Human ecology -- Alaska, Human ecology, Koyukon, Alaska, Natural History -- Alaska, Natural History 

"A blending of ethnography, personal reflections, and natural history, Make Prayers to the Raven is a moving account of the Koyukon people, who follow a traditional lifeway of hunting, trapping, and fishing in remote villages scattered across the Alaskan boreal forest. Intimacy with nature is the foundation of their existence, and they have accumulated a masterly knowledge of their environment. The Koyukon hunter moves through a watchful forest, kills with humility and respect, and treats his catch as a being filled with power.

Nelson describes, from a Koyukon point of view, elements of the earth, sky, and atmosphere of the boreal forest, as well as the significant plants and animals. He retells their origins in the dreamlike Distant Time, their spirit powers, their behavior and personality, and the rules dictating their proper treatment by men and women. Make Prayers to the Raven leads the reader to an appreciation of the power and substantiality of Koyukon beliefs, and it serves the Koyukon people themselves by educating others about their way of life and by providing the Koyukon with a means of passing on traditional knowledge to their children."--Back cover. 

xvi, 292 pages. 

Includes index.