In the Time That Was

The collection presents a series of Chilkat and Klingat oral legends recounted around campfires by an elder storyteller to a southern listener, framed by their shared travels. Tales mix cosmogony and moral explanation, including a trickster raven who repeatedly outwits a Wise Man to free light for the blind Earth Mother, disputes among gods about human sin and punishments, and accounts of fire and water spirits. Myths explain origins of natural phenomena and human customs through vivid episodes of theft, transformation, and divine councils, conveyed in lyrical, speech-rich narration that preserves the rhythms and cultural voice of Alaska Native storytelling.