tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73476471735818309782024-03-05T15:08:02.432-04:00Planet AlaskaVivian Faith Prescott blogging from AlaskaVivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-2158130769429745152019-11-09T15:23:00.000-04:002019-11-09T15:23:43.649-04:00A Snapshot of Current Beliefs <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="243" id="vp1994gB" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/embed.animoto.com/play.html?w=swf/production/vp1&e=1573325603&f=994gBiSI6I4sCVH5UzPfHA&d=0&m=p&r=360p+480p+720p&volume=100&start_res=720p&i=m&asset_domain=s3-p.animoto.com&animoto_domain=animoto.com&options=" title="Video Player" width="432"></iframe>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"A Snapshot of Current Beliefs" video poem by Vivian Faith Prescott</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvMIdS_OsPwji0cL4K1UIqYt_kONpzDIoPAiULN8gMiL_g0YOPQSw32oNniMehXb57oY8z190yQwBIJ02KbznSSuRlMnikxLMxpKwG6K7HNgo3Fo99iUlgRflWWU3Ok9uiSwoEi7wPM0/s1600/Snapshot+salmon+collage+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="803" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvMIdS_OsPwji0cL4K1UIqYt_kONpzDIoPAiULN8gMiL_g0YOPQSw32oNniMehXb57oY8z190yQwBIJ02KbznSSuRlMnikxLMxpKwG6K7HNgo3Fo99iUlgRflWWU3Ok9uiSwoEi7wPM0/s320/Snapshot+salmon+collage+1.JPG" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collage poem by Vivian Faith Prescott</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A Snapshot of Current Beliefs</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I think of the sea exhaling and inhaling</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>against
the shoreline, forming it </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">into unrecognizable shapes, how the </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">ocean
curves beyond our line of sight.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I think of the sky chasing<span style="color: red;"> </span>the sun<span style="color: red;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>into
an evening blush, </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">and the morning winds and afternoon
torrents. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve
had months of this: </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">the rain washing salmon eggs from </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">streams,
the algae cloud<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>beneath </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">the surface. I sense the ocean here <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>is
different; </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">the weight of the gods’ footfalls </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>sink
down. Our faith has dulled, </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">once hook-sharp, pressed against </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>our
whorled thumbs. </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Still, the holy ones venture out </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">into
the dark hush </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">to try and save us from ourselves. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">They
practice prayers </span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">to change these rainfall patterns, </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">and
quickly repair our seawalls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But all the crows have flown </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">to
their roosts and only </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">the loons and the herons are present </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">to
bear witness. </span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><i></i><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>by Vivian Faith Prescott</i></span>Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-17497771251614801482019-06-22T01:32:00.001-04:002019-06-22T01:32:16.881-04:00Sustainable Harvesting and the Alaskan Foodie<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2sMuRqLDCIJr5xEBN1FoDN3BYTvsory58TeknfzyLcVQl5bcXXQCiFaEyKAsVQmaNRL0rVgYeSINnPuyLDqsB5-VTvMAIN6U0sREC8Nm33cBJbDrU636qtIEu5RkSRyy3f-7ut48GMo/s1600/blueberry+wrangell+bracelet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBKd4QjXpwMrdhF54KzyNYCeK3zcb-Qyq0kTT8qOsnZ1VAxTtRFpzxAizx-HDleRHzwt3Lm48GWv3JrVfVlOTLB2t3pOXjZLA1y5rGjU2XpH9JY6AXV6-ziNsc_jvvZuksyW8Nz6hHkU/s1600/2014-07-25+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBKd4QjXpwMrdhF54KzyNYCeK3zcb-Qyq0kTT8qOsnZ1VAxTtRFpzxAizx-HDleRHzwt3Lm48GWv3JrVfVlOTLB2t3pOXjZLA1y5rGjU2XpH9JY6AXV6-ziNsc_jvvZuksyW8Nz6hHkU/s320/2014-07-25+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">*By Vivian Mork Yeilk'</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">My
mother squished a blueberry and put it in my mouth. <span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Everything was new. I was new. </span>She walked me through
the forest, setting me on the forest floor beneath a large spruce tree. <span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Though I don’t remember any of it, she
said I felt the wet, cool earth beneath me and I didn’t cry but looked around.
She wanted me to know the scent of the world; to know how it felt, how it
smelled and what it looked like. She wanted me to belong here.</span><span style="color: red; margin: 0px;"> </span>This is how she introduced me to the land where my
ancestors have been for thousands of years. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">I
was born into the time of year that is prime harvesting for devil’s club. Many
people know me as the devil’s club lady. Today, I’m an Alaskan Native
traditional foods and medicines expert. Sometimes, even my mother asks me about
how to harvest <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">s’áxt’</i> (devil’s club)
or spruce tips. I hold a certification from Rutger’s University in biologically
analyzing plants, in addition to a Masters in Cross Cultural Studies, where I studied
Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Traditional Ecological knowledge (TEK). Not only
do I know harvesting methods, I understand the biological mechanisms of plants
in the area and why we do what we do when we do. I can put our traditional
foods and medicines in a beaker and say, “See, my ancestors were right: More
than 10,000 years of science!” </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacriT1VZdFFXt_fR33BJDe5m5mfDFnJ743QylHU6dXXGJCghhnPXsW1vIBSdb4dNxvo4TQ_Nu2zdws_LRCV0UK7-HraBA3U8XF9sdx9phl0YJDVfpO84gLuItHSxL4IPCn_Dqnqar9H8/s1600/Planet+Alaska+devils+club+VK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacriT1VZdFFXt_fR33BJDe5m5mfDFnJ743QylHU6dXXGJCghhnPXsW1vIBSdb4dNxvo4TQ_Nu2zdws_LRCV0UK7-HraBA3U8XF9sdx9phl0YJDVfpO84gLuItHSxL4IPCn_Dqnqar9H8/s320/Planet+Alaska+devils+club+VK.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Lately,
my mother and I have been discussing sustainable harvesting since we’ve noticed
an increase in Alaskan foodie interests. Even 10-20 years ago there weren’t
many non-native people harvesting our plants. Now, foraging is popular and it’s
frustrating when various organizations, schools, and publications utilize a
non-native forager as their expert and don’t consider me or the many excellent
Alaska Native plant experts. This is especially problematic considering the
connection of our traditional foods to the history of colonization and
resulting trauma. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpHh3HXr8UYBk9DoaHEdyZV9a5FnC0zmw4etUc02gop858uWO1j_byuOLeDdQPO3OBlWrojf0-HQloAJfUWpDROTTO9oi25Cc7PmHm__wI6wV2P511PUuLuhYU9AvUpCJwcKaJad96Z0/s1600/2010-11-28+2141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpHh3HXr8UYBk9DoaHEdyZV9a5FnC0zmw4etUc02gop858uWO1j_byuOLeDdQPO3OBlWrojf0-HQloAJfUWpDROTTO9oi25Cc7PmHm__wI6wV2P511PUuLuhYU9AvUpCJwcKaJad96Z0/s200/2010-11-28+2141.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Over
the last couple decades, as I’ve learned about Tlingit traditional foods and
medicines from Elders, aunties, uncles, cousins, clan sisters and brothers, and
community, I’ve heard their life stories and their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">connections</i> to these foods and medicines. I discovered we carry
stories of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">trauma</i>. Elders tell about boarding
school experiences, about going hungry, how teachers and administrators
wouldn’t let them eat the “uncivilized” foods. At Sheldon Jackson in Sitka,
Tlingit children were not allowed to eat the abundant herring eggs on the beach
at Totem Park. And ironically, now generations of Tlingit children have never
seen herring eggs at Totem Park because of commercial overfishing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">The
colonizers view of traditional foods was (and still is) transferred to some of
our Native family members. In reference to harvesting, as a child I was told by
a family member, “Don’t grow up to be a dirty Indian like your Aunt.” Another
comment I heard numerous times while growing up is, “That’s poor people food,”
meaning anything harvested from land and sea. Many of us traditional harvesters
have overcome a history of this shame in order to gather our traditional foods
and medicines. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">What
does this mean for Alaska Natives, for traditional experts, and for our clans
and families? It means we now experience “outsiders” claiming to be experts in
our foods and medicines, even more so than we are. It also means the spots we
have traditionally harvested are being picked clean instead of sustainably
harvested. We have to go further and further to harvest. In addition, misinformation
is disseminated by Alaskan hobby foragers online, a place where more and more
people are turning to in order to learn. This perpetuates improper harvesting
techniques and improper use of medicines. For example, you can’t learn to
properly harvest devil’s club online. It takes years to learn everything there
is to know about this plant, how to harvest it, when to harvest it, and its
uses. </span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Years ago I served on the Kayaaní
Commission with Sitka Tribe of Alaska. From their website:<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">The mission of the Kayaaní
Commission is to preserve our spiritual way of life. The religion of the
Tlingit was the Earth. The Tlingit are one with the Earth. The Kayaaní
Commission is here to preserve and protect traditional ways of our ancestral
knowledge.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></i>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">The Sitka Tribe of Alaska finds that tribal
peoples have forever relied upon plants and their traditional knowledge of the
plants for food, medicine and the creation of artistic and utilitarian works
and continue to rely upon plants for the very same needs today, as they will
for generations to come. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">*Traditional Knowledge refers to the
traditional spiritual methods, means and ways of gathering, processing,
utilizing, and protecting traditional plants. </span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">*Traditional knowledge should be understood
as intellectual property and as such, property cannot be used to create
commercial items intended for resale by people who do not possess the cultural
birthright to such property.</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Many
Alaska Natives are hesitant to teach non-natives how and where we harvest. We’ve
witnessed the commercial depletion of our resources in addition to poor harvesting
practices for personal use. At times I’ve refused to teach people because of a
few bad experiences when my students went out on their own and disregarded our protocols.
This is one of the main reasons why many Alaska Natives guard the precious
knowledge they have.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Despite
some negative experiences, I began to change my view when I befriended Janice
Schofield who has written many popular Alaska plant books. At first I was
reluctant, but through mutual mentoring and respect, I realized I needed to
share <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how </i>to harvest our plants in
order to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">preserve</i> our plants. I mean,
societies are always changing, and foraging is one area where people are trying
to take better care of themselves and the planet. So <span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">I asked myself </span>how are Alaskan foragers and
foodies going to learn proper protocols and harvesting, in addition to the
history of trauma, if I don’t share or explain things? <span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">First
of all, if you are a non-native resident of Alaska, I highly recommend searching
out a local Native food and medicine expert in your area to learn from. Please
be patient with us as we get to know you and your intentions with the knowledge
we share with you. In turn, my Alaska Native family and friends, please be
patient with people who are new to our harvesting techniques and protocols. We
can all learn from and with each other. The whole point is: if we do not show
people how we have sustainably harvested for more than 10,000 years we may not
be able to harvest off the land for the next 10,000 years. It’s not easy to
consider preservation on such a long-term scale, but it is a worldview at the
core of Alaska Native cultures.</span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">I point to the </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">s’a<u>x</u>t’<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Today, I am Auntie Viv and I am teaching
my cousin’s daughter and my young nephews, about our sacred plant. Today, I’ll
show them how to dig for roots and how to harvest the bark. We touch the dirt
beneath the plant. Our fingers get dirty. We laugh and share these moments. They
will grow up connected to this land, knowing respect and protocols. They
belong. This is how is should be. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">(This article first appeared in the <a href="https://www.juneauempire.com/life/planet-alaska-sustainable-harvesting-and-the-alaskan-foodie/" target="_blank">Capital City Weekly's Juneau Empire.</a>) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlnV0U7alrXoHK8pxVozbyfzHCUV1FPblWkW7pB1c1oLOSq4tLyYcCjdQ6aY4aCygFVDuoEwvmAheOgcIAVr5OGx73y7KoR_7wB1XSEJfpRPw7sgp3DkCDFqU9w_IBJ5wVFe1EVI7Ghw/s1600/Auntie+Viv+demonstrates+for+her+nephews.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlnV0U7alrXoHK8pxVozbyfzHCUV1FPblWkW7pB1c1oLOSq4tLyYcCjdQ6aY4aCygFVDuoEwvmAheOgcIAVr5OGx73y7KoR_7wB1XSEJfpRPw7sgp3DkCDFqU9w_IBJ5wVFe1EVI7Ghw/s400/Auntie+Viv+demonstrates+for+her+nephews.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Resources: <a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr671.pdf" target="_blank">Forest Service: Non-timber forest products</a></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/ntfp/pdf/soa_ntfp_harvestmanual_04022008.pdf" target="_blank">State of Alaska: Non-timber forest products</a></span><br />
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* About the Author:<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">Lingít <u>x</u>’éiná<u>x</u>
Yéilk’ yóo <u>x</u>at duwasáakw. Dleit <u>k</u>áa <u>x</u>’éiná<u>x</u> Vivian
Mork yóo <u>x</u>at duwasáakw. Yéil naa<u>x</u> <u>x</u>at sitee. T’a<u>k</u>deintaan
áyá <u>x</u>at. Ta<u>x</u>’ hít dax.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Teikweidí yadí áyá <u>x</u>at. Hawaiian <u>k</u>a Norwegian yadí áyá <u>x</u>at.
