The Man Who Lived with a Giant: Stories from Johnny Neyelle, Dene Elder

Our parents always taught us well. They told us to look on the good side of life and to accept what has to happen. The Man Who Lived with a Giant is a collection of traditional and personal stories told by Johnny Neyelle, a Dene Elder from Déline, Northwest Territories. Johnny used storytelling to teach Dene youth and others to understand and celebrate Dene traditions and knowledge. Johnny’s voice makes his stories accessible to readers young and old, and his wisdom reinforces the right way to live: in harmony with people and places. Storytelling forms the core of Dene knowledge-keeping, making this a vital book for Dene people of today and tomorrow, researchers working with Indigenous cultures and oral histories, and all those dedicated to preserving Elders’ stories.

Table of Contents:
vii Preface xi Introduction xi The Sahtu Dene xii Telling My Dad’s Story Morris Neyelle xiii Story and Dene Philosophy Johnny Neyelle I Sacred and Traditional Stories 3 The Man Who Lived with a Giant 9 Bone Grease from the Sky: How the Animals Became Fat 13 Doo-roo-tseh, the Medicine Man 17 Kidnapped Woman Escapes 27 A Man and His Mother Turn to Cannibalism 31 Ia’eh, the Evil Strong Medicine Man 37 Tł’o-k’áe-tee, the Medicine Man 41 Yamorehya, the One Who Walked the World 59 Yamogah and Ayonia II Oral Histories from the Life of Johnny Neyelle 69 Life with My Parents, Jacque Neyelle and Marie Kotoyeneh 81 Trapping with My Father 89 Jacque Neyelle’s Story 95 A Trip to Mackenzie Mountain 101 The Dream, 1940s 105 Advice from My Parents 111 The Hunt to Whiskeyjack Point 115 Tragedies of the Past 117 Epilogue: Goodbye to Johnny Morris Neyelle 121 Afterword: The Editing Process 125 Genealogy of the Extended Neyelle Family 137 Glossary of North Slavey Words

About the Author :
Alana Fletcher received the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal for her doctoral work on the community of Déline, which she completed at Queen’s University. Morris Neyelle (1951-2022) was a residential school survivor and a sub-chief on the Déline band council.

Review :
"I am in awe of what you are holding and witnessing with The Man Who Lived with a Giant. Reminiscent of George Blondin's When the World was New and Trail of the Spirit, this book is not only a treasure for the people of Denendeh, it is a garden of renewal for the world to learn from." "Johnny’s traditional and life stories are nothing short of exquisite, offering an important window into Dene traditions and history. What a find!" "[Johnny Neyelle's] recorded stories were meticulously translated by his son Morris Neyelle and editor Alana Fletcher to blossom into this beautiful memoire, which is truly a guide to being... An invaluable road map, a gift from Johnny Neyelle that will help guide the people of Denedeh and everyone else to a positive life." “To paraphrase Johnny Neyelle, these stories are about learning to live, they are about cultivating an ethos that will help us navigate our increasingly interdependent lives together, on the land that sustains us, well into the future.”