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Book Review of Two Old Women : An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival

Two Old Women : An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival
reviewed on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


We visited Alaska this September and this book was being sold there. It is a very good book as it depicts the harshness of the early Athabascan Indians. This is a legend that has been handed down from generation to generation . Velma Wallis has put to the written word what she was told by her mother.

A small tribe of indians are wandering around in the cold arctic looking for food. The chief decides to leave two old women behind without anything for their survival. He is tired of their complaining and he feels it will leave more for the younger ones of the tribe. It is heartbreaking to see a woman's daughter and grandson walk away from them.

Two old women will die if they continue to sit and wait for their tribe to provide for them. They are alone without any provisions. What will they do?

The younger old woman convinces the older woman that they must get up and walk a great distance where there is water. We see the difficulties they endure and in the end they succeed. The author describes in detail how they make a shelter and snare rabbits to keep themselfes alive. They learn to never give up. The tribal chief learns a lesson also before the story is over