Today’s A-Z Challenge letter is I.
I live in a land of Indigenous Peoples – Inupiat, Yupik, Athabaskan, Tlingit, and many more.
Alaskan’s Native peoples are many and varied – having a full, rich heritage. Much of it has been lost – languages and traditions tamped down by (not so) well-meaning white explorers and missionaries. I will grant that many had good intentions – but so many more did not.
As I am not Alaska Native I cannot go into all of the ins and outs of what happened, simply because I did not live it. But I work among a diverse population of delightful people.
I have been blessed to be invited to join circles – a drum circle and a talking circle. There is something cleansing about each and I can certainly understand why they are such an integral part of Alaska Native culture.
I noticed while watching a local show last night that I am (finally after some 33 years living here) beginning to sense what region Alaska Natives might come from. Shapes of faces – shapes of eyes – variations in color of skin – all of these give clues to which tribe a person calls his/her own.
I am a wanderer – my ancestors came to America from Ireland – my family settled in Ohio – my hubby and I brought our girls to Alaska. We are nomads in this land.
And I am grateful – oh, so grateful – to be blessed to live in this place.
Thank you, Alaska.