Born in the Blood: On Native American Translation

12. Revisiting Haida Cradle-Song 67

Revisiting Haida Cradle-Song 67 Frederick H. White Introduction The significant development concerning traditional Native American literature and Native American cultural research has invoked attention to the intricacies of Native languages that previously had been ignored, if even considered at all (Basso 1984; Bringhurst 1999; Hymes 1981; Kroeber 1981; Kroskrity 1986; Swann 1992; Tedlock 1972). This attention has sparked a review of the volumes amassed during the early part of the twentieth century by the premier anthropologist Franz Boas and his prot égés (1911, 1922). This return—to the texts gathered by Boasians as well as other collections—is replete with stories and songs of the tribes of North America. My interest in this chapter is to consider a Haida song that John Swanton collected during the Jesup North Pacific Expedition during the winter of 1900–1901. My purpose in looking at this song is to reexamine the original text’s content and context in order to offer a modern paraphrase with regard to aspects of Haida culture possibly neglected in the original analysis. In order to provide a greater contextual understanding of the song, I find it apropos to address two factors in the process of discussing the song. The first concerns the problematic categorization of Native American literature, and the second provides background to the collection of which Cradle-Song 67 is a part. In essence, what will result is an ethnohistorical elaboration of the cradle-song within its cultural significance. 286 The Classificatory Question A result that was prevalent in accumulating literature from many American Indian tribes was the subsequent classification into anglicized genres of narratives, songs, prayers, or poems. This categorization was usually a product of the earliest collected literature, and the problem that went unseen or unquestioned was the reason or explanation for the cataloging of the text into one of the aforementioned categories. Cagle clarifies: “Before the American Indian Literary Renaissance in the late 1960s, most of what was identified as American Indian poetry was actually oral stories and songs recorded in verse as poetry by missionaries, ethnographers, and anthropologists who were inclined to define Native artistic forms in relations to their own cultures” (2007:30). The translators often also provided the subsequent title for the text and the typical tribal attribution for the text rather than any individual (Day 1951:viii). Swann further notes the paucity of consideration to the translation process: “Certainly there was no explicit attention to structure, and texts were presented in plain prose, in block form, with little or no attempt to represent the verbal artistry” (1996:xxviii). Hence, while tribal affiliation retained importance, the actual person providing the song did not. In this case, the song or poem itself was the sole focus within the context of the tribal affiliation, rather than the individual attribution. The text had preeminence over the individual, though the translators recognized the need for some sort of context and allowed the tribal affiliation to suffice (Day 1951:ix). The early classification practice regarding elements of Native American oral traditions as songs or poems has at least two implications that must be addressed before accepting the classification provided. First, the designation of the text as a poem or song may wrongly imply that the author is somehow an artist and that the song or poem is a result of a honed artistic ability. Second, the categorization may reflect the translator’s preference or bias and not necessarily that of the author of the text. Historically, the author ’s ability to provide such a text does not necessarily mean that that person is an artist who devotes his or her life is to such endeavors. The poem, song, or prayer may merely reflect an occasion commemorated by the individual experiencing the event in question, and such occasions and commemorations of such events were certainly not limited to a chosen few. Bierhorst offers the explanation that the singer or orator “does not consider himself the originator of his material but merely the conveyor. Revisiting Haida Cradle-Song 67 287 Either he has heard it from an elder or he has received it from a supernatural power” (1971:4). While this sentiment is certainly accurate historically , present-day indigenous authors and poets do not necessarily have such claims for their literature, that of receiving the content of their craft from an elder or a supernatural power. Bruchac, however, evokes contemporary spirituality when he claims...