Two old women

One day in late autumn, the leader of one of the Gvichin tribal groups makes a difficult decision - to park two old women, whose complaints about poor health began to embitter his people, already suffering cruel suffering from hunger and cold, and move on in search of food.

When a decision is announced, the shocked and frightened 75-year-old Sa 'and 80-year-old Ch'ijigyaak are sitting in the snow, unable to utter a word. They do not consider themselves useless - they never refused to help with sewing or dressing hides to those who shared food with them. Finally, daughter Ch'idzigyaak, tormented by guilt, shame and fear for the fate of her mother, but powerless to interfere with the fulfillment of the leader’s will, gives the doomed woman a precious bunch of raw elk leather belts. Grandson Ch'ijigyaak secretly gives her a bone hatchet. Finally the tribe leaves. Two women silently sit on a bed of lapnik, their thoughts are confused. At first, death seems to them the easiest way out. However, Sa 'finds the courage to convince himself and his friend in misfortune that it is more worthy to die, trying to do something, than simply surrender to the mercy of fate. Sa 'manages to kill the squirrel , accurately throwing an hatchet. Women reinforce their strength with meat broth and hide part of the meat. Putting the snares at random on the old rabbit paths, they themselves are surprised at their luck when two rabbits come across them. With difficulty bending their disobedient fingers, women make snowshoes and set off on a long journey to a parking lot by the river, where the tribe once fished in abundance - there they would have a better chance of survival. Settling down for the night, they dig a hole in the snow and hide in hides, or simply fall asleep back to back, when the forces completely leave them. Each waking in the morning is a meal, the pain in the joints and muscles is such that both of them struggle with the temptation to close their eyes and give themselves to sleep forever. But, nevertheless, their journey continues. Thanks to the carefully preserved smoldering coals, after each day's transition, they can warm themselves by the fire. Women reach the river and set up a winter camp in the old tribal camp, using the preserved grill for dried fish as a skeleton for their home. Having mastered a little in a new place, reinforcing forces and replenishing food supplies thanks to hunting skills learned from childhood, women decide to hide their parking lot, moving it further from the river. They fear not only the attacks of wolves , but also the return of people whom hunger can cause to commit the most cruel act. Fortunately, summer weather favors hunting and fishing, and now they have on their menu not only rabbit meat, but also roast partridge, smoked beaver and muskrat meat, and the fish stocks are such that they have to build an additional hanging cache. In the evenings, women sew clothes from rabbit skins, tell each other about their youth, about relations with their fellow tribesmen, and laugh, remembering how they once groaned and complained to everyone around them about the slightest pain and could not take a step without a stick.

The following winter, the tribe, whose hunters continue to pursue failure, returns to the place where the two women were condemned to death. The leader is oppressed by guilty feelings for his decision, and he does not know if he brought a curse on the tribe with his cruelty. Not finding human remains at the parking lot, he, motivated by vague hope, sends the best ranger of the tribe and three young hunters in search of the missing women. Weakened by hunger and ragged, they are almost ready to abandon their attempts when an experienced Daagu notices that someone had recently neatly removed the bark from the birches growing apart from the tribe's abandoned parking lot. He understands the feelings that made women hide from people, and this helps him find a way to their refuge. Having caught a faint wisp of smoke in the air, he is convinced that he was going right, the impossible happened, and the women were able to survive in the winter forest. Going to their home, he calls them by name and calls himself. Women decide that there is no more sense in hiding; moreover, for a long time of wandering, they miss people. They let Daaga and the hunters into their shelter, and they are shocked by the abundance of food and warm clothes that two weak women were able to prepare, while the best hunters of the tribe failed after failure. Sa 'and Ch'idzigyaak are afraid that people tormented by hunger will take away their food and leave them with nothing again, but Daagu, and after him his companions, give them their word that they will stand up for them if they are threatened by any danger. After much hesitation, women agree to give out most of their supplies, but so far they are afraid to go out to the people themselves. Instead, they host guests - former tribesmen come to them one by one, and gradually conversations and shared memories erase the bitterness of resentment. The grandson of Ch'idzigyaak visits his grandmother and jokingly demands to return the hatchet to him. Ch'ijigyaak is happy to see him after a long separation, but for a long time hesitates to talk about his daughter. Finally, she can't stand it and asks why Ozhiya Nelia never visited her. The grandson tells her that his mother is still tormented by shame. No matter how painful Ch'idzigyaak is, she realizes that Ozhiya Neliya did not intercede for her, fearing for her life, as well as for the life of her son and hers. In addition, it was her gift that helped the two women put the snare and survive. Finally the mother and daughter are reconciled. The leader announces that from now on the tribe will never abandon the old people to their fate - life itself has taught its people a lesson in respect for wisdom that comes only over the years.

Since the book touches on the topic of cannibalism , it was wary of the organizations of Native Americans , where representatives of the young publisher Epicenter Press tried to apply for sponsorship. “This story puts the Atabask Indians in a bad light,” one of the tribal leaders answered the editor of the publishing house ^[2] . Nevertheless, when financial difficulties were overcome, readers in Native American communities were glad that another fragment of their oral tradition was immortalized in the book and became known to readers around the world. In 1993, the novel received the Western States Book Award in the category of “creative non-fiction”.