First Beaver Story is a book to foster awareness, pride, and respect for the Dane-Zaa language and traditional Beaver knowledge. It is primarily intended for language and culture education at Blueberry River First Nations, and for the benefit of all generations.
Dane-Zaa Dreamer, Charlie Yahey (1881/1883–1976), influenced and inspired many people of the Peace River area with his cultural knowledge and his language. Author, Trichia Davis, was inspired to retell his creation story for primary-age children in the community of Blueberry River, and for newcomers to have fundamental knowledge of the people and lands they live and work on. In addition to lavish colour photos and text of the creation story, this book includes words and non-speaker pronunciations in Dane-Zaa (Beaver language)—provided by Alvina Davis—to support language revitalization in the community.
Edited and published in collaboration with Blueberry River First Nations and Indigenous Language Revitalization expert, Colleen Austin, ‘Wii Goot (Gamaats Consultants); published by Colleen Austin.
Cover and page design, layout, and typesetting by Jan Westendorp/Kato Design and Photo.
9 × 7.5 inches
softcover
48 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9937877-2-0 (softcover)