Traditions are the handing down orally of stories, beliefs, customs, etc. from generation to generation. Traditions are often a long-established custom or practice that has the effect of an unwritten law. Traditions are very important to the Natives of Alaska. They believed that the stories told to them by their ancestors explained why things are the way they are, and how things came to be. Some stories were believed to be real, while others held more as a myth.
Traditions are a part of everyone's life, whether it be in your family's belief to have your girlfriend/boyfriend meet your parents, or like the Natives Athabascan's belief of attending a Stick Dance, which is forbidden to talk about for fear spirits would come back and haunt you. There are many stories and traditions that Alaska's Native tribes believe in. Here is a small representation of those stories.
The next few stories were originally in language Gwichen and have been translated to English.. Gwichen is one of the many languages used in Alaska's interior.
The Man Who had a Bear For His Guardian Spirit