Journal Entry 17/Chapter Fifteen: (Choose one of the two journal assignments)

-Read the "hamatsa myth" on pages 116 and 117. Rewrite the story in a more modern setting.

`"...In my father's day if anyone laughed, if he made a mistake in the dances, he was killed."' (p. 117)

-Make a list of things that you do today and are common place. Make a list of things that your parents used to do and were common place to them when they were your age. What are the differences? How have things changed? ARe there any similarities?

Journal Entry 18/Chapter Sixteen: (Choose one of the two journal assignments)

`"That is natural. One must expect it. He will finish his year at school and return to stay. He will return as Jim came back to us, and he will let his hair grow and put on his old clothes, and he will be one of us, and free."' (p. 121)

-Have you ever been in a situation where your parents expected you to go one way and you were forced to choose a different direction? How did that make you feel? How did it make them feel? How did it change your relationship with your parents? What problems resulted? Explain.

"Mark and Jim were at another village on the night the dinner was given for Gordon. Neither mentioned it, nor forgot it. In his mind Mark could see them, the old and middle-aged of the family clan, gathered in T.P.'s old cedar house beneath the dark trees, and he could see T.P. making his appeal in the ancient Kwakwala, the others listening, waiting for Gordon's answer." (p. 123)

-We never find out what exactly happened that night at the dinner, only the outcome. Write out what you believe happened. What was said? How did Gordon voice his decision? How did the family clan react? Try to be as descriptive in your wording as possible.

Journal Entry 19/Chapter Seventeen: (Choose one of the two journal assignments)

`"The cedar tree. It had a thick brown pelt from which they could make clothes and blankets. It split readily under their first stone axes and wooden wedges. They made their houses and canoes from cedar. They carved masks and totems from its wood. In gratitude they turned it into a myth,..."'(p. 126)

-Create in your mind the myth of the Cedar-man and write it down.

`"You're right. In the end they will all leave, and the wrong people will use them for the wrong reasons. For publicity, for politics, for egotism, even for greed. But you have forgotten something. They have a splendid friend who understands them and will stand by them."' (p. 127)

-Do you agree with Mark's assessment? Predict what you believe is in store for the Kwakiutl. Is Mark being overly pessimistic? Explain.

Journal Entry 20/Chapter Eighteen: (Choose one of the two journal assignments)

`To keep fed, to keep warm, to keep alive. No woman said, "I am sorry. I have only enough fuel for my own family," and no man said, "It is true that I have shot a deer. I am freezing what I do not need now. I cannot share with you, friend."' (p. 131)

-In the Kwakiutl tribe there is a sense of community and a "we take care of our own" mentality. Have you ever experienced this kind of community concern and involvement? How has it effected you? Should this type of community behavior be encouraged? What kind of advantages or disadvantages are there? Explain.

`"Don't say no fine words about me; we'll both know they're lies. Do it in the spring, on some fine day."' (p. 134)

-Write your own obituary or Calamity's obituary. Try to include as much as you can in as few words as possible. (Consider checking the obituary page in your local paper for examples.)

Journal Entry 21/Chapter Nineteen: (Choose one of the two journal assignements)

`"No! He does not know. He will not return for many years, and when he does, no one will tell him. Not to hold him. To let him go. To keep a part of him here in his village with his own people so they can last, so I too, can live."' (p. 139)

-The way the Kwakiutl tribe deals with the issue of pregnancy outside of marriage may differ from the way your family would address the issue. What was your reaction to Keetah's news? What were your first thoughts? If it had been your family, how would they have reacted? Do you understand or agree with Keetah's reasoning?

`That night, over supper, Mark said to Jim, "Keetah is going to have Gordon's child. Did you know?"

-Does Jim's reaction shock or surprise you? If you were in his position how would you react? What would you do? Why do you think he reacts the way he does? Explain.