Read An Excerpt From: "Children of the Tundra and the Animal People: Native and the Aleut Native American Tribe of the Far North"

The following is an excerpt from one of the short stories in the book Children of the Tundra and the Animal People: Native and the Aleut Native American Tribe of the Far North by Phil Kelley who served as Village Council President of the Aleut in northern Alaska, taking over from his father, who was the last traditional chief of their village.

The late winter days were getting longer which was the first sign of the coming spring. Warm southeast winds had melted the snow that had covered the tundra for so long. Caribou, the younger brother of Muskrat, decided to go hunting tomorrow for ptarmigan [a northern bird of the mountains and Arctic areas whose feathers and feet turn to white in the winter].

With the snow gone, the birds would stand out among the low bushes they tried to hide in and would be easier to find. They would become aware that they no longer could blend in and hide, being all white with the snow gone. In a few days, this would make them hard to approach. But now would be the best time to go out and catch a few for the family’s dinner. With these thoughts, Caribou snuggled deeper into his fur-lined sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Early next morning found Caribou walking slowly up the animal trail that would its way to the top of the hills surrounding the village. In the animal world, early morning was feeding time. To the hunters it was the best time to hunt. From the top of the highest hill, he could see everything below him for long distances. Sitting down, he used the hunting methods that his father taught him in spotting animals. . .

                                    ______________________________

Spring was the time of awakening for all of the people in the animal world. This included the animal that Caribou had to keep an eye out for because they would be hungry when they woke up for their long winter sleep. These were the brown bear people. Usually the large shaggy bears would leave humans alone, but there were those of the bear people that would hunt down and tear up humans. . .

                                    ____________________________________   

(Permission to publish by Robbie Dean Press or MarketingNewAuthors.com)

To preview the Children of the Tundra and the Animal People: Native and the Aleut Native American Tribe of the Far North by Phil Kelley go HERE to the book's page on MANA's website.