Xiipuktan (First of All): Three Views of the Origins of the Quechan People - Softcover

Bryant, George M A; Miller, Professor Amy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1909254401 ISBN 13: 9781909254404

Publisher: Open Book Publishers, 2013

Synopsis

The Quechan people live along the lower part of the Colorado River in the United States. According to tradition, the Quechan and other Yuman people were created at the beginning of time, and their Creation myth explains how they came into existence, the origin of their environment, and the significance of their oldest traditions. The Creation myth forms the backdrop against which much of the tribe's extensive oral literature may be understood. At one time there were almost as many different versions of the Quechan creation story as there were Quechan families. Now few people remember them. This volume, presented in the Quechan language with facing-column translation, provides three views of the origins of the Quechan people. One synthesizes narrator George Bryant's childhood memories and later research. The second is based upon J. P. Harrington's A Yuma Account of Origins (1908). The third provides a modern view of the origins of the Quechan, beginning with the migration from Asia to the New World and ending with the settlement of the Yuman tribes at their present locations. Publication of this book is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services Native American / Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program grant number MN-00-13-0025-13. This collection is for the Quechan people and will also interest linguists, anthropologists, oral literature specialists, and anyone curious about Native American culture.

About this title

About the Author

Amy Miller is a media maker and social justice organizer based in Montreal. She recently directed and wrote the documentary No Land No Food No Life a hard-hitting film on the economy, agricultural land grabs and the changes to farmers' lives around the world. She directed, wrote and produced the documentary The Carbon Rush, a global expose on how carbon offset projects impact local peoples. The film has expanded to include an online interactive game as well as a book of essays and photos published by Red Deer Press (2013). She directed, wrote and produced the featurette documentary Myths for Profit: Canada's Role In Industries of War and Peace that was screened thoroughly across Canada and at festivals including the Milano Film Festival, RIDM and The Bay Street Film Festival, where it won the Peoples Choice award. Her first documentary, Outside of EUrope, focuses on the exclusionary nature of immigration and border policies and continues to be screened around the world. She remains dedicated to developing critical documentaries for transformative social change and helping out grassroots campaigns for justice.

Edition details

• Publisher: Open Book Publishers
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1909254401
• ISBN 13: 9781909254404
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 220