Kaagwaantaan dach<u>x</u>án áyá xat. Sámi <u>k</u>a Irish áyá <u>x</u>at.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Kach<u>x</u>ana.aakw ku<u>x</u>dzitee <u>k</u>u.aa
Xunaa kaawu dax.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">My Tlingit name is
Yéilk’, or Little Raven. My English name is Vivian Mork. I am of the Raven
moiety. I am a member of the T’a<u>k</u>deintaan clan (black-legged kittiwake).
I am from the Snail house. I am a child of the Teikweidí (brown bear). I am a
grandchild of the Kaagwaantaan (wolf). I am Sámi and Irish. I am a child of the
Hawaiian and Norwegian. I was born and raised in Wrangell, but my kwáan comes
from Hoonah. I live in Sitka, Alaska. </span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-79097991420572656012019-04-22T15:48:00.000-04:002019-04-22T15:48:28.372-04:00Skunk Cabbage: A Harbinger of Spring<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixhukVFUCecwOQX0meFt7AjbbR3gEeJE_f2K_P6en4CIG6jVRensX2adI9jQJIoT_LmqNd7Ac0WcfVF3BloUidEq319XELym3VbpKFNRE3k-rKVEJ3eIGhY-cWC7OQzRynVKvRkduj10/s1600/Dad+taking+a+break+skunk+cabbage+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixhukVFUCecwOQX0meFt7AjbbR3gEeJE_f2K_P6en4CIG6jVRensX2adI9jQJIoT_LmqNd7Ac0WcfVF3BloUidEq319XELym3VbpKFNRE3k-rKVEJ3eIGhY-cWC7OQzRynVKvRkduj10/s400/Dad+taking+a+break+skunk+cabbage+.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0a0a0a; display: inline; float: none; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "oxygen" , "ubuntu" , "cantarell" , "fira sans" , "droid sans" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mitchell Prescott and Annie taking a break. Image courtesy of Vivian Faith Prescott.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My dad and I load up his truck with binoculars, a rifle, and our lunch. We are heading out the logging roads to look for spring, meaning skunk cabbage. I get excited whenever I see the first skunk cabbage emerge. He claims skunk cabbage is a sign it’s time to go out and fish for spring kings, which is his real motive for taking me on this mini-adventure.
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The pavement ends at the Tongass National Forest sign, after that there’s a hundred miles of old logging roads. My dad’s familiar with these dirt roads as he’s a retired field supervisor with the U.S. Forest Service. He’s in his late 70s and lives with me and my husband at our fishcamp. We often plan excursions to learn, photograph, and harvest from nature.<br />
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<i><b>Snow melts, streams rush, plants push, rotten leaves become soil and the ground warms. A bright yellow plant pushes up. </b></i></div>
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Rainforest crocus, muskeg lantern, and swamp lantern, are other names for skunk cabbage. Its scientific name is <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; line-height: 28px;">Lysichiton americanum</em>, and in Lingít, it’s called X’áal’. Skunk cabbage is a bright yellow plant with big green waxy leaves. The leaves range from a foot and a half to four feet high. I’ve seen them even taller. Hundreds of tiny male and female flowers encircle a spadix, the protruding club that resembles a corncob. The long spadix sticks up from the plant shrouded by a bright yellow hood, the spaeth.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Skunk cabbage scent attracts beetles and flies. Pollen collects on their feet and wings as they fly from flower to flower and plant to plant, scattering flower dust.</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEcG3InPrABH4nPJL7jU2j11CNVuTec3-nTw-wDfJupo-xRS0oI9RwImdNKU1SgT_ElKekY4CqVNSd5Nza8nC0m34A5jc0uwaa_0S-mrt-xVsjlEXDf0TqgPm1njsoqgHQPYdk68bw8oE/s1600/skunk+cabbage+spring+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEcG3InPrABH4nPJL7jU2j11CNVuTec3-nTw-wDfJupo-xRS0oI9RwImdNKU1SgT_ElKekY4CqVNSd5Nza8nC0m34A5jc0uwaa_0S-mrt-xVsjlEXDf0TqgPm1njsoqgHQPYdk68bw8oE/s320/skunk+cabbage+spring+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As we drive the muddy road, we point out the telltale yellow of emerging plants in ditches and along hillsides. I’m looking to photograph larger plants. I roll down the truck window. The scent of skunk cabbage is enticing, though people describe it as a mixture of skunk, carrion, and garlic. To me it smells like spring. My dad turns to me and says, “I ate some skunk cabbage as a kid. I even tried the leaves. They don’t taste good.” I laugh because I tried it as a kid too.</span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BBnIXsuwZ3KMJgTGz9XWKcwTE_HMaUiwyv8HKmZmkGTTHAafJJBo7PVpL-Msjb1vSiLY9qNEi3VZL7AW48FC0AaYD7pwIa20BchqMiwcznNPIuuIDNGq8JQ9hynzt62HiVUuKg0TYsU/s1600/Skunk+cabbage+looking+on+logging+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BBnIXsuwZ3KMJgTGz9XWKcwTE_HMaUiwyv8HKmZmkGTTHAafJJBo7PVpL-Msjb1vSiLY9qNEi3VZL7AW48FC0AaYD7pwIa20BchqMiwcznNPIuuIDNGq8JQ9hynzt62HiVUuKg0TYsU/s320/Skunk+cabbage+looking+on+logging+road.jpg" width="240" /></a>My memory travels me down another dirt road in Wrangell, on the hill behind town. My sister and I often explored our neighborhood with other children. “Wild corn!” we shrieked when we spotted the skunk cabbage. What did we know? The only skunk I’d ever seen was in a cartoon. My sister was five years old and I was four. We slid down the embankment into the ditch. My sister snapped off a green stalk for herself and I broke one off for me. I stood in my rubber boots, ankle deep in black muck. Corn was our favorite. I took a bite.
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Immediately a bitter burning sensation stung my lips and tongue. Beside me, my sister was spitting and wiping her mouth. We scrambled out of the ditch and ran crying toward home. My parents made us drink milk. The milk cut the bitter, peppery taste somewhat, but I still tasted that nasty stuff for a week. </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Deer walks gingerly, pressing her hooves into the muck. She nibbles the tip of the new growth.</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike humans, deer and bear eat parts of the skunk cabbage raw and Canada geese love summer leaves. Skunk cabbage provides deer a springtime food, high in protein, a perfect meal after a long winter. Humans have to be careful, though, because calcium oxalate crystals make skunk cabbage inedible to us in its raw form: The taste is described as if eating needles.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b><i>The nightly frost is gone, the warm sun beckons, bears emerge from dens. </i></b></span></span><br />
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About 100 yards in front of our truck, a small black bear darts out of the woods near a muskeg and rushes across the road. We slow next to the bull pines where the bear had emerged. My dad points to the skunk cabbage nearby. He says when you’re out in the forest to keep an eye on the skunk cabbage patches. Often you’ll see where bears have been digging for roots, and because the plant loves wet black muddy areas, you can see a bear’s footprints. It works like a warning system for bears in the area.<br />
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My dad and I drive a few more miles, running into snow and ice on the road. We drive carefully and keep a lookout for skunk cabbage. Deer nip off the tops of new growth and bears eat the roots in the spring to help clean out their systems after emerging from hibernation.<br />
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<b><i>Take notice of the bear's huge paw prints pressed into the muck. Take notice of the trampled green leaves, the deep holes where the roots once were. </i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Traditionally, Tlingits used the water repellant leaves like wax paper for lining baskets, and locals still use leaves for lining ovens dug in the ground or sand, and for wrapping fish for steaming. Folded leaves can form drinking cups or berry picking baskets and leaves can be spread out as a food prep space. Dried and ground leaves were also used for thickening foods. The drying and cooking process breaks down the calcium oxylate, making it edible.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwjiP2B2SkPaJAVb-FxbXyD9xhObL2bGGZcyKlb8aEiQBlSeXjRVUvUfknZyCgEHNeSwdotRLRsYuTGI622Xq_yQulbhJPtSHxmkIqi_y7hz9E7turoWwY6gJc36XA9KGQfiDSHyuT40/s1600/skunk+cabbage+BIG+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwjiP2B2SkPaJAVb-FxbXyD9xhObL2bGGZcyKlb8aEiQBlSeXjRVUvUfknZyCgEHNeSwdotRLRsYuTGI622Xq_yQulbhJPtSHxmkIqi_y7hz9E7turoWwY6gJc36XA9KGQfiDSHyuT40/s320/skunk+cabbage+BIG+4.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Inhale the warm earth, the scent of new growth, the mossy muskeg. Good medicine for the mind and spirit.</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></b></span><br />
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #292929; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; max-width: 640px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Despite cautions for human ingestion, skunk cabbage has medicinal uses. Its healing properties are reflected in the Tlingit saying: * <i>Yee yoo x’atángi áwé haa sinéix a yáx yatee x’áal’ a káx’ haa s’éil’ x’éiyi</i>, which translates to: </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #292929; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Your words are healing like the skunk cabbage applied to our open wounds</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">. The roots are used to make a poultice for swollen muscles and joints, and for treating burns. People also use the leaves in sweat lodges. And when pressed to skin, heated leaves can draw out splinters and thorns. I’ve heard bears use the leaves too. People have seen wounded bears roll in skunk cabbage leaves in order to adhere the leaf like a bandage to their wounds. </span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hundreds and hundreds of flies buzz about the plants.<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span>The spider spins her web nearby.</i></b><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "quot"; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">At Earl West, the end of the road, my dad parks the truck. We eat lunch at a picnic table and afterward I spy a large patch of skunk cabbage nearby. Small sticks and dead roots from last year’s crop are ground cover for the bright, newly bloomed plants. I carefully step around them and then lie down. The ground is warm and wet. The plants surround me, eye-level, and with my camera I take photos of the plant’s insides, alive with insects. The smell is delirious and exotic. This wouldn’t be a bad place to breathe my last breath, I think to myself, with t</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">he warm spring sun shining </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">down, inhaling the scent of skunk cabbage. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19bWiv5Q_vWfvsB_cQVXjZeauDu7z1C6L8SHbVgrFeGk8zJKcl4OC7dNWKu-rJrdWNDDYsEHcsFSaBnrVwixCarQUyE9fcJBJdVyHrAu2bGH9EToL0f_27hbHirzhcfH_uOB5_orKEXw/s1600/Skunk+cabbage+BIG+vivian+daughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19bWiv5Q_vWfvsB_cQVXjZeauDu7z1C6L8SHbVgrFeGk8zJKcl4OC7dNWKu-rJrdWNDDYsEHcsFSaBnrVwixCarQUyE9fcJBJdVyHrAu2bGH9EToL0f_27hbHirzhcfH_uOB5_orKEXw/s320/Skunk+cabbage+BIG+vivian+daughter.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian Mork, co-writer/author/host of Planet Alaska </td></tr>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like the deer, I'm careful where I trod. I am like the beetles and the flies, drawn to scent and like the bear, I'm drawn to wet earth. Like my father I am drawn to travel the trails and dirt roads to search for wonder, to search for spring. </span></i></span></span></b><br />
