Richard Van Camp

comeback. My sister say it’s cuz Franklin is so close to the
barrenlands, I say fine, sure, whatever (I never been up there so it
doesn’t mean too much to me.)

Well, George Blondin, he did a great job on this book. It’s filled
with great stories. He talks about the time there were the Na acho’,
gigantic mammals, who were dangerous and liked to eat people. He
tell a story about Yamoria, the man who put everything right in its
place and give us Dene laws to live by. He tell us about a family of
eagles that used to eat people and dine on flesh (I like that--dine on
flesh.) He had to kill the whole family except one boy eagle and
Yamoria told the eagle to eat only fish, and he show him how; and
afterwards, he give that boy eagle a squeeze so he won’t grow to be
a giant like his folks and he stopped growing alright, and that’s why
there are no more giant eagles. Neat, hey?

The only thing I don’t like about this book is the artwork. If they
would have hired me, they would have had the best, but as it is, all
they got are skinny little stick men inside chucking spears and the
caribou! The caribou! They look so sickly and and pitiful! Like a
tundra wind would have no trouble at all knocking them over!

So I get me an idea.

I want to tell the world about this book

and I want to do the artwork for some of these stories
so I do my best

and they’re damn good.

I drew the story George Blondin told about a boy who had strong
caribou medicine. It’s sad. He loved caribou and asked them to come
and get him and they did. And this boy, he was half caribou and half
human, he brought that whole caribou herd back to the camp and he
sang his mom a sad farewell song to say goodbye to his mother.
(Don’t tell no one this, but after I read that, I kind of give my mom
a hug and tell her I love her.)

Boy that George Blondin, he really gets you good when he wants
to make you cry.

So I drew a picture. I called it “Farewell” and I'm mighty proud
of it. I drew about Di, a powerful medicine man in our history, who

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