A Dena'ina Legacy. K'tl'egh'i Sukdu. The Collected Writings of Peter Kalifornsky

This collection of writings was compiled over a 19-year period (1972-91) by the last writer and one of the last storytellers of the Kenai dialect of Dena'ina (Tanaina) language of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Peter Kalifornsky is a literary artist and scholar born in 1911. The 147 writings are organized in eight chapters, with a prelude containing two stories. The chapters contain: stories of Dena'ina beliefs; animal stories; lesson stories; stories about the old Dena'ina life; the way people were; place names of the Kenai people's country; Peter Kalifornsky's life story and recent events; and Kenai people's language patterns, including 7 translations, 4 items on neologisms, and 20 items containing language lessons, songs, and poems. Dena'ina text is presented on the left page, with the English translation on the right. An introductory section offers background information on the writings and the Dena'ina alphabet. Maps and photographs illustrate the text. Contains 43 references, and a biography of Peter Kalifornsky is appended. (Mse)