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<i>*<span style="font-size: x-small;">Paraphrased from a speech by Willie Marks, Keet Yaanaayí with translation help by Ethel Makinen, Daasdiyáa, and Irene Paul, Yaaxl.aat. Richard Dauenhauer and Nora Marks Dauenhauer, eds., “Haa Tuwunáagu Yís: For Healing Our Spirit, Tlingit Oratory” (Juneau, AK: Sealaska Heritage Institute, 1990).</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">**2018 Article appeared in the Capital City Weekly & online Juneau Empire: <a href="https://www.juneauempire.com/life/planet-alaska-skunk-cabbage-a-harbinger-of-spring/" target="_blank">Planet Alaska</a> </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-7366850516307964172019-01-23T00:26:00.000-04:002019-01-23T00:26:41.120-04:00The Drop in the Waterfall<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "merriweather","helvetica neue","helvetica","roboto","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Make time to learn the Lingít language. </i></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "merriweather","helvetica neue","helvetica","roboto","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>The time is now. </i></span></h3>
by Vivian Mork Yeilk'<br />
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*First appeared in the <a href="https://www.juneauempire.com/life/planet-alaska-the-drop-in-the-waterfall/" target="_blank">Capital City Weekly</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOHRV_x_LMvFtijR3EE-I61CgM6Yvysupzv4odGamU5sXPkHAVCa53_Qvq4kT2vptZhgn3BftNH9ZjfqykDi2FIQhZXlr91RgTYAVBVvUvmXDSfPbqDVdvgJ3cZ1hB1qFbD-fqhl1ajk/s1600/Vivian+Mork+smokehouse+tlingit+language.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="984" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOHRV_x_LMvFtijR3EE-I61CgM6Yvysupzv4odGamU5sXPkHAVCa53_Qvq4kT2vptZhgn3BftNH9ZjfqykDi2FIQhZXlr91RgTYAVBVvUvmXDSfPbqDVdvgJ3cZ1hB1qFbD-fqhl1ajk/s320/Vivian+Mork+smokehouse+tlingit+language.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Gunalchéesh to all of the people who work hard toward not only preserving the Lingít language, but also those of you who are working toward revitalizing the language. It’s not easy, but it is such an important path. When we lose a language, we lose a special way of seeing the world. The Lingít language is one of the most ancient languages spoken in the world and is the language of this land here in Southeast Alaska and interior Canada. There is immense knowledge of this place embedded in every part of the language. The Lingít language is dying. It doesn’t have to. We need help.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There are some wonderful efforts being made by numerous people to keep the Lingít language alive throughout Southeast Alaska, interior Canada and Anchorage. It is now taught in some schools as well as the university. There are people in a few towns and villages that make community classes available. Your hosts at Planet Alaska have been involved in learning, preserving and revitalizing the Lingít language for almost 20 years. We walk in the footsteps of those who came before us on this path. Nora Dauenhauer, Richard Dauenhauer, Clara Peratrovich, Paul Jackson, George Davis, Clarence Jackson, Walter Soboleff, Emma Marks, Elaine Abraham, Vida Davis, Herman Kitka, Jessie Johnnie, Johnny Marks, Robert Zuboff, Frank Johnson, Frank Dick Sr., Charlie Joseph and many more friends.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOQt92Ypz8CZd-zBfsUIWgSxB8hJRRd-JirKuU5mFV3gb43nCLSwiaEOTH_JlrD6tmgHfZXZ-hYGybvjCNwxdG62TLxXMRF_zUktDmoVKVLpEyP8fbxLP2FR9vro3-EfmIcDcFdAPtn4/s1600/Tlingit+immersion+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOQt92Ypz8CZd-zBfsUIWgSxB8hJRRd-JirKuU5mFV3gb43nCLSwiaEOTH_JlrD6tmgHfZXZ-hYGybvjCNwxdG62TLxXMRF_zUktDmoVKVLpEyP8fbxLP2FR9vro3-EfmIcDcFdAPtn4/s320/Tlingit+immersion+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tlingit Language Immersion, Boy Scout Camp, Juneau Alaska</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">When a language is no longer learned by children, we are experiencing language death. By children learning a language I do not mean that these children have memorized 200 nouns and 20 phrases. It is important first steps to learn these things, but there has to be the next step. For a language to live, children need to be immersed in the language from birth naturally speaking it as they grow until they can have conversations about abstract concepts, make jokes, and dream in the language. It is important for the Lingít language to be embedded in our schools, but it is not enough for a language to be spoken only in a classroom. The language needs to be embedded in our communities and used on a regular basis in our homes and out in our public spaces.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdu8LlBinpA0veP5ItcpKuzWwWgrS88HNDJi4rJcaZnAg9sR3ILQVsuwztdF8iKiYc4chjFJpMzwhFU1TTmQKZjtiVBoxeNbE6ByWaVWXr_TyOJ2gYEOriW06X9ejBPFJE2n183Ty8cg/s1600/Tlingit+immersion+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdu8LlBinpA0veP5ItcpKuzWwWgrS88HNDJi4rJcaZnAg9sR3ILQVsuwztdF8iKiYc4chjFJpMzwhFU1TTmQKZjtiVBoxeNbE6ByWaVWXr_TyOJ2gYEOriW06X9ejBPFJE2n183Ty8cg/s320/Tlingit+immersion+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helen John, Jessica Chester</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There are a few obstacles for people to learn the Lingít language. There are people who do not have access to fluent speakers. There are people who do not have money to pay for college classes. There are people who are intimidated to learn the language because it is a complex language. People are afraid to make mistakes. People are afraid to make the sounds that are not found in any language in the world. People feel that they don’t have enough time to learn it. People are hesitant to learn the language if they are not Tlingit. Many Lingít language learners plateau at a certain level of language learning. I am one of them. The organizations that work towards preservation and revitalization of the Lingít language have obstacles in creating more congruent and connected experiences for lifelong learners. There are no Lingít immersion schools starting with babies that immerse them throughout their childhood. These obstacles and more can be overcome, but we have to hurry. I can’t stress this enough: we have to hurry.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyN1dcx-u-HEfguSDZtFVYa1jxLtzen4pWKAAKw-MDBF7ddPcPnrOBt8SQIrMRFzWmgxmj1t54U1YiuO3lvyZEsq9jYvxJR2MvHNaZYFcmIQ3kh3DH8A88XGbUBviv24nfL81jCFXF310/s1600/Tlingit+immersion+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyN1dcx-u-HEfguSDZtFVYa1jxLtzen4pWKAAKw-MDBF7ddPcPnrOBt8SQIrMRFzWmgxmj1t54U1YiuO3lvyZEsq9jYvxJR2MvHNaZYFcmIQ3kh3DH8A88XGbUBviv24nfL81jCFXF310/s320/Tlingit+immersion+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Dauenhauer, Nora Dauenhauer, Mary Folletti</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There is a growing number of people who are dedicating their lives to preserving and revitalizing the Lingít language. We need more. We need more Tlingit and non-Tlingit people learning to speak the language. We need the people who sit in seats of authority to either learn the language or to help others learn the language. We need your help in making spaces for the Lingít language to flourish. We need a Lingít language immersion school that is fully funded with a permanent location. We need as many people as we can get to sign up for language classes at the university. If you have ever had a fleeting thought of interest towards the Lingít language it is time to immerse yourself in learning it. We are also losing our elders who learned the Lingít language as their first language. We are in a race against time. We need everyone who can help us. If you have ever had an interest in learning the Lingít language, the time is now.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">All languages are simply a series of sounds acquired from a direct interaction with people and place around us. If you don’t have fluent speakers directly around you there is a growing number of online resources. I highly recommend checking out X’unei Lance Twitchell’s videos on YouTube. There are more than 170. There is an entire semester of beginning Tlingit on YouTube. You can download Lingít dictionaries for free. There are distant classes available through the University of Alaska that are often in jeopardy of not being offered if they don’t have enough students sign up. Sign up if you can. Come make mistakes with us. Mistakes are how we learn. The funky sounds found in our language are fun. I have found Lingít language classes to be full of laughter.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyvUJwEHyig8AuuWXhIHStP9GK9FxgFWn-2sq4A6LeNf447RkZjpJI0RnRaYJHqZ5sfwAzK8RdQiHCjIwNhNnM3-MmRuGhf330Gs8kUjf8dsXPm5DsoxvZ-AyrfFnxKTd5Kdqu6jIAz8/s1600/Tlingit+immersion+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyvUJwEHyig8AuuWXhIHStP9GK9FxgFWn-2sq4A6LeNf447RkZjpJI0RnRaYJHqZ5sfwAzK8RdQiHCjIwNhNnM3-MmRuGhf330Gs8kUjf8dsXPm5DsoxvZ-AyrfFnxKTd5Kdqu6jIAz8/s320/Tlingit+immersion+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helen John</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Make time to learn the Lingít language. The time is now. If it is hard to start big then start small. Start where you are with what you have. If you only have five minutes a day then start with fuve minutes. Five minutes will grow to 10 minutes which will grow to an hour which will grow to a way of life. As soon as you learn a word begin to share it with others. Languages are fine to learn on your own but we speak in order to communicate with others. Speak the language in your community with your community.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">O</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ne of the most important things we can do for the survival of the Lingít language is give it to the children. Give the language to the children in the stores, in the streets, in schools, in churches, in playgrounds, in homes, on the TV, on the radio, in our homes, and from the mouths of everyone who live here in Southeast Alaska on traditional Tlingit land. All waterfalls start with a single drop. Become a drop in the waterfall of Lingít revitalization today. Join the Lingít language revolution. It starts with one word at a time.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
***</h2>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #292929; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 28px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ThIj_BKyNmH_gZO91Fm-G0Iuv5a2-ZDznTIQKnJOZqkL4lDrPC7w10g3zU04dwIABYLmec2y3bIKuNUUI6otKLil-EHLL5HK3yKacrxkVq-dixORJMt-guglERZcqd5Zzc-gfnXCeoo/s1600/Vk+and+Edith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ThIj_BKyNmH_gZO91Fm-G0Iuv5a2-ZDznTIQKnJOZqkL4lDrPC7w10g3zU04dwIABYLmec2y3bIKuNUUI6otKLil-EHLL5HK3yKacrxkVq-dixORJMt-guglERZcqd5Zzc-gfnXCeoo/s200/Vk+and+Edith.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Vivian Mork Yeilk' & Auntie Edith Mork</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">*Vivian Mork Yeilk' Bio: </span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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<i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Lingít <u>x</u>’éiná<u>x</u> Yéilk’ yóo <u>x</u>at
duwasáakw. Dleit <u>k</u>áa <u>x</u>’éiná<u>x</u> Vivian Mork yóo <u>x</u>at
duwasáakw. Yéil naa<u>x</u> <u>x</u>at sitee. T’a<u>k</u>deintaan áyá <u>x</u>at.
Ta<u>x</u>’ hít dax.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Tei<u>k</u>weidí
yadí áyá <u>x</u>at. Hawaiian <u>k</u>a Norwegian yadí áyá <u>x</u>at. Kaagwaantaan
dach<u>xá</u>n áyá <u>x</u>at. Saami <u>k</u>a Irish áyá <u>x</u>at.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Kach<u>x</u>ana.aakw ku<u>x</u>dzitee <u>k</u>u.aa
Xunaa kaawu dax.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></i><br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Tei<u>k</u>weidí My Tlingit name
is Yéilk’, or Little Raven. My English name is Vivian Mork. I am of the Raven
moiety. I am a member of the T’a<u>k</u>deintaan clan (black-legged kittiwake).
