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Letter to the Editor: The future of our culture is in serious jeopardy

November 19th 12:04 am | Lance Cramer Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

As an educator for nearly 15 years and a guy who likes to take young people out hunting, fishing and trapping, I can honestly say that our children aren't getting taught what they need in order to carry on our culture and traditions.

By the time most of our Inupiaq students graduate, most don't know:

1. How to hunt, skin their catch and put up meat.

2. How to fish with nets, fishing poles and aulasrauns (ice fishing jigs).

3. How to set traps, skin their animals and tan them.

4. How to gather important plants and medicines for the home.

5. The signs of weather, geography of their local areas, place names...etc.

6. How to cook basic foods like caribou soup, meat and gravy, and moose roast.

7. How to bake bread, dinner rolls, fry bread...etc.

8. How to sew atikluks, zippers on parkas, make maklaks, beaver hats...etc.

9. How to do their home finances, write resumes, and apply for and keep a job.

10. How to make hunting tools such as harpoons, knives and ulus.

11. How to tie basic knots for fishing, pulling vehicles and tying two ropes together.

12. Basic words of their language and basic conversations (Qanuq itpa sila uvlupak?).

13. Knowledge of their Family Tree and extended relatives.

14. History of their towns and villages.

15. How to race dogs, Eskimo dance, tell stories, how to do Native Youth Olympic Games...etc.

As a recent bilingual aide at the Kotzebue school (third through twelfth grade), I can honestly tell you that we as an Inupiaq people, our identity, our culture, knowledge and traditions are in serious jeopardy.

All of these things mentioned above are so important to know and be able to do. Not just to carry on our culture, but to survive and thrive. To be self-sustaining at home, regardless of the family income, is so important for self-identity and a feeling of purpose and accomplishment.

As students learn these important things, who they are as an Inupiaq will be solidified, and nothing can take that away from them. That self confidence and identity of who they are and where they come from will give them the boldness to lead us into economic, political, social and cultural endeavors in the future.

Fortunately, our students/children are still interested in learning our culture and traditions. They're not totally caught up in the world of cell phones, iPods and Facebook. Most are looking for authentic relationships and self-identity in their culture.

We need to begin to take advantage of that NOW. Not at the next political meeting, not next year. It's going to take a lot of things to make it happen.

If you really care about the future of your very own children and people, there are many things that need to change. We'll get into that in the next few issues of the Arctic Sounder.

But until then, make a decision...do you want your children to know their Inupiaq culture or not?

 

Contact us about this article at editor@thearcticsounder.com

Copyright 2012 The Arctic Sounder is a publication of Alaska Media, LLC. This article is © 2012 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Media, LLC makes no provisions for further distribution.