structure, the genealogical line of Edenshaw and their contributions to Haida artistry.
Every Haida or person interested in Haida culture should read this book.

[Matt Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Renewal is the law of life; change frees a man.”
Chief 7idansuu

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and informative book about the First Nations' history when the Europeans first got there. Learning history through tales is so much better than through dull history books!

From a First Nations' perspective, which makes it very different from anything I've learned or read about these events. The writing and setting made it a bit hard to read, sometimes had no idea what was going on, where they were, how they were related etc. Bit chaotic structure in that sense. A map would have been handy as well. Nevertheless an important and accessible introduction to First Nation history.

[Josh]

"Offshore, the swells of the Pacific broke on the reefs in a fury at being stopped after thousands of miles of unbroken ocean."

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Often times this book really intrigued me; but for the most part I found it clunky and hard to follow.
I happened to watch the movie 300 somewhere around the middle, and this igniting my imagination; I could see droves of Haida standing along the beaches in the driving rain, watching the flying canoes pull into the bay. Then the poor princes got her arm cut off, and the other guy was marked with shame.
Cool, but the high tide of enjoyment did not last.

[stellajames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually I'm not finished, but what I read I give five stars to for history and realism, etc., but I was really looking for a nonfiction book on the Haida peoples. This is historical fiction, and just too dated a style for my tastes.