Two Old Women (1993)
Two Old Women
Thompson Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Library,
The William Charvat Collection of American Literature
E99.K84 W35 1993
“They forget that we, too, have earned the right to live! So I say if we are going to die, my friend, let us die trying, not sitting.”
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis is a novel based on an Athabascan legend passed along from mother to daughter for many generations on the upper Yukon River in Alaska. It follows the story of two elderly women Ch'idzigyaak (80) and Sa' (75) who are abandoned by their tribe during a winter famine. Wallis, raised in a traditional Athabaskan community, writes about both traditional and contemporary themes and issues, such as the fear many elderly people have of being abandoned and isolated in nursing homes. The two old women recall their shared wisdom and knowledge, and together they survive the winter and store enough food and supplies to graciously give to their tribe when they eventually return.