Claiming legitimacy: prophecy narratives from northern aboriginal women.

The prophecy narratives told by Native American women in the Yukon River region of Canada legitimize the experiences of contemporary life through a traditional form that allows for the incorporation of new ideas. As such, scholarly studies of prophecy narratives are too limiting in their almost exclusive focus on causality and adaptive strategies. These tales, especially those told by women, in reality serve to legitimize experience and being, regardless of their historical context.

During 1992, compelling questions were raised--in the mass media, in museum exhibits, and in popular and ...