Christie Harris (1907–2002)

-Folklore Collection: Chapter Book Cultural, Values
-Harris, Christie. Mouse Woman and the Muddleheads. Illus by Douglas Tait. New York, 1979, 128 pages, Intermediate

-Mouse Woman and the Muddleheads by Christie Harris features Mouse Woman, a narnauk (supernatural being), aiding humans in various Haida-inspired folktales. Set on the Northwest Coast, these stories blend humor and wisdom, offering readers many lessons. Illustrated by Douglas Tait, the book includes black-and-white drawings enhancing the cultural richness. While celebrated for cultural introduction, it faces critiques on authenticity and representation.

-Keywords: Narnauk, Haida, Supernatural beings, Pacific Northwest Coast

-Activity: Teachers can explore Haida culture further with students through research projects and comparisons to other Indigenous stories. These activities will deepen students' appreciation and understanding of the cultural context.… (mais)

I've had this on the shelf for years. I figured maybe it would be something my 10-year-old daughter might like, but I thought I should give it a read first. Glad I did - I don't think she would like it. The main character is pretty shallow and doesn't grow at all it seems throughout the story. There didn't seem to be much of a story really - it was about how the main character "Feeny" felt less accomplished than the other members of her family, but seemed to be too lazy to do much about it. And later, she dated a bunch of boys and broke hearts before finally settling on a husband who seems borderline unpleasant. Still, the writing was good enough to make it a fairly quick read. It's unclear to me who the target audience is - I think back in the 1960s when this was written, probably early teen girls, so I'm pretty far from either identifier there. I'm not sure even the target audience today would enjoy this book though. Maybe it was different 60 years ago.… (mais)

This is a Canadian classic, a history of the Haida people of Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the northern coast of British Columbia. Published in 1966, it is a fictionalized retelling of the near destruction of the Haida nation. In 1775 when explorers in search of the Northwest Passage came across the islands they picked up some otter pelts that they discovered brought fabulous sums of money in China, so much that Captain Cook's sailors threatened mutiny if he did not return for more. For the exchange of an item of nominal worth, a chisel or a few glass beads, the profit was unbelievable. In China they filled the empty holds with tea, silk and porcelain to sell in their home ports thus making even more money. English and Americans rushed to the fur trade. Naturally, with such potential wealth accessible, greed and trading practices became ruthless. With the added threat of disease brought to them, the Haida nation suffered almost to the point of extinction. Following on that disaster missionaries and colonial law attempted to wipe out their rich culture. Christie's fictional history follows the ancestors of real life Charles Edenshaw, one of the great Haida artists whose carvings were exquisite. Illustrated by Bill Reid who is another creator of superb Haida art. This is an excellent book and one of the best on the topic.… (mais)

Themes: Love, adversity, jealousy, magic, family
Setting: Pacific Northwest

Kind of funny to me that the category is named Navajo tacos, but these are all about totally different tribes of Native Americans. This got put on my TBR list so long ago, I don't remember how it got here or why, but by the time I got the book, I was surprised by the content. I was expecting more of a humorous take on the traditional princesses story, but this is folk tales based on the tribes of the Pacific Northwest, with ravens and eagles and canoes and bear tallow and totems and so on. Very different from what I expected.

Written for younger readers, but some stories of star-crossed lovers and a clever girl who performs four tasks (four is the magic number there) to win her powerful lover, a girl who brings back magic to her totem, (that one was confusing), and - my favorite - Two Eagles, a story about a young "prince" who is driven out by a jealous uncle, finds an enchanted bride with eagle powers and wins her love, goes back to his village, and almost loses his bride by his own foolishness. Fortunately, he wises up just in time. That one was sweet and funny.

Kind of a strange book, really, but I'm glad to find it because I can count it for this category and it was empty before. 2.5 stars. Some kind of cool illustrations.… (mais)