Raising Ourselves
Velma Wallis shares the love, loss, and struggle that mark her
coming of age in a two-room cabin at Fort Yukon, Alaska, where
she is born in 1960, the sixth of thirteen children. Family life is
defined by the business of survival: Haul water from the Yukon.
Kill a moose. Chop firewood. Feed the sled dogs staked around
the cabin. Run the trap line. Catch salmon. It is a time of innocence
and laughter, too, as the children escape into a world of
play under the midnight sun.
The once-migratory family has settled at the confluence of two
she is born in 1960, the sixth of thirteen children. Family life is
defined by the business of survival: Haul water from the Yukon.
Kill a moose. Chop firewood. Feed the sled dogs staked around
the cabin. Run the trap line. Catch salmon. It is a time of innocence
and laughter, too, as the children escape into a world of
play under the midnight sun.
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Velma Wallis is one in a family of thirteen children, all born in the vast fur-trapping country of Fort Yukon, Alaska, and raised with traditional Athabascan values. A writer and avid reader, she lives in Fairbanks.
RAISING OURSELVES is sad but never bitter. What it describes is harsh and wrenching. Yet, ultimately, this is a book about hope and survival.-Kenai Peninsula Clarion
"...Told with integrity and a powerful reality. This is a riveting account of Gwich'in village life, revealing peril and hardship as well as innocence and mysticism."-Jan Harper-Haines, author of COLD RIVER SPIRITS
As deftly as her mother revealed the inside of the marten den, Wallis reveals the complex, often dysfunctional world of her family and rural community.-Juneau Empire
Writing from the inside with heart and a keen eye, Wallis creates a nuanced and intimate picture of rural Native village life.-Homer News
"Once more, Velma Wallis shows her deep understanding of the traditional cultures of the North and reveals the heart of a true storyteller.--Joseph Bruchac, author of SACAJAWEA
