Overview
**A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK**
A magical realistic middle grade debut about the origin story of the I?upiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Alaskan tradition. As his family prepares for winter, a young, skilled hunter must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping–the same mountain where his two older brothers died. When he reaches the mountaintop, he is immediately confronted by a terrifying eagle god named Savik. Savik gives the boy a choice: follow me or die like your brothers. What comes next is a harrowing journey to the home of the eagle gods and unexpected lessons on the natural world, the past that shapes us, and the community that binds us.Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson is part cultural folklore, part origin myth about the Messenger’s Feast – which is still celebrated in times of bounty among the I?upiaq. It’s the story of how I?upiaq people were given the gift of music, song, dance, community, and everlasting tradition.