I am from the Snail house. I am a child of the Tei<u>k</u>weidí (brown bear). I
am a grandchild of the Kaagwaantaan (wolf). I am Sáami and Irish.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am a child of the Hawaiian and Norwegian. I
was born and raised in Wrangell, but my <i>kwáan</i> comes from Hoonah.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<br />
<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-60379722819360421342018-12-03T22:00:00.000-04:002018-12-03T22:10:43.597-04:00Art-Thinking at Mickey's Fishcamp<u><span style="color: #000120; font-family: inherit;"></span></u><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s1600/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a></span></div>
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</span>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s1600/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s1600/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.66px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">“Art is everywhere in
the forest,” my dad says as we drive slowly along the logging roads. With our
Forest Service permit, we are heading out to look for tree burls and photograph
the muskeg as it blooms.<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Within </span></span>the last few years, my father started making
walking sticks from bull pine (shore pine) burls. A burl, sometimes called a
bur, is a round growth covered in bark. Burls are caused by stress: injury, virus,
fungus, mold, or insect infestation.</div>
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.66px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s1600/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s1600/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s400/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; float: left; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
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</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
<span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">All this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">art-thinking </i>is
something new to my dad. He’s turning 78 this month and he has realized he’s an
artist, or at least that he has artistic talent. But what is art? Art is
something we transform from a physical thing, like a tree growth, or from
something intangible, like ideas or emotion, into something new and different:
a burl on a tree into a walking stick or a poem about skunk cabbage.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s320/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>I had to convince my dad he was becoming an artist because he
figure<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a>d he didn’t have an artistic bone in his body. Despite the fact he claims
he’s never looked at life as art, his artistic sense keeps appearing. He
painted a salmon on an old canoe paddle, designed jewelry made from fishing
gear, and sanded and stained a burl and attached it to the outside of our
fishcamp. “That’s Art!"</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s1600/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: &quot; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-right: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscw-TKFxwzEADK59R6OaN3nDmzJaOh2BEPEZvovkXg-L5Dvpsc57AN2RYFw7AXl_xsxUw9S6M0e0K9XQiGj3YGpg6uRCSRargnVDNsOejJF99NAgG3hfILKt9oAgRU84hZQrpYFa29ZU/s1600/Dad+sorting+seaglass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a>
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">No one is too old to discover art. We never stop learning. Storytelling,
painting, poetry, weaving, etc., increase the quality of life for our elders,
especially when dealing with the challenges that aging brings. Eventually, my
dad and I<span style="color: red; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>started to look for art in everything
wherever we went, allowing our minds to come up with all kinds of ideas. Art
adds a new element to our father-daughter relationship. We look at things as
artists, see what we can imagine. There’s a face in the tree. That driftwood
looks like a dragon. </span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 160.5px; margin-right: 160.5px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFAL1x9KPiTojy_IOrCWoKyX0LDSp0vuOkQGMbRD-UbXw2YMBThwk7IjcfbS97UavGwpF4pqKikUKVHIoY65sMFPwFW8LB-8G4FUZAs6zu888SczM5umh_rTJRkJ4tXlCtcn7H2DgUC8/s1600/2014-07-12+165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFAL1x9KPiTojy_IOrCWoKyX0LDSp0vuOkQGMbRD-UbXw2YMBThwk7IjcfbS97UavGwpF4pqKikUKVHIoY65sMFPwFW8LB-8G4FUZAs6zu888SczM5umh_rTJRkJ4tXlCtcn7H2DgUC8/s320/2014-07-12+165.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">War club made by my Dad from a bull pine burl.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 18.66px; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
As we drive up a steep spur off the main logging road, we pass
a burl too high for us to reach. We imagine ladders, even shinning up the tree,
and then decide against it. Once, we looped a rope around a large burl on a
stump and pulled it out of the woods. It will make a good table, someday. </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font: 400 16px/24px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">*</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We’ve searched the forest for burls, but it didn’t occur to us
to look at beach logs. Now, we stand on the porch of the fishcamp overlooking
the ocean. My friend Kersten Christianson is visiting from Sitka. With
binoculars we spot a large log floating out in front with numerous burls on it,
but it’s way too far out to even consider it. I think about my ancestors, the
Sámi, who had the ability to call whales to shore. Kersten, my dad, and I joke
about wishing the log toward us. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYy2jsSJNvyA1M6thvhesTXeH7mYOBwgUeE4fFz8lm5RpWAlc40Gxg8mNHava_0Ipixf1_c5PLd2od07-onvwZHr3xI3QaTIabum6mbFFsYsNe0pFpJCvBKIvFlRupa4dZXyCIaECYcqQ/s1600/Giant+burl+log+floats+up+on+the+beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYy2jsSJNvyA1M6thvhesTXeH7mYOBwgUeE4fFz8lm5RpWAlc40Gxg8mNHava_0Ipixf1_c5PLd2od07-onvwZHr3xI3QaTIabum6mbFFsYsNe0pFpJCvBKIvFlRupa4dZXyCIaECYcqQ/s320/Giant+burl+log+floats+up+on+the+beach.JPG" width="320" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In the morning I wake up and head out onto my porch. The tide
is low and the birds are singing. Kersten and my dad are already outside on the
porch overlooking the beach. As I approach my dad says, “Did you look down?” I
look down over the railing expecting to see a dead seal, maybe. We’ve had one
wash up before. I gasp. There, jammed against the seawall and our stone stairs,
is the giant log with burls dotting the sides. </span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 18.66px; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgijAFjkh-X__Yep4su2bnTyHapuaTceZnDGqpdHaKXIkICR_yE8OR0f6Gfv5DzIbPoK482xWFtRPraJDA5N-yTxuHCHgSkWocuPAaPA_x31CYr6B7TPR-HhNa_OAwCMlHhx63ejUwwk/s1600/Dad%2527s+burl+art.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilT4VJipPLGHwQlD9_p1J7ZVtSahRKnt7YOK3ck9zNliXvkMwoVDyaBno52pM5R2LU7gptJu1gRIYM4_2LD7C8j1gmqKTFiPNcKIc51oeFmwoWA-vdQqyrQ-J02IQ9Ui-mxLasWww8cX0/s1600/Cutting+burls+of+the+log.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilT4VJipPLGHwQlD9_p1J7ZVtSahRKnt7YOK3ck9zNliXvkMwoVDyaBno52pM5R2LU7gptJu1gRIYM4_2LD7C8j1gmqKTFiPNcKIc51oeFmwoWA-vdQqyrQ-J02IQ9Ui-mxLasWww8cX0/s320/Cutting+burls+of+the+log.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We get the chainsaw and start cutting it before the tide comes
back in. How did that log decide to float up to our beach right up to the
stairs? Hadn’t we seen it float southward past our fishcamp? Of the hundreds of
places it could’ve washed up, it settled on our beach. Maybe my dad called it
to shore? I smile at Kersten. She’s an artist and writer whose work is quite
magical. Her wishes must’ve helped too. </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> *</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
</span></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Making art requires ingenuity and problem solving. A few
weeks later, we are watching another burl-loaded log float by the fishcamp. Near
sunset, the tide brings the log fairly close. My dad says, “I can get that.” He
puts on his waders, grabs his fishing pole and heads down to the beach. He
wades out into the ocean and casts again and again, trying to snag the log
which seems just out of reach. It’s too deep to wade out any further. Finally,
he snags it and starts to pull slowly bringing the log in shallower. The sun is
setting and we need to get the log up the beach and tied it up before it gets
dark. My dad starts to tire so we sit on the rocks waiting for the tide to move
the huge log closer, while pulling the log toward us without breaking the
fishing line.</span></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL38LsmkcpkLf2gI9ptcyagt4xVrW-pqoD4mS2Uc4WD0sQcUJIh3fnxRru3gMRLVCJr0U8fg-gW7R_RK6hPJaJUFLyxzEePxEcha5vEk1TtNS_UvpiFEkypNfM1uu7sVDOTR9hiW33mU/s1600/Mickey%2527s+sticks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrPUrljqcfPrQNMwVl_kh6lGt4xvQos5W4NKHxF2J5K6EB5YZk_h9V6onlWimlkK1tE0qet5iQA8kHLVmi4v8MBhwLS_nI-lZfRpOMMOsIEWgGrKDdUvxN47nxKL8CGf3iRNhJLIbcXs/s1600/Capturing+the+burl+log.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrPUrljqcfPrQNMwVl_kh6lGt4xvQos5W4NKHxF2J5K6EB5YZk_h9V6onlWimlkK1tE0qet5iQA8kHLVmi4v8MBhwLS_nI-lZfRpOMMOsIEWgGrKDdUvxN47nxKL8CGf3iRNhJLIbcXs/s320/Capturing+the+burl+log.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">Art activities that engage elders both socially and
creatively, stem off loneliness and depression and improves moral and physical
dexterity, and so does sitting on a seawall contemplating life. The sky darkens
and the sunset is a brilliant orange<span style="color: red; margin: 0px;"> </span>and I say
to my dad: “Well, did you ever imagine we’d be living at a fishcamp, fishing
for logs while enjoying a beautiful sunset?” </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3P6XIGZXG_Q4B29d-6xU5XGiUGvHwytO2k9DjrapokutFsop4iExuFl6VsRgyH_BjdBGaQAXFoKDI_jZ0FfKGRpjGYO3UVORV81Ox8ZPO2Ba7PfxSpqfTXXA42UuRb-eJCjpGPvvSTA/s1600/Burls+from+log.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3P6XIGZXG_Q4B29d-6xU5XGiUGvHwytO2k9DjrapokutFsop4iExuFl6VsRgyH_BjdBGaQAXFoKDI_jZ0FfKGRpjGYO3UVORV81Ox8ZPO2Ba7PfxSpqfTXXA42UuRb-eJCjpGPvvSTA/s320/Burls+from+log.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">We finally get the log close enough and my dad wades out and attaches
one end of a tie-up line around the log, and wraps the other end of the line
around a large boulder atop the seawall. Secured now, the log will wait for us
until morning. In the morning, the log is still there and we work, cutting off the
burls. One looks like a volcano; another, an old man’s face. </span><br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">Participating in art events and activities improves mood and
confidence in our elders and creates better family relationships. Art has made
its way into our fishcamp and is a big part of our lives. People are living
longer, meaning the elder population in the United States is growing. Maybe
I’ll live longer because I trudge through forest, muskeg, and along beaches.</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "&quot" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaoOD7yMwopv8uA5g20KLFIJX52KmrbOhCjL8UUE0oGcA4VStj3mlMgZ8jGYuOW27VTOdSJFJvF01T_noDr870XMkxAKHMoOIJr79kwjkvJShM4e6TYHhuAap3dtXJ_cbSMRghGJ5XE4/s1600/Picnic+with+Dad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaoOD7yMwopv8uA5g20KLFIJX52KmrbOhCjL8UUE0oGcA4VStj3mlMgZ8jGYuOW27VTOdSJFJvF01T_noDr870XMkxAKHMoOIJr79kwjkvJShM4e6TYHhuAap3dtXJ_cbSMRghGJ5XE4/s320/Picnic+with+Dad.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going into the wilderness is also an excuse for a picnic!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">Encouraging creativity and skills in a social environment
positively affects psychological, physical, and emotional health. And I would emphasize
that creativity in an outdoor setting can boost those effects. We scan the
muskeg for the gnarly burled limbs. “There,” I say. “I see one.” My dad pulls
the truck over and with our boots on and armed with a small hand saw, we head
out to inspect the tree. I’m not sure if searching for art projects benefits my
dad more than me. Maybe, someday, I’ll be an elder taking a great-grandchild
out into the forest to search for art. Maybe I’ll think of this moment, of my
dad, of the perfect burl, the smell of moss, and the little pink flowers on the
muskeg tea blooming around us. I’m sure I’ll be walking in the muskeg or along
the old logging road using a burled walking stick.</span><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-46340050407186201832018-03-22T16:25:00.001-04:002018-03-22T16:25:59.858-04:00This is Thread, Tás áyá<br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Tlingit language is such an elaborate language.
