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James Johnson, Sr.

James Johnson, Sr. was born in the old village of Kokrines on the Yukon River, near Ruby, Alaska. He grew up living a traditional subsistence lifestyle of trapping, hunting, and fishing. To help with the government's attempt to reintroduce reindeer into Interior Alaska in the 1920s, he took up reindeer herding near Ruby. James was well-known for his woodworking abilities, making sleds, snowshoes, and intricate picture frames out of willow wood. In his later years, he was known for telling traditional Koyukon Athabascan stories. James Johnson, Sr. passed away in 1996 at age 89. (Photo courtesy of Clara Johnson.)

Date of Death:

Feb 22, 1996

James Johnson, Sr. appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Raven's Story

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Jim Johnson and Pauline Chappelle	James "Jim" Johnson, Sr. and Pauline Chappelle were interviewed on August 9, 1972 by an unidentified person in Ruby, Alaska. In this interview, Jim talks about starvation times and medicine people. He talks about how medicine people get their power to heal, the role of medicine women, and traditional beliefs about spirits and death. In parts of the interview, Jim speaks in his Native Athabascan language. Pauline tells a traditional Athabascan story about a brown bear trying to marry a fox. Photograph of Jim Johnson courtesy of Clara Johnson. Photograph of Pauline Chappelle in the 1980s courtesy of Zeta Cleaver.	91-12-74	Raven's Story	Aug 9, 1972

Interview Title

Abstract

Archive #: Oral History

Project

Date of Interview

Jim Johnson and Pauline Chappelle

James "Jim" Johnson, Sr. and Pauline Chappelle were interviewed on August 9, 1972 by an unidentified person in Ruby, Alaska. In this interview, Jim talks about starvation times and medicine people. He talks about how medicine people get their power to heal, the role of medicine women, and traditional beliefs about spirits and death. In parts of the interview, Jim speaks in his Native Athabascan language. Pauline tells a traditional Athabascan story about a brown bear trying to marry a fox.

Photograph of Jim Johnson courtesy of Clara Johnson. Photograph of Pauline Chappelle in the 1980s courtesy of Zeta Cleaver.

91-12-74

Raven's Story

Aug 9, 1972