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Children of the Midnight Sun: Young Native Voices of Alaska

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Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books, 1998
ISBN # 0-88240-500-4
Profiles by Tricia Brown. Brown is former editor of Alaska magazine and currently lives in Anchorage.
Photographs by Roy Corral has lived in Alaska for more than thirty years. He currently lives in Eagle River.

Grade Level: Middle School Theme: Non-fiction - Current lives of Alaska Native ChildrenStatus: Recommended with reservation.

Review

Ms. Brown writes and explores the current lives of eight Alaska Native children (Yup'ik, Inupiat, Aleut, Athabascan, Tlingit, Tsimshiam, and Haida), all sharing the life-styles that they currently live. The photographer depicts those children in activities that relate to the content of the story. At the front of the book is a map of Alaska highlighting the villages where the young authors of the book are located. The map could use a little more clarification detailing the Siberian Yup'ik, Cup'ik, Aluttiq, Unangan and other distinct language areas. The foreword was written by an Unangan/Aleut Larry Merculieff who writes, " This book gives everyone another avenue for listening to what our children are saying," implying that information is written by the children themselves. He compliments the works of Editor Tricia Brown and the sensitive photography of Roy Corral

The introduction by Editor Tricia Brown cites some misinformation about the migration pattern of the Alaska Native people, for example on page 9, second paragraph where she writes and describes the migration pattern of our ancestors. This information is misleading to our children because it doesn't give a traditional account of our own people - instead it implies that our land was populated by people who migrated to North and Central America from Asia.

Russian Christmas on the Kuskokwim River by Andrea Hoelscher, Yup'ik Page 29-31The section features Andrea Hoelscher, a twelve year old Yup'ik who lives in the village of Lower Kalskag and highlights the Russian Orthodox Christmas. The main theme of the story is intertwined with a brief history of community, environment, geographical area and summer camp, father's occupation, main Yup'ik cultural activities in dancing and how the local culture is being taught within the school. The story ends with the conclusion of the Russian Orthodox service.

There is far too much information imbedded within the three pages that does not focus on the main theme of the story (Russian Orthodox Christmas), and there is not enough information on Russian Orthodox Christmas within the story to get a good understanding of the celebration and even the use of the word "Selvi" vs "Slavic," - the latter known and understood within the communities that practice this religion; The use of "ulus" is a Inupiaq term, whereas in Yup'ik it is "uluaq." Her description of a qaspeq is incorrect - it is not a shirt dress, but a hooded garment worn by both men and women. Her description of the Yup'ik dance performers is inaccurate as it doesn't exemplify the gentleness, gracefulness and beauty of the dance, and she lacks understanding of the Yup'ik spirituality and ceremonies. The Yupiit do not believe in reincarnation! We are not reincarnated when we are given a Yup'ik name - rather we acquire some of the good characteristics of our namesakes. She doesn't have a good understanding of the geographical area and confuses the reader. She is trying to convey too much information in three pages and doesn't do justice to the Russian Orthodox celebration nor the Yup'ik culture.

Season: Winter (Christmas Holiday Celebrations)

Suggested Teaching Topics

Russian Orthodox is celebrated in many parts of Alaska of often most known as "Slavic". Begin a discussion on how "Slavic" is practiced differently in each of the communities. Where do the majority of those who celebrate this holiday live? Do they have a different school calendar?

Make a list of concepts and ideas that are not representative of the Yup'ik cultural group (baleen, reincarnation, the processing of fish, etc.) and discuss the need for authors and illustrators who are of the cultural group being represented.

References:

Local Elders Knowledge of the Russian Orthodox Christmas Practices Boundaries and Passages by Ann Fienup Riordan The Living Traditions of Yup'ik Masks by Ann Fienup-Riordan Agayuliyaraput: Our Way of Making Prayer by Marie Mead


A list of reviewers may be found at:
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/IKS/HAIL/Nallunairvik.html

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