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Bonnie Lipan
We have covered so much material in my Iñupiaq 220 class (North Slope Iñupiaq History, Language & Culture) and now we had to pick a topic to write a midterm reflection paper. How can I pick? It was all so interesting. We covered so many topics. We learned and discussed the various rituals and history of the messenger feast; from the way invitations were delivered, to the way guests were greeted, the dance and drum ceremonies and gift giving (Ostermann). Today we have Kivgaq as an attempt to bring this tradition back.
We had covered ancient legends and stories about a brother and sister, who after a terrible indiscretion became the sun and the moon. We read about three disasters:
We talked and read about the reactions of the Iñupiat to first seeing white men. Imagining how I would feel if I were on the beach and a strange craft arrived with people looking a lot like me but with a little different physique, clothing and coloring. What if aliens from another planet landed in a strange craft, looking a lot like me but with a little different physique, clothing and coloring? How would I feel?
The latest topic discussed was about the aftermath of it all – all the death and destruction of not only the large numbers of whales that white man killed for the oil and baleen and let the rest go to waste. How white man's whaling created famine. How the Iñupiat''s were stripped of their live style, culture and family members (Harcharek). Jana read an article from the December 19, 2003 Anchorage Daily News about the lasting effects in Wales; how a large grave from the influenza epidemic claimed the lives of half the population and the memories that live on today of the tragedies of the recent past. The article made a connection between this tragic history and the alcoholism and depression that exists there today.
Sondra, the woman who commented on Facebook, isn't a close friend but I know she is a conscientious well-intentioned woman. Her comment kept resonating through my head all night long. In the shower the next morning, I knew what I needed to write about as tears started flowing down my face and I began to sob.
This history is too important! If Sondra knew how important these traditions are to the nourishment of mind, body and soul of the Iñupiat, she never would make a comment like that. If she had heard the stories, knew of the numbers of whales and people that died, and the long term ramifications, she would understand. The white men arriving in Alaska during the whaling season felt they knew what was best for the local people too. Weren't the white men more educated, had better technology and better tools? They were more "civilized"; they thought they knew what was best.
Native people in the lower 48 have been dealing with white men since the 1500's. They still have the emotional scars from the early years. It's only been within the last 100 years (a person's lifetime) that these atrocities have occurred to the Alaskan Natives. The people living today can hear the stories from their Aaka or Aapa and see the pain in their faces. For example, The Wales Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-9, a sickness brought by the white man and wiping out half the community, My grandparents were in their prime at the time of this epidemic! What happened when white men first arrived in the lower 48 back in the early 1500's? Didn't similar things happen? Didn't we learn from that? Have we learned anything from the disasters that happened here in Alaska? Would we do it again? I use the word "we" as I am also a white woman who many times think I know what's best for someone else.
Let's face it, the U S Government and missionaries are all well-intentioned, but ignorant. I wonder about our military and missionary involvement in other countries. Are we assuming we know what's best in other countries or do we really know?
The lessons learned in Alaska as a result of white man's presence needs to be told on a grander scale. The world needs to hear these stories of death and destruction and learn of the emotional toll it has taken in the Iñupiat. I did my best on Facebook to explain to my 350+ friends the importance of whaling to the Iñupiat. Why doesn't someone show the white man their way might be wrong!
Harcharek, Jana. "Lectures from INU220 North Slope Iñupiaq History, Language and Culture Class, Fall Semester 2012." Iḷisaġvik College. Barrow, Alaska, October 9, 2012. Oquilluk, William. People of Kauwerak. Anchorage, AK: Alaska Pacific University Press, 1981. Ostermann, H. The Alaskan Eskimos as described in the Posthumous notes of Dr. Knud Rasmussen. Ed. E Holtved. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordsk Forlag, 1952. "Prince of Wales." Anchorage Daily News 19 December 2003.
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The article about Wales was fresh in my mind when I returned from class and went on Facebook to look at some of the comments made about some of my postings. Most of my Facebook friends are "Michiganmuit" (People from Michigan). One of my postings about whaling had this comment "Why isn't anyone showing them that their way may be wrong"! I gasped and then responded as best I could; explaining the importance of whaling to the Iñupiat and some of the history, but space is limited on Facebook. I realized how little people in Michigan (or in the lower 48 for that matter) knew about the North Slope. All the information they see is from Reality TV like Ice Road Truckers and Flying Wild Alaska which as we know isn't a real picture of the life styles here on the North Slope.