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Qelakun Wall' Qetegkun? by Cecilia Tacuk Martz:This year's conference theme, "Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Creating the Future," brought to mind an incident that happened at home with my children. They were pretty young and like all young Catholics, they were attending catechism classes. One night at dinner, I wanted to find out if they were learning what I had learned during my catechism days, so I asked them: "What do you have to do to get to heaven?" I was expecting them to answer that they had to be good, live in harmony with other people and perform Christian duties. One of my kids gave me a look that implied I should already know the answer to that question, so I asked again: What do you have to do to get to heaven?" Finally, one of the kids said, "Mom, you have to die!" Trying to hide my smile, and still trying to get the answer that I wanted, I tried again: "But how do you get to heaven?" The same kid, this time with a quizzical look, answered, "By heaven plane?" Often as parents, teachers, colleagues, friends and relatives, we don't realize that what we do or say to others can have unexpected results, just as my children gave me a totally unexpected answer to my question about heaven. Sometimes we may believe that what we are doing or saying is positive, but we need to stop and think. We need to put ourselves in other people's places and minds and ask ourselves what unanticipated consequences may come from our words, deeds or ideas. For instance there's a phrase that, on the surface, sounds like a positive, even inspiring, slogan to guide indigenous peoples along the path to success in the modern world. To achieve success, we are encouraged to "walk in two worlds." I've thought long and hard about that phrase, "walking in two worlds." During the summer of 1998 I had the privilege of serving as one of the faculty for the Island Institute's Sitka Symposium. During my week there I reflected more deeply on the concept of "walking in two worlds," and since the symposium encourages writing, critical thinking and debate, I wrote down my reflections. I'd like to share those thoughts with you now. Not In Two Worlds, But One A number of years ago the phrase "to walk in two worlds" arrived in Alaska and took root. It was uttered in speeches, written about in books and articles, discussed at conferences and in conversations among educators, social scientists and students. It became a slogan seen and heard in classrooms, on radio and television and on posters. Who was it directed at? Mostly it was used in reference to Yup'iit/Cupiit, Athabascan, Tlingit, Aleut, Iñupiat, Tsimshian and Haida. Many kass'aqs embraced the phrase and its seemingly positive meaning. Of course, it wasn't necessary for them to "walk in two worlds," only for Alaska's First Peoples. Oh, what a wonderful concept and everyone, it seemed, thought so. There was a certain Yup'ik person who thought about this phrase, "walking in two worlds." She mulled it over, discussed it with trusted friends and concluded that it was physically impossible to walk in two worlds. She looked for an opportunity to share her thoughts with a few prominent First People to see if they had arrived at the same conclusion. She wanted to do this discreetly because, at the time, her conclusion seemed to be politically incorrect. Often as parents, teachers, colleagues, friends and relatives, we don't realize that what we do or say to others can have unexpected results . . . An opportunity came when this Yup'ik person was invited to speak at a Canadian conference on education. On the second day of the conference, as this Yup'ik was walking with two prominent Canadian First People educators, she hesitantly asked them, "Do you know the phrase "walking in two worlds?" When they answered yes, she carefully said, "You know, I really never liked that phrase." One of the others replied in relief, "Me, too!" The Yup'ik asked, "Would you like to see what it looks like to walk in two worlds?" The other two looked at her with puzzlement and said, "Sure." So the Yup'ik walked in front of them to demonstrate. The other two immediately burst into hearty laughter. A passerby saw the action and appeared to be thinking, "crazy Natives" (it showed on her face.) After the laughter subsided, the Yup'ik asked, "A person who walks like that, what does it remind you of?" The other two started laughing again and after they finally quit laughing one of them said, "A person who had an accident in his/her pants." Then their conversation turned serious as they began discussing other thoughts related to the phrase "walking in two worlds." Concepts such as schizophrenia, conflict, failure, skills, abilities and language all emerged. What about all the conflicts this slogan could raise inside a person? Why are only the Yup'iit, Athabascan, Iñupiat, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Haida and Aleut expected to walk in two worlds and not others? The goal of the phrase is a positive one-to be successful in the kass'aq world and yet be a whole person in one's own culture. Yet, what is a person-an indigenous Alaskan-to do to achieve the goal that the phrase "walking in two worlds" implies? The answer that came up was this: first and foremost a person must have a solid foundation in his or her own culture and be able to walk solidly in that one world, learn all about it, believe in it and live it. Then, if a person chooses to do so, he or she can add to that one world the best from others: Japanese, Russian, German, American kass'aq etc. The phrase should not be "walk in two worlds" but should be "walk in your own world first" and then add to it from the worlds of others. And it should be directed to everyone, especially to those who live with people from other cultures. Each one of us has to have an intimate knowledge of all aspects of our own world first. We have to constantly educate ourselves in our own language and culture. Even if no one is encouraging us to educate ourselves about our own language and culture, it is our duty to learn it, use it and teach it to others until the end of time. We've heard our Elders say this over and over again. Paul John from Toksook Bay says it very eloquently in the video tape Nutemllaput: Our Very Own (available from ANKN.) We bemoan the loss of our Elders and wonder what we'll do without them. In our cultures' histories, when the oldest Elders passed on, others came up and took their places. Why should that stop today? Each generation, each of us individually, has to face the reality that we will become Elders one day and we must assume the responsibility that fact carries with it. It is our responsibility to teach our young people our traditions, our languages and everything that we've learned and continue to learn from our Elders. We can practice our traditions and languages at home, at the restaurant, at church, at the airport, at Sam's Club, even in Senator Ted Steven's office. I applaud people like Agatha John and others for teaching their children to speak our Yup'ik language in the midst of English-speaking communities. I applaud Paul John and his family in Toksook Bay, Andy Paukan of St. Mary's, Howard Luke of Fairbanks, Nora Dauenhauer of Juneau, Joe Lomack of Akiacuaq, Wassilie Berlin of Kassigluk, Louise Tall, Nita Rearden and Loddy Jones of Bethel along with the many others who take it upon themselves to teach their cultures and be positive influences in their own communities. Before closing, I would like to do something very un-Yup'ik. Understand, the Elders are my heroes. I respect them and I learn from them practically every single day. This is very hard for me to say, but it hurts me deeply when I hear Elders say that they are not smart because they haven't attended kass'aq school, or because they can't speak English, implying that they are uneducated. You Elders are the most educated people I know. Most of you even surpass those who hold doctorate degrees in the Western world. You have great minds and your responsibility is to teach us, your heirs, all you can of what you know so that we can carry that knowledge and pass it on to those who follow behind us, just as we are following behind you. One last message: when we, as Alaska's First Peoples, hold positions of power, we have to use that power wisely and in the best interests of our own people. We must be careful not to use that power to our own personal advantage, to please our administrators at the expense of our autonomy or succumb to the temptations that power carries with it. So I challenge all of you: Yup'iit, Iñupiat, Athabascan, Tlingit, Aleut, Haida, Tsimshian to take advantage of opportunities to learn your own languages and cultures and pass them on so we can truly honor our past, celebrate our present and create our own future. Quyana. Tacuk Martz The phrase should not be "walk in two worlds" but should be "walk in your own world first" and then add to it from the worlds of others. . . . first and foremost a person must have a solid foundation in his or her own culture and be able to walk solidly in that one world, learn all about it, believe in it and live it. | |
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