</i></div>
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<i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It needs to be lived: It is a living language</i> — Vivian Mork <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Yéilk’</i>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(*Article by Vivian Faith Prescott previously appeared in the Capital City Weekly <a href="http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/012418/ae_1278440179.shtml" target="_blank">Planet Alaska column</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was afraid. I sat down in the small chair, my knees bent upward. I set a few stuffed animals, a set of color cards, and a cheat sheet on the round table in front of me. I cleared my throat. Four kindergarteners stared at me, waiting. I didn’t realize it then but I was embarking on a life-changing journey.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My children’s ancestral homeland is Glacier Bay, and the nearby village of Hoonah is filled with their relatives. They were born of place and language; Born of <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Táx’ </i>(Snail) and <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Yéil </i>(Raven) of<i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Xuniyaa </i>(Hoonah) of <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Lingít Aaní</i>. Their identity is a social relationship to the landscape; therefore, learning my children’s ancestral language would deepen relationships with them, their relatives, and to the land. As a family, we could learn the language together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBjgNEfLiEhDG_yA0Z9wpW0u14Jb5xxfWW1e9t-nxtzMKFClOxemlnsfKqMylffiJ2kmy2us56BvPfllNnepFTUnSpKb4WOnlCV2xbOa0TbiK12iuUQnTyI2Fp6krbea7vMqOAe8LR54/s1600/P1010280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBjgNEfLiEhDG_yA0Z9wpW0u14Jb5xxfWW1e9t-nxtzMKFClOxemlnsfKqMylffiJ2kmy2us56BvPfllNnepFTUnSpKb4WOnlCV2xbOa0TbiK12iuUQnTyI2Fp6krbea7vMqOAe8LR54/s320/P1010280.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">It was my last year of undergraduate school at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) and I needed a full year of language to fulfill my requirements. I had arranged with the Hoonah City Schools Tlingit language teacher, Daphne K’ashkgé (Duffy) Wright, to take her class along with two high school students. Several days before class started, Daphne had given me a copy of “Beginning Tlingit” by Richard Xwaayeená and Nora Keixwnéi Dauenhauer. The first lesson was repetition drills. I put in the CD. Richard (Dick) and Nora explained the lessons in English and then began: </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Tás áyá</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This is thread.</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> These unfamiliar words with their high and low tones combined with hard sounds, formed sound waves that traveled into my auditory canal. The waves struck my eardrum, vibrating my ear bones, sending vibrations to my inner ear, creating electrical impulses that moved in split seconds along a nerve into my brain. It was like magic. There, my brain absorbed the beautiful strangeness of this new language. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Tás áyá. This is thread.</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> And then I cried. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyYRN4uID1w1gXWx6k9WUQmll2gb4c8LJXCA8NIwmzmw2IwLyq87hTEYac-AE7IrCJAbx9ruXI-PcZRPz5q13jmfhrFSZcvwES99cLj3iU1jgnzuD3nNY3g8xXCLmOc_QkgaUanrOdlY/s1600/Tlingit+article+pic+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3u7v1jGJyT1-2_cpEsvf85thB9DFf00G2x-2RoIfmC6CZIxi5vuysRV9Nb_5dhPrQCHiJnDXj0myBwynlq8Aqu6S2SnDTpZQAvL6DJbOb4CN7CSSwLcSPp-9XfU3teeczNiGPUHL94rY/s1600/Tlingit+article+pic+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3u7v1jGJyT1-2_cpEsvf85thB9DFf00G2x-2RoIfmC6CZIxi5vuysRV9Nb_5dhPrQCHiJnDXj0myBwynlq8Aqu6S2SnDTpZQAvL6DJbOb4CN7CSSwLcSPp-9XfU3teeczNiGPUHL94rY/s320/Tlingit+article+pic+3.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tlingit Language Materials</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3u7v1jGJyT1-2_cpEsvf85thB9DFf00G2x-2RoIfmC6CZIxi5vuysRV9Nb_5dhPrQCHiJnDXj0myBwynlq8Aqu6S2SnDTpZQAvL6DJbOb4CN7CSSwLcSPp-9XfU3teeczNiGPUHL94rY/s1600/Tlingit+article+pic+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I cried happy tears knowing it was possible to learn. I’d heard stories about elders being punished for speaking their language. In my ignorance I’d assumed the language was dead. The lesson continued: </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">kées, séek, gút, dáanaa</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, and so on (bracelet, belt, dime, dollar). I could do this. After all, I had the book, CDs, and I was about to take a class. I wiped my eyes, then closed them and listened. After the second lesson, though, I shut the player off. I flipped through the book. What had I gotten myself into? I was not a natural language learner. I’d dropped out of high school in 10th grade and received my GED. I’d never had any interest in learning another language. Could I really do this? Maybe. What I had going for me was excitement and curiosity, but the biggest obstacle I faced was fear. I was afraid to fail; afraid to make mistakes. I was afraid I’d embarrass myself. These particular fears are barriers to learning the language and quite common. So much so that “Beginning Tlingit” devotes a section to addressing it. But, somehow, despite my fears, learning Tlingit made sense. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6hkf97coPJ5Hbzg_0suAW0r6eTg3-VlcEQ0FDVZDCZMq5otm3ZM-lTIQ4Lzf4YDFK5J5fN55rSBllIhnkivaHL-0ptVypGOKfWlUBm8YVJQ_gEB42D6b_gRGRGeltLWwphbgFht3huc/s1600/Tlingit+Language+class+2001+Hoonah+City+Schools.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="885" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6hkf97coPJ5Hbzg_0suAW0r6eTg3-VlcEQ0FDVZDCZMq5otm3ZM-lTIQ4Lzf4YDFK5J5fN55rSBllIhnkivaHL-0ptVypGOKfWlUBm8YVJQ_gEB42D6b_gRGRGeltLWwphbgFht3huc/s320/Tlingit+Language+class+2001+Hoonah+City+Schools.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daphne Wright, Amy Wright, Andrea Skaflestad, Vivian Prescott </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was 2001 and I was a UAS distance student. At that time the only language course for distance students was Spanish. Spanish didn’t fit my Alaska Studies emphasis. I was reluctant, but then friends informed me the local school taught the Tlingit language. I decided to telephone Daphne Wright to inquire about her high school course and after explaining my interest she agreed to meet and discuss it. Eventfully, after overcoming a few obstacles, Carol Williams (Hoonah City Schools Indian Education educator/director), Daphne, and I designed a college level Tlingit language course approved by the university. The course would be challenging. Later, we learned we had essentially developed a course at the level of Intermediate Tlingit. There were things Carol and Daphne wanted me to know beyond Elementary Tlingit. They insisted. They wanted me to attend ceremonies. They wanted me to be able to pass the spelling tests in the “Tlingit Spelling Book.” They wanted me to assist with developing materials. They wanted me to understand culture, protocols, traditions, and more. They wanted me to attend and help with public school events. They wanted me to belong.</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Upon arriving in the Tlingit language classroom, Daphne introduced me to the two other students, both high schoolers, and then said, “Today, in 10 minutes, we’re going into the kindergarten classroom to help them learn colors and animal names.” </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Uh,</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I thought, </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">shouldn’t I know the words first?</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I hadn’t done any homework yet. Apparently, my two classmates were familiar with teaching the younger grades as this was their second year. Daphne handed me a sheet of paper with the colors on it and the corresponding Tlingit words, and one with a list of animals. We were bringing stuffed animals and color cards with us. </span> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgBbPjprV75JG5kJ_K0zbLipgUwRxyuImj7Eo0k7aYIjOLGJ5NO0cnNuakGV1A_eD-_yKZCOdhMtBd3_ngkakSKf0jPx-zpQ4L3PZxIu_d93E8N6BAY26CIquBfPkLRrUXI8p69P_tS4/s1600/Hoonah+City+Schools+Tlingit+Language+classroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="697" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgBbPjprV75JG5kJ_K0zbLipgUwRxyuImj7Eo0k7aYIjOLGJ5NO0cnNuakGV1A_eD-_yKZCOdhMtBd3_ngkakSKf0jPx-zpQ4L3PZxIu_d93E8N6BAY26CIquBfPkLRrUXI8p69P_tS4/s320/Hoonah+City+Schools+Tlingit+Language+classroom.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoonah City Schools, Kindergarten </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I followed my classmates into the kindergarten room and was directed to a table. <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Here goes</i>, I thought to myself. I randomly chose a card. On my cheat sheet, next to the word for the color ‘red,’ was a letter I hadn’t seen before, an underlined X with an apostrophe, so I held up the card and pronounced what I thought the word sounded like. Tlingit is one of the most complex languages in the world with 58 letters, including about 30 sounds that are not found in English. And of those sounds, four are not found in any language in the world. I’d chosen a word beginning with one of the most difficult letters in the Tlingit alphabet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The little boy on my right fidgeted and exclaimed, “That’s not how you say it!” My cheeks reddened.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“How do you say it?” I asked him.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“X’áan,” he said without any trouble. This was the Tlingit word for ‘red,’ which also means ‘fire.’
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I repeated the word the best I could. I explained to the children I was learning just like they were. They seemed to like that. We were off to a good start. I was off to a good start. One thing leads to another, so they say, like threads connecting. That week, I papered my house with Tlingit words. I labeled my dining table, the doors, chairs, windows, everything. I taught my children. My eldest daughter, Vivian Mork <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Yéilk’</i>, visited Hoonah shortly thereafter and was enthused about learning the language. She became a language teacher herself and taught many students. I wrote skits and dialogue practices for the children at Hoonah City Schools, designed coloring pages, and made up games. I published a small language book for them. I started a Tlingit language family night. It took me two years to get the letter sounds somewhat passable. I made lots of mistakes. I would be embarrassed, and sometimes, yes, afraid. But I learned. I am still learning. <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">This is thread. Tás áyá.</i> </span></div>
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LINKS: Tlingit language sites:<span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://tlingitlanguage.com/" target="_blank">Tlingit Language Resources </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Sealaska Dictionary: <a href="http://www.sealaskaheritage.org/programs/Language%20Resources/Tlingit_dictionary_web.pdf" target="_blank">Dictionary of the Tlingit</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Chilkat Indian Village resources: <a href="http://chilkatindianvillage.org/tlingitphrases" target="_blank">Tlingit Phrases, Colors and Greetings</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Any Tlingit spelling or grammatical mistakes are mine. The Tlingit language curriculum developed by Daphne Wright, Carol Williams, and myself are being taught at the high school level in Wrangell. The language materials continue to be used in Hoonah City Schools. You can sign up for local or distance Tlingit language classes, and other Native language classes, at the University of Alaska. <i style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Gunalchéesh Xunéi ka Yéilk’</i> for assistance with language details in the article. </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-15614531765356981422018-02-28T20:12:00.000-04:002018-02-28T20:12:45.570-04:00Spruce Tips: A Touch of Spring in Winter <br />
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<span class="byline2" style="border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(56, 56, 56); font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><mcc byline2="" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">by Vivian Mork Yéilk’</span></mcc></span><br />
<span class="byline2" style="border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(56, 56, 56); font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><mcc byline2="" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></mcc></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="byline2" style="border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(56, 56, 56); font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><mcc byline2="" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">(Originally appeared in the <a href="http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/011018/ae_1278224252.shtml" target="_blank">Planet Alaska </a>column in the Capital City Weekly)</mcc></span> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /></b></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In Alaska many of us spend all spring and summer harvesting foods so we can enjoy good food and nutrition all winter. We enjoy salmon, halibut, deer, moose, shrimp, and crab. The usual. Food is a fantastic tool for cross-cultural experiences and education. I would love to see a history book of foods in Alaska, but I am a foodie. If I could eat my way across the planet, I would. As an Alaska Native it’s interesting to watch our traditional foods become popular among non-Native people, even the not so common foods such as spruce tips, devil’s club, seaweed, Labrador tea, salmonberry shoots, and more. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU6VbL0ZMbgvDAK0rhTcrOdwSXoKTjijvoeMEwX4YDRqi-BKn_hKSZTQ0ZTvyDeqhmOFyh5n9vi3oXwxH7pty7p64pLAkGkRAJcCkgJapDGoRNY_0rv42G1LepirOepGPzZq9SFT5Hqs/s1600/thumbnail_2016-05-05%252520024%252520%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="959" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU6VbL0ZMbgvDAK0rhTcrOdwSXoKTjijvoeMEwX4YDRqi-BKn_hKSZTQ0ZTvyDeqhmOFyh5n9vi3oXwxH7pty7p64pLAkGkRAJcCkgJapDGoRNY_0rv42G1LepirOepGPzZq9SFT5Hqs/s320/thumbnail_2016-05-05%252520024%252520%25282%2529.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ59QZSRAXa6YxzDpt25V7lpZF0xRTExI5Y-WSuNjs1-i2rJE2JTgmk9HOMfpl0HRRab7sN_64QfmWUbF5XFfCUp-ZDGQ_fVLdjTJFjlaU6UmiSMNMA6V6oUkg6YkbcCZna7KSb4HV7Ss/s1600/2016-05-09+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span><div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Spruce tips are one of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlanetAlaska" target="_blank">Planet Alaska</a>’s favorites. Eating spruce tips in the winter gets us really excited for spring. It’s one of those foods that makes wonderful memories. When I was young, my mother and I would often pick spruce tips, nibbling and enjoying their lemon-zesty flavor as we hiked around Wrangell until the tips began to mature and were too woody to eat.)</span></div>
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Being a tour guide, I often get asked, “What’s a spruce tip?” Some people, even locals, are new to the spruce tip experience and wonder why we would eat them. Well, spruce tips are high in Vitamin C, chlorophyll, and carotenoids; rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium; and they also taste great.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9orQH_uDdr8N7ntTm9JKJMG8FDfg99liBEmJoawQz240bgrf8U_0LRmhTUyU-R3P_3ZxWnTYkgCi4yv-HWp6Yar-6vvf8QHQwidFQ_KyDvypa9iFJWPjKZhM46q_YBF9r3q-7UBmnBY/s1600/IMG_5692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9orQH_uDdr8N7ntTm9JKJMG8FDfg99liBEmJoawQz240bgrf8U_0LRmhTUyU-R3P_3ZxWnTYkgCi4yv-HWp6Yar-6vvf8QHQwidFQ_KyDvypa9iFJWPjKZhM46q_YBF9r3q-7UBmnBY/s1600/IMG_5692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszyTSgectKLIuXZXfHmC9DgNvx-zDoGVeSwtSlgqgIl720C1FG7NZoyD8SgKLPin7l2uA7ZiHsGz8K8gbOM6Rl0SjIVjSVNBzZH2fglx6BWu_r1Z4EHnybo7TKUz994xNPCC2Q6UIqF8/s1600/2016-05-02+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszyTSgectKLIuXZXfHmC9DgNvx-zDoGVeSwtSlgqgIl720C1FG7NZoyD8SgKLPin7l2uA7ZiHsGz8K8gbOM6Rl0SjIVjSVNBzZH2fglx6BWu_r1Z4EHnybo7TKUz994xNPCC2Q6UIqF8/s200/2016-05-02+018.JPG" width="200" /></a>A lot can be done with spruce tips, but my favorite way to eat them, like many foods, is fresh and in season. I love their sprucey flavor. In order to enjoy the tips in the winter they need to be frozen or dried, though the flavor can change a little bit. Blanching spruce tips can help temper the astringency. (Many of these options can also be done with pine and fir tips.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9orQH_uDdr8N7ntTm9JKJMG8FDfg99liBEmJoawQz240bgrf8U_0LRmhTUyU-R3P_3ZxWnTYkgCi4yv-HWp6Yar-6vvf8QHQwidFQ_KyDvypa9iFJWPjKZhM46q_YBF9r3q-7UBmnBY/s1600/IMG_5692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9orQH_uDdr8N7ntTm9JKJMG8FDfg99liBEmJoawQz240bgrf8U_0LRmhTUyU-R3P_3ZxWnTYkgCi4yv-HWp6Yar-6vvf8QHQwidFQ_KyDvypa9iFJWPjKZhM46q_YBF9r3q-7UBmnBY/s400/IMG_5692.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Numerous ways to consume spruce tips:</span></b></div>
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1. Season meals by adding them to soups, stews, and pasta. (Think of spruce tips like rosemary.)</div>
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2. Sautéed with other veggies</div>
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3. Pesto</div>
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4. Tea (Helps with coughs and respiratory ailments.)</div>
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5. Smoothies</div>
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6. Salads</div>
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7. Infused water</div>
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8. Candied</div>
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9. Baked in cookies and breads.</div>
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*We love what we call spruce tip decolonized cookies (also known as Russian teacakes).</div>
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10. Syrup</div>
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11. Jelly</div>
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12. Beer</div>
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13. Salt</div>
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14. Sugar</div>
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15. Vinegar</div>
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16. Sorbet</div>
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Spruce tip tips</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Spruce tip tips</b></u></span></div>
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• The main thing to consider is that spruce tip harvesting for our elders is an important part of many Alaskans’ traditions. Consider taking an elder with you or harvesting for elders who cannot get out any more. Spruce trees in Lingít (Tlingit) are called shéiyi, and the big ones are called seet. The needles are called ghítghaa. Consider taking the children in your family so that they can learn too. It is important to pass on ways of living off the land respectfully.</div>
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• There is a small window of opportunity to pick spruce tips and it varies from region to region, year to year, but basically from the end of April through mid-May. If you wait too long the tips will turn woody, eventually lengthening the tree branch. Begin harvesting at sea level and as spring progresses harvest higher up in elevation. However, in winter you can break or saw off a small branch and boil it up for your dietary spruce needs.</div>
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• Alaskans harvest spruce tips from a variety of spruce trees: Sitka spruce, blue spruce, white spruce, etc. It’s okay to mix your tips. Go ahead and experiment with flavors and types.</div>
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• Please harvest respectfully, which means thanking the tree for giving its tips and paying careful attention to pulling or pinching the tip from the tree. Some traditional foods harvesters first ask permission to harvest from the tree. We typically say gunalchéesh (thank you in Lingít) several times while picking spruce tips. And because springtime means that bears are waking up and likely in the neighborhood, you could announce yourself with something like “Grandmother or grandfather, we are just out gathering today. Thank you for giving us space.” Also, don’t take all the tips from one tree: always pick in moderation.</div>
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*(Our Spruce Tips first appeared in First Alaskans Magazine)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Suggested spruce tip harvesting practices:</u></b></span></div>
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Make sure you’re harvesting in an area away from industrial areas or soils that could be contaminated. Don’t harvest from trees less than 10 feet tall. Only harvest from the lower 1/3 part of the tree. Of the 1/3 of the tree, harvest less than 1/4. Don’t take all the spruce tips from one branch. Just take one or 2. Here in Southeast Alaska we have lots of spruce trees so there is no need to take too much from a tree. If it looks like an area has been harvested by others, simply move on to an area that is not being harvested.</div>
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Here are some easy recipes to begin experimenting with this coming spring. If you already have spruce tips in your freezer you can try some of these.</div>
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<b><u>Spruce Tip Vinegar</u></b></div>
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2 cups of white wine vinegar</div>
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1 cup of chopped fresh spruce tips</div>
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1 tsp of peppercorns</div>
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Combine ingredients into a glass container such as a mason jar. Simply put the lid on and let it soak for 10 days at room temp. Strain your vinegar into a glass container.</div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><u>Spruce Water</u></b></div>
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Spruce Tips</div>
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Water</div>
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Glass Container</div>
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Fill a mason jar or other glass container a quarter to half full of spruce tips depending on your preferred intensity of the flavor of spruce. (Don’t use plastic containers.)</div>
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Fill with water to the top.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ59QZSRAXa6YxzDpt25V7lpZF0xRTExI5Y-WSuNjs1-i2rJE2JTgmk9HOMfpl0HRRab7sN_64QfmWUbF5XFfCUp-ZDGQ_fVLdjTJFjlaU6UmiSMNMA6V6oUkg6YkbcCZna7KSb4HV7Ss/s1600/2016-05-09+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Put the lid on and let it soak anywhere from 4-12 hours. (Taste it along the way. This will help you find how much flavor of spruce you like. Some like a light flavor. We like our water very sprucey.)</div>
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Drink as is or experiment with adding lemon, lime, or sugar.</div>
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(It is important to note that spruce water tastes best when fresh. If you let the water sit for days you will taste it beginning to turn. Spruce water also tastes best with spring-time spruce tips but if you can’t wait till spring you can go get a small amount of branches and make this in the winter too. The natural sweetness you find in spring tips won’t be there so you may want to add a little sugar.)</div>
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<b><u>Spruce Tip Aioli</u></b></div>
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1 cup of mayonnaise</div>
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1/4 cup of finely chopped spruce tips</div>
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1 small clove of garlic (or large, if you love garlic)</div>
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1 pinch of salt</div>
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Small bowl</div>
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Stir all the ingredients together into the bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. This allows the flavors to come together.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZutLdSEydiULA_MKpeHm8oXdwqMNIyoBjkF1DqX5KPkwtUiKhEa0KHvbdmwNGG9pWa3Uo0lwhy2lI1rEzTvumds7FpICxoKt5sUJDW_eDXyzvHzIE3A0DBoPxU6llJom8BbuYzi6Ecfw/s1600/2016-05-31+086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZutLdSEydiULA_MKpeHm8oXdwqMNIyoBjkF1DqX5KPkwtUiKhEa0KHvbdmwNGG9pWa3Uo0lwhy2lI1rEzTvumds7FpICxoKt5sUJDW_eDXyzvHzIE3A0DBoPxU6llJom8BbuYzi6Ecfw/s200/2016-05-31+086.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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I hope you’re interested in expanding your palate with this local food. Harvesting enough spruce tips in the spring for your winter needs is an important part of our Alaskan food traditions. Most importantly, I encourage respect and the sustainable harvest of our spruce tips. We can share them with our elders in the winter. We can make food for our cultural events. A drink of spruce tip water in the winter can keep you going in the dark days; and at the very least, get you excited for spring. </div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLw8maVNdbO_dXxgHAzeVNySBFiHXKPkV65ruJyC9nBVhT8fMmRk3dOQEOdC-4gtYKDjtOMotnszWbG38YPj7ZV-DfTFtJd_zMGSUCrv1olgXG9T1ZIBssBYlrY_utoNY7o6XKdrtBio/s1600/Vk+keishish+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>** About <b style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Vivian Mork Yéilk’: </b>I was born in Wrangell, Alaska and live on my boat in Sitka. I’m Tlingit, a Raven from the T’akdeintaan clan, Snail House from Hoonah. My Tlingit name is Yéilk’ (Cute-Little-Raven). I come from a large multi-cultural family, which is also Sámi, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Irish. I have an M.A. in Cross Cultural Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Knowledge Systems. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLw8maVNdbO_dXxgHAzeVNySBFiHXKPkV65ruJyC9nBVhT8fMmRk3dOQEOdC-4gtYKDjtOMotnszWbG38YPj7ZV-DfTFtJd_zMGSUCrv1olgXG9T1ZIBssBYlrY_utoNY7o6XKdrtBio/s1600/Vk+keishish+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I’m a tourist guide, a traditional food and medicine specialist, a storyte</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Open Sans",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ller, a writer, a carver, a tinkerer, as well as a Tlingit language and cultural </span>educator. I grew up exploring Southeast Alaska’s islands in a commercial fishing family, spent my young adult life as a professional vagrant exploring the world, and I now spend a lot of time moving stuff around on my boat in Sitka. (For more about Vivian's work see <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlanetAlaska" target="_blank">Planet Alaska</a> , a Facebook page she co-hosts with <a href="http://www.vivianfaithprescott.com/" target="_blank">Vivian Faith Prescott</a>). Vivian hosts the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/alaskanhealingplants/" target="_blank">Alaska Traditional Medicinals</a> FB page. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_xMyAlUc5kXYuYvvEDAttUbv43oK8Ezn-QePNu6Mmzj3WeRzTwTFMUplUctrEv_hyphenhyphenjUJ2UJMtDhAxBDsbnZqkeIN2swCxW5vVlGx2ry6Y04uVHSjA6pEfoF0HXHas2r8nq1ZAp6m-Cw/s1600/Vk+keishish+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_xMyAlUc5kXYuYvvEDAttUbv43oK8Ezn-QePNu6Mmzj3WeRzTwTFMUplUctrEv_hyphenhyphenjUJ2UJMtDhAxBDsbnZqkeIN2swCxW5vVlGx2ry6Y04uVHSjA6pEfoF0HXHas2r8nq1ZAp6m-Cw/s320/Vk+keishish+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-54565022370438261112018-02-21T16:23:00.000-04:002018-02-21T21:49:49.677-04:00The Underside of Leaves<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0cL0wW7ibt_e7DKTTDVhyq7yLFdwaALmjt1CYomChACSHYFJxCBVarEotDdFf-Z5Pl-GK6pDIkhC2Vr7QFDtSu8tdnEHA0BCloMXKKFN-NyP1O7EZOtdbGjjl42uLE-g_IbtFJhQpcE/s1600/2016-06-12+148.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0cL0wW7ibt_e7DKTTDVhyq7yLFdwaALmjt1CYomChACSHYFJxCBVarEotDdFf-Z5Pl-GK6pDIkhC2Vr7QFDtSu8tdnEHA0BCloMXKKFN-NyP1O7EZOtdbGjjl42uLE-g_IbtFJhQpcE/s400/2016-06-12+148.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">I reach my arm out, moving the Indian Celery, and step into the salmonberry
bushes. Bright orange berries hang above my head<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.</b> I close my eyes and see words: Orlando, Shooting, Gay. I reach to
pull the branches down but my arms feel weak. I let go and inhale. My body
aches in response to stress, especially my arms. I pluck a berry and drop it
into the bucket, making a hollow sound. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">The dense
salmonberry thickets provide excellent escape habitats.</span></i></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aHGAr4xgVeAuWc6UO5gQd63mtWq5-g5lgYF53qRe-Lb2rLWyMYYu_bZm1f5ADJqAw-CPYeWo2ivtmMmM6N0j55vpKVOQurhkE5XIikPoE4k7hEANWOMBsyujSQ8W2X7Wb0hNk7r3aRg/s1600/2016-06-05+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aHGAr4xgVeAuWc6UO5gQd63mtWq5-g5lgYF53qRe-Lb2rLWyMYYu_bZm1f5ADJqAw-CPYeWo2ivtmMmM6N0j55vpKVOQurhkE5XIikPoE4k7hEANWOMBsyujSQ8W2X7Wb0hNk7r3aRg/s200/2016-06-05+017.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">The morning’s<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>sorrow, outrage,
and fear crammed my Facebook newsfeed. Due to anxiety, I don’t have T.V. and I
don’t watch news—even on Facebook—making navigating social media difficult.
Finally, I read one article. I sucked in my breath. Typically I write early,
but after I read the article, I couldn’t concentrate, so instead I put on my
hoodie and boots and headed out to pick berries. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
</div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">Everyone get
out of Pulse and keep running.</span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">Orlando is a long way from my salmonberry patch in Southeast Alaska. But
the hate is insidious and it is everywhere. I consider the hate it took to plan
and execute a massacre, how that hate is blind to the spectacular biodiversity
in all life. Biodiversity is interdependence and essential to our survival. I
hold the bright berry up to the sunlight. How can someone not see that? My
berry bucket fills until my chest tightens and I consider I’ve forgotten my blood
pressure meds, but then I realize it’s not that.— </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">The deadliest incident of violence against lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the history of the United States.</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJGYYWE01sKbROnGeXv8U1vcW2NaiQSWPH3Qpk_cLPtKAhIY6Wd7AncLcJ-XpVL4OIDIaKbL5yvc7GjeCcH5vhFB1G_MtqjkyJUjoqXmSoSNuVJvpe5VqWw3JxNPYvwNFF7T1LgKQ588/s1600/2016-06-10+021.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJGYYWE01sKbROnGeXv8U1vcW2NaiQSWPH3Qpk_cLPtKAhIY6Wd7AncLcJ-XpVL4OIDIaKbL5yvc7GjeCcH5vhFB1G_MtqjkyJUjoqXmSoSNuVJvpe5VqWw3JxNPYvwNFF7T1LgKQ588/s320/2016-06-10+021.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">I pick a few more berries. A yellow tour bus has passed by on the small
highway beside the bushes where I’m hidden from view, its exhaust trails a
memory: I’m a 13 year old girl on the school bus and another girl, in the seat
in front of me, turns and says, “You kissed Audrey. Ewwww!”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My face reddens. Murmurs rise and fall in the
half-filled bus. My arms collapse into my body, my schoolbook tumbles from my
hand. “She told me,” the girl added. I deny. Later, I stop seeing my kissing
friend. Instead, I spend time with other kissing girls, the secret ones who
don’t tell.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px;">Salmonberry
flowers often appear before or with unfolding and expanding leaves. </span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsE5w9-WzldcKnznx1AH6gwWApFYenbCwMtBsizdLicH5_fzmfLaWrdUmMFQTbKNXSBZdU63-FbBgjYbOIphk8rgqzyxH83Dgzad1VmwKmK3pocz5oN_jrxX20v_6KJC-82TygNQWQXUU/s1600/2016-06-06+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsE5w9-WzldcKnznx1AH6gwWApFYenbCwMtBsizdLicH5_fzmfLaWrdUmMFQTbKNXSBZdU63-FbBgjYbOIphk8rgqzyxH83Dgzad1VmwKmK3pocz5oN_jrxX20v_6KJC-82TygNQWQXUU/s320/2016-06-06+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">Now, I reach for another berry and consider the natural order of
salmonberry plants</span><span style="margin: 0px;">,</span><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"> having both male and female identity, sharing the same plant body. On that
bus, long ago, I didn’t have a name for how I felt or who I was. Instead, I hid
and was ashamed. I had no one to talk to and I did not know how to look at
science and nature for answers. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
</div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">Salmonberry
bushes are monoecious, possession both male and female reproductive organs on
the same plant and</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"> are capable of
reproducing both <a href="http://creationwiki.org/Sexually" title="Sexually"><span style="color: windowtext; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none;">sexually</span></a>
and <a href="http://creationwiki.org/Asexually" title="Asexually"><span style="color: windowtext; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none;">asexually</span></a>.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"> </span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">How can we recover from this, create our own healing possibilities? Life
layers itself, story upon story: a tragedy in Orlando, solace in the berry
bushes. Salmonberries’ asexual reproduction is considered layering. Basically,
the stem touches the soil and grows roots. Birds and insects, too, help with
salmonberry reproduction. There is something about layers, and making
connections, reaching out, that makes me consider how is it that we’re going to
restore our lives. It’ll take a community to accomplish that, I decide.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">We are dealing with something we never imagined.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMPu9B3zx9aC3w1uqVAHHBnCR7PD5DUxUxpcB-cRnUMSz6R4yNVi_3bY5adK0XUL29I0t5FZtIqGfA7S2lnK6JWyc3zC4_y_Rp4XwcVDwybQTJ7Gm4DVEZ23g1ckeoVmM0HEoki_zDGQ/s1600/2016-06-06+081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMPu9B3zx9aC3w1uqVAHHBnCR7PD5DUxUxpcB-cRnUMSz6R4yNVi_3bY5adK0XUL29I0t5FZtIqGfA7S2lnK6JWyc3zC4_y_Rp4XwcVDwybQTJ7Gm4DVEZ23g1ckeoVmM0HEoki_zDGQ/s200/2016-06-06+081.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">First, though, I must take care of myself. Take time out; or rather <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in</i> the bushes. Traditional medicine
experts say you can chew up salmonberry leaves and spit them on burns. You can
even use the bark in the winter. Pound the bark to a pulp and place it on toothache
or wound for a painkiller. Boling bark in seawater as a medicine to lesson
labor pains, clean wounds, and burns. I could use good medicine. This country,
my town, could use good medicine. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
</div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">The salmonberry
may also act as shelter and protection for various smaller animals.</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jK4gPebvrRJAKgXvONh_XsFSxFMd7YEoiCZTVQZUABdpUhAeX7iO-I5Q4tetH_G9ufUBcNOCSCBFN08VY6WnX0S82DuVWsqCD9GEyQF-bkq2D6qrpVGquO95g-IX5T2vjCAV_iqDZgk/s1600/2016-06-06+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jK4gPebvrRJAKgXvONh_XsFSxFMd7YEoiCZTVQZUABdpUhAeX7iO-I5Q4tetH_G9ufUBcNOCSCBFN08VY6WnX0S82DuVWsqCD9GEyQF-bkq2D6qrpVGquO95g-IX5T2vjCAV_iqDZgk/s320/2016-06-06+022.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">I am alive. Many are dead. I can’t understand, and yet I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can</i> understand that, how this can be the
same day carrying both pain and beauty. I am soothed here picking berries,
while families across the U.S. are in anguish. My offerings to the universe of
solace and hope and despair and shame and joy are the same: They are the
berries dropped at my feet for the birds and mice. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">If you’re
alive, raise your hand. </span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">I raise my hands over my head; the bucket’s string is heavy on my neck with
the nearly full bucket. I consider the dancers and celebrators of love and life
at the Pulse nightclub, their families, and their friends. I wonder if anyone
on our island will organize a vigil for the shooting victims. Probably not.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">The shooting
could have lasted a whole song.</span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">I consider my friend Audrey’s boldness, how she wasn’t afraid, even back
then, to express love. She might’ve loved me. It’s likely that tonight, somewhere
she will be holding a candle, wax dripping, leaning against her partner’s shoulder.
What about the secret kissing girls? Are they<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>reaching out for healing? W</span><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">hat about me?</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">Vigils were held around the world.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoPSUMvv8-fQ0X6Jdo4UpEG1vtigoh72xOJhuLTfKzsGTKof2Uo6GIsw2G0zjHGMo4yClVOkx841-yC33VUs69sPUUuJ5CTdf8G_G-XrdXoBDes1RB0lMnzWc_Hip5H39CVv0AWJd3LY/s1600/2016-06-12+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoPSUMvv8-fQ0X6Jdo4UpEG1vtigoh72xOJhuLTfKzsGTKof2Uo6GIsw2G0zjHGMo4yClVOkx841-yC33VUs69sPUUuJ5CTdf8G_G-XrdXoBDes1RB0lMnzWc_Hip5H39CVv0AWJd3LY/s200/2016-06-12+027.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">My vigil began with the body-memory of berry picking, something I’ve done
every summer since I could walk. I lift the leaves beside me; there, in the
underside of leaves, half-dozen large red salmonberries bulge with sweetness.
Novice berry-pickers often glance at a bush and decide there aren’t many
berries so why bother picking. But I know how to look, how to lift the leaves. I
know these intimate leafy veins, the hairy underside, the thorny stalk, the
astringent smell, triggering memory after memory as I continue to pick. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">As producer organisms, the salmonberry creates its own
energy.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">Salmonberry bushes, if they’re damaged, can heal themselves, sending roots
out from the stems, burrowing into the soil in order to sprout other plants. They
keep going. They thrive. I reach for a big ripe salmonberry and instead of
putting it in my bucket, I put it in my mouth. It’s juicy and sweet. My
plant-body is grateful. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">The fence has been decorated with vibrantly-colored
banners.</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1TNZEtX-b478kG3mwO0fSJVc8CYm8fTaISsZnsTfOYJg1nSwesafKXFqbQVJyEWENGIS4e8-cd97wXF3eiGvVle4oFNAPuU8bREblv_FsSAuWtxhP7sB2F86sYXUvv8XgB0mrXnQqJU/s1600/2014-07-09+066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1TNZEtX-b478kG3mwO0fSJVc8CYm8fTaISsZnsTfOYJg1nSwesafKXFqbQVJyEWENGIS4e8-cd97wXF3eiGvVle4oFNAPuU8bREblv_FsSAuWtxhP7sB2F86sYXUvv8XgB0mrXnQqJU/s200/2014-07-09+066.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">The first part of June is often called salmonberry days because this is the
time when harvesting begins. I plop another berry into my bucket. I pick
another and another. I think about the candle vigils in other cities and towns
that are likely to be planned. This is June and it’s Pride Month. The folks in
Juneau are participating in Pride month activities and I know there will be
nothing like that here. All I’ve done so far is to change my Facebook profile
photo to the pink, purple, and blue Bi colors and say nothing. I step carefully
through the bushes, heading deeper and deeper into them. </span><span style="margin: 0px;">The salmonberry is a riparian, meaning their roots
help prevent erosion. If salmonberry bushes near streams are cut down the dirt can
slough off into the stream. Our ecosystem’s biodiversity is enhanced by
thriving salmonberry plants; because removing them can cause invasive plant
species to take hold. I want to hold onto this; this feeling of plant-body
connectedness. I have to.</span></div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">*</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">Restoration:
Salmonberry is a useful shrub in created wetlands because it transplants
easily, with good soil- binding qualities once it is established, and is well
adapted to eroded or disturbed sites.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWo0vQLpn5xoXgy-zYK9HWIp4mfp6QCDW89yxZLRGNzqWjOQbM_KiR5oK2qtjuRwCnnAN6sn0Roa5RScWC0EbnmEdBSlkyFu-8qGYNN9q-O39XWPEuuCvqrfQANPp5UKeZlP4gQiK71dg/s1600/2013-07-24+1032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWo0vQLpn5xoXgy-zYK9HWIp4mfp6QCDW89yxZLRGNzqWjOQbM_KiR5oK2qtjuRwCnnAN6sn0Roa5RScWC0EbnmEdBSlkyFu-8qGYNN9q-O39XWPEuuCvqrfQANPp5UKeZlP4gQiK71dg/s1600/2013-07-24+1032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWo0vQLpn5xoXgy-zYK9HWIp4mfp6QCDW89yxZLRGNzqWjOQbM_KiR5oK2qtjuRwCnnAN6sn0Roa5RScWC0EbnmEdBSlkyFu-8qGYNN9q-O39XWPEuuCvqrfQANPp5UKeZlP4gQiK71dg/s200/2013-07-24+1032.JPG" width="200" /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;">In a bulldozed landscape, a small green tendril
emerges, lengthens; then another and another. A salmonberry bush begins to
grow. It only has two blossoms this year and is a couple feet tall. But next
year…</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDmQU_yGT93KWlIn7Mlhe7udocMFM9HEbLQvXhanph23gFKFxspbiHfKw50e6UpFBxrvbl9YK74Y8a6HWBysahkJH5UKkKNWxubi_I11N-idCWsBTxRvLHMcF2MBWgq3-ly-IiPEB0b4/s1600/2016-06-09+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDmQU_yGT93KWlIn7Mlhe7udocMFM9HEbLQvXhanph23gFKFxspbiHfKw50e6UpFBxrvbl9YK74Y8a6HWBysahkJH5UKkKNWxubi_I11N-idCWsBTxRvLHMcF2MBWgq3-ly-IiPEB0b4/s200/2016-06-09+044.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="margin: 0px;">A year after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando something
on our island changes. I use the terms “transforming” or “life-changing” and
some might even say “miracle” to describe what has happened to our island’s
LGBTQIA community since the summer of 2016. Someone organized a Southeast Alaska
LBTQIA group on Facebook, which morphed into a Wrangell specific group. Someone
moved to town and needed friends. Someone reached out to me. A root reached out
and embraced life. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
</div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px;">Salmonberry
is strongly rhizomatous, so one needs to watch its growth carefully.</span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;">This past year, a handful of LGBTQA and allies in
Wrangell gathered and organized our island’s first Pride March, and then on
July 4th, we rode on the first Pride float my small community had ever seen. Rubus
spectabilis. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">Pulse has
served as a place of love and acceptance.</span></span></i><span style="color: black;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaCrHHmc3rm2fPtcNTKddbVFgWkxiWpqYqP7XP0-6GL4TWVZCVDOK1pEib8W8U3gAdoKJewi4jmQBm2cAXm_N901BR54u4VXrlZ_sWzWH6qbyvBT4TgzYABippLpdvPZrDlZ2bfBeQVI/s1600/2016-06-12+090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaCrHHmc3rm2fPtcNTKddbVFgWkxiWpqYqP7XP0-6GL4TWVZCVDOK1pEib8W8U3gAdoKJewi4jmQBm2cAXm_N901BR54u4VXrlZ_sWzWH6qbyvBT4TgzYABippLpdvPZrDlZ2bfBeQVI/s1600/2016-06-12+090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaCrHHmc3rm2fPtcNTKddbVFgWkxiWpqYqP7XP0-6GL4TWVZCVDOK1pEib8W8U3gAdoKJewi4jmQBm2cAXm_N901BR54u4VXrlZ_sWzWH6qbyvBT4TgzYABippLpdvPZrDlZ2bfBeQVI/s320/2016-06-12+090.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">There aren’t many salmonberries this year due to last winter’s lack of
snow, our late-coming spring, and torrential summer rains. Basically, we’ve had
a short, rainy growing season. I probably picked only two buckets of
salmonberries. But I’m patient; I have hope for next year’s season. I have hope
for our island community. We call ourselves <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Community
Roots,</i> the first LGBTQA group of its kind in Wrangell. We are planning a TDOR (Transgender Day of Remembrance) vigil in the fall for all for all those who’ve died in the past year because of who they are. <span style="color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;">I
will be there with a candle. I will be there with my people. </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;">To
mark themselves as "safe."</span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
</div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"> **Author <a href="http://www.vivianfaithprescott.com/" target="_blank">Vivian Faith Prescott </a>lives and writes at her Fishcamp in Wrangell, Alaska. She co-hosts <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlanetAlaska" target="_blank">Planet Alaska </a>on Facebook. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> *Previously published in <a href="http://alaskawomenspeak.org/" target="_blank">Alaska Women Speak </a> THANK YOU, EDITORS. </span><u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Italics</i>: Found lines from news articles
on Orlando shooting & Salmonberry, USDA Plant Guide. </span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-41890613380238149662018-02-09T19:50:00.000-04:002018-02-09T21:01:22.159-04:00Planet Alaska: Sharing Our Stories<span style="color: #000120; font-family: Arial;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/122717/ae_1278056554.shtml" target="_blank">Planet Alaska is About Diversity</a></span></span></div>
</div>
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #000032; font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgDB8TGdmVOw3RtIst4BRnGo0zQyyz2NUJXq6PxrXJOABcuMNq42LvcmOS1WB9yjyv46NSVvrfZ5hujlSQfuNWC9xN872lp7BRyx4B72TwTJbeGBLYPC81Rak-0QbWcS1lNUrnK-QhbI/s1600/2014-07-12+162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgDB8TGdmVOw3RtIst4BRnGo0zQyyz2NUJXq6PxrXJOABcuMNq42LvcmOS1WB9yjyv46NSVvrfZ5hujlSQfuNWC9xN872lp7BRyx4B72TwTJbeGBLYPC81Rak-0QbWcS1lNUrnK-QhbI/s320/2014-07-12+162.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<b><i><u><span style="color: navy; font-family: "arial"; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></u></i></b>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><u></u><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Planet Alaska began as a desire to share and celebrate the diversity of Alaska from Ketchikan to Utqiagvik. Planet Alaska is two writers/artists, a mother/daughter team, who’ve been co-hosting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlanetAlaska/" target="_blank">Planet Alaska on Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetalaska/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, Blogger, and <a href="https://twitter.com/planet_alaska" target="_blank">Twitter</a> for five plus years. We have more than 14,000 followers from around the world now, but it began like many Facebook pages do, with our friends and family. Planet Alaska is dedicated to our mentor and teacher Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley. After Dr. Kawagley died (in 2011), and the opportunity arose to host a Facebook page, we wanted to continue his legacy of storytelling, scholarly work, and encouraging others.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj282u3JYV6ObHFCKqjK8JoPh1zbPBHYc_XoEKYMTi-H-90z-uE_WWfIg29ESIUUwjhobtwMQefBawkDzH2AsUTvtUc44jjFgihca9AD-kUoQ-86iwPIi22ZNWZ2Dwq3TXTX8XyUpEiBMw/s1600/2014-07-16+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="1600" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj282u3JYV6ObHFCKqjK8JoPh1zbPBHYc_XoEKYMTi-H-90z-uE_WWfIg29ESIUUwjhobtwMQefBawkDzH2AsUTvtUc44jjFgihca9AD-kUoQ-86iwPIi22ZNWZ2Dwq3TXTX8XyUpEiBMw/s320/2014-07-16+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></strike>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">We wanted to tell the rest of the world that Alaska isn’t the familiar stereotypes. Alaska is one the most culturally diverse states in the nation. Many of our communities are separated by vast distances; we can be a thousand miles away from someone else’s story of Alaska. We wanted to share the stories of artists, writers, musicians, educators, traditional food experts, linguists, historians, and elders, and those involved in language and cultural revitalization and preservation. What we Alaskans have in common is our love for one of the most amazing places on the planet.</span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Taking our popular Facebook page to the <a href="http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/" target="_blank">Capital City Weekly</a> is a bit unnerving, though. We’ve been somewhat autonomous. Often people assume we’re a part of the National Geographic news network. We’re not, but that’s a nice compliment.</span></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Here’s a bit more about your Planet Alaska columnists:</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Vivian Mork Yéilk’</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I was born in Wrangell, Alaska and live on my boat in Sitka. I’m Tlingit, a Raven from the T’akdeintaan clan, Snail House from Hoonah. My Tlingit name is <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Yéilk’ </em>(Cute-Little-Raven). I come from a large multi-cultural family, which is also Sámi, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Irish. I have an M.A. in Cross Cultural Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Knowledge Systems. I’m a tourist guide, a traditional food and medicine specialist, a storyteller, a writer, a carver, a tinkerer, as well as a Tlingit language and cultural educator. I grew up exploring Southeast Alaska’s islands in a commercial fishing family, spent my young adult life as a professional vagrant exploring the world, and I now spend a lot of time moving stuff around on my boat in Sitka.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.vivianfaithprescott.com/" target="_blank">Vivian Faith Prescott</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-DZt8_qZ1UYHpEiD1NiAPhIpnNYzK0_NryLrrZok6s20HFlJu4xMuac7bQFjdOOKr4amQ_WfX3pUpS49a5QrjtpGkaoMdS_S2GFp-5EcHQ4-iOTyXi9YItpCoFidbCAZ4-CDg75VPU4/s1600/IMG_7193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1241" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-DZt8_qZ1UYHpEiD1NiAPhIpnNYzK0_NryLrrZok6s20HFlJu4xMuac7bQFjdOOKr4amQ_WfX3pUpS49a5QrjtpGkaoMdS_S2GFp-5EcHQ4-iOTyXi9YItpCoFidbCAZ4-CDg75VPU4/s200/IMG_7193.JPG" width="199" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I’m a fifth generation Alaskan of Sámi, Irish, and Norwegian heritage, among others. I’m adopted T’akdeintaan, given the name <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Yéilk’ Tláa</em> (Mother-of-Cute-Little-Raven). I was born and raised in Wrangell and I live at my fishcamp where I spend my time learning about subsistence and teaching that lifestyle to the next generation. I hold an MFA from the University of Alaska and a Ph.D. in Cross Cultural Studies. I currently facilitate community writing workshops and writers groups in both Sitka and Wrangell. I’m the author of a full-length poetry collection, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Hide of My Tongue</em> (Plain View Press), and three poetry chapbooks, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Slick</em> (White Knuckle Press), <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sludge </em>(Flutter Press), and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Traveling with the Underground People</em> (Finishing Line Press). Another chapbook, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Our Tents Are Small Volcanoes</em>, is forthcoming. I also recently published a short story collection, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Dead Go to Seattle</em> (Boreal Books). I’m also a mixed-media artist, sculpting with items found on Alaska’s old garbage dump beaches.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Planet Alaska is about diversity: nature, cultures, families, landscapes, art, writing, and more. It is the story of us — what makes us Alaskans. It’s about you, Dear Reader, Dear Alaskan, Dear Fellow Traveler and Human. Thinking about this big step into newsprint makes us consider the mentors we’ve had along the way. What does it mean to be a mentor and what does it mean to take on the role of student? Sometimes we’ve been offered a reciprocal mentor/apprentice relationship and other times we’ve had to seek it out. Who has inspired us – given us hope to continue despite challenges? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCN0rIVhT82NkG0FX8R_u5fYt8wYmhl3LitERkb8fMV7OYBxOLlmrWX2aMvsSGEQOO1G7HMICDGF99kPzUnE46tLmwK-KD4bjkBt1T2uAULvnedNuwXVYxZNh4kt6WRkZwxp7bqMmlHM/s1600/2010-11-28+2336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCN0rIVhT82NkG0FX8R_u5fYt8wYmhl3LitERkb8fMV7OYBxOLlmrWX2aMvsSGEQOO1G7HMICDGF99kPzUnE46tLmwK-KD4bjkBt1T2uAULvnedNuwXVYxZNh4kt6WRkZwxp7bqMmlHM/s320/2010-11-28+2336.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Between us, we have mentors in common, some who’ve walked into the forest recently. Teri Rofkar and Clarissa Rizal were two of these mentors, though they were also our beloved clan sisters who influenced our creativity. Teri Rofkar advised us to tell contemporary stories, which is what we do at Planet Alaska. In her art, we see the mega-tsunami that tossed our uncle’s fishing boat over an island in Lituya Bay, the fault lines cracking the surface of a dance robe. Clarissa encouraged us to be mentors ourselves; to take a daughter, or cousin, or friend, and show them how to make devil’s club salve or harvest spruce tips.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJtTJhuJTkv0ObBTsMf8I7HQ59Rn3LxvjwCTLnIX4OgO_gCBODKiIr_dGay52_Poqzo7UChgb-SmXd3kXqtVGBieYj703TcrLyUPkNPPxB7TQJWNiMc4y9gNEFsvn-_LeCsefF3aGSP8/s1600/2016-05-02+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJtTJhuJTkv0ObBTsMf8I7HQ59Rn3LxvjwCTLnIX4OgO_gCBODKiIr_dGay52_Poqzo7UChgb-SmXd3kXqtVGBieYj703TcrLyUPkNPPxB7TQJWNiMc4y9gNEFsvn-_LeCsefF3aGSP8/s200/2016-05-02+013.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Nora and Richard Dauenhauer mentored us in literature and the Tlingit language. Dick and Nora taught us to look for metaphor embedded in the language and to not be afraid to learn and speak Tlingit. They gave us both the gift of language and understanding that opened a whole new world for us. We’ve tried to share our love of language on our Planet Alaska page and share what other Alaskans are doing within their language revitalization efforts.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As well, Marie Olson, </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Kaayistaan</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">,a Juneau resident, is one of our dear mentors. Marie has mentored us through our graduate programs and beyond. We went to the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in New Zealand together. She taught us Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights. Marie has lived some incredible stories and is a brilliant scholar. Says </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Yéilk’</em></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">: “I am so thankful to call this woman my friend. This is the woman who tells me I remind her of Russell Means. This is the woman who calls me to tell me she was thinking of me and that I should start a media company telling our stories. This is the woman who calls me to simply say let’s go to dinner.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">What our mentors have in common is that they saw possibilities; they took risks and faced their challenges — and in doing so, they inspired others. Dear Reader, think about how you could mentor someone in the coming year or consider being the student. Learn something you’ve always wanted to know. Don’t wait. Go knock on that door, send a text, a card, or pick up the phone. Nora Dauenhauer </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Keixwnéi</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> said, “The things you want to do in your life, get it done now.” So here we are: Welcome to Planet Alaska.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; display: block; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #464646; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b><i><u><sub><br /></sub></u></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; display: block; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000120; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.06px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(First appeared in the Capital City Weekly, Juneau Empire, Dec. 27 2017)</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></b></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-16830820857620605152017-08-28T02:11:00.001-04:002017-08-28T02:11:32.943-04:00Gathering Hudson Bay Tea <span style="font-size: large;">Hudson Bay Tea: s’ikshaldéen (Tlingit language)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0YoGUnyR0i12w2WMjYss1JcGg_jU6r8k97CfGYaqE9-bYIVL5m0qAjt9zVaJFqR-7sTyr3YalyMMRyBw7dJk_SoxyQxE-UR5-y220XCv8E_MSIhx5eOL91GGOZcUtm6pJbg0O-jQ-2o/s1600/2017-06-13+140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0YoGUnyR0i12w2WMjYss1JcGg_jU6r8k97CfGYaqE9-bYIVL5m0qAjt9zVaJFqR-7sTyr3YalyMMRyBw7dJk_SoxyQxE-UR5-y220XCv8E_MSIhx5eOL91GGOZcUtm6pJbg0O-jQ-2o/s400/2017-06-13+140.jpg" width="300" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gathering tea with Elder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
RESOURCES:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_legr.pdf" target="_blank">USDA Plant Guide:</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://plantwatch.naturealberta.ca/choose-your-plants/labrador-tea/" target="_blank">Alberta Plant Watch</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ediblewildfood.com/Labrador-tea.aspx" target="_blank">Edible Wild Foods</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sealaskaheritage.org/sites/default/files/Unit%2018%20Plants.pdf" target="_blank">Sealaska Plant Teaching Unit</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/051803/ala_051803alapm003001.shtml#.WaOyqYWcE4o" target="_blank">Herbal Traditions</a> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPA-AuN_nL42ZlO7ws76pleGxxpFQ0JXJRrTJiRV0lLrJooTY-ZVL-tQPKzZmESfLm_4WmkWc70mfTDHQV5Xy2IbotUuupQ_0DHH6G6wmsJtaSglk_QpSMI4KHi9aLUfWcFM4Kx1ueCY/s1600/2017-06-14+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPA-AuN_nL42ZlO7ws76pleGxxpFQ0JXJRrTJiRV0lLrJooTY-ZVL-tQPKzZmESfLm_4WmkWc70mfTDHQV5Xy2IbotUuupQ_0DHH6G6wmsJtaSglk_QpSMI4KHi9aLUfWcFM4Kx1ueCY/s200/2017-06-14+005.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br />
My daughter, Vivian Mork Yeilk' is a traditional foods and medicines expert. We co-host a popular Facebook page called <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlanetAlaska/" target="_blank">Planet Alaska</a>.</span> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Bz5FRebCB3AtBdFIfZtnhb81N_lbcDvp-Ks7siaqDKq7HR3FGJ_lRQqCTb-okOqA67URXWydGKndgJE9a9Z_tEdN03QhTