Our parents always taught us well. They told us to look on the good side of life and to accept what has to happen.
The Man Who Lived with a Giant is a collection of traditional and personal stories told by Johnny Neyelle, a Dene Elder from Déline, Northwest Territories. Johnny used storytelling to teach Dene youth and others to understand and celebrate Dene traditions and knowledge. Johnny’s voice makes his stories accessible to readers young and old, and his wisdom reinforces the right way to live: in harmony with people and places. Storytelling forms the core of Dene knowledge-keeping, making this a vital book for Dene people of today and tomorrow, researchers working with Indigenous cultures and oral histories, and all those dedicated to preserving Elders’ stories.
vii Preface
xi Introduction
xi The Sahtu Dene
xii Telling My Dad’s Story Morris Neyelle
xiii Story and Dene Philosophy Johnny Neyelle
I Sacred and Traditional Stories
3 The Man Who Lived with a Giant
9 Bone Grease from the Sky: How the Animals Became Fat
13 Doo-roo-tseh, the Medicine Man
17 Kidnapped Woman Escapes
27 A Man and His Mother Turn to Cannibalism
31 Ia’eh, the Evil Strong Medicine Man
37 Tł’o-k’áe-tee, the Medicine Man
41 Yamorehya, the One Who Walked the World
59 Yamogah and Ayonia
II Oral Histories from the Life of Johnny Neyelle
69 Life with My Parents, Jacque Neyelle and Marie Kotoyeneh
81 Trapping with My Father
89 Jacque Neyelle’s Story
95 A Trip to Mackenzie Mountain
101 The Dream, 1940s
105 Advice from My Parents
111 The Hunt to Whiskeyjack Point
115 Tragedies of the Past
117 Epilogue: Goodbye to Johnny Morris Neyelle
121 Afterword: The Editing Process
125 Genealogy of the Extended Neyelle Family
137 Glossary of North Slavey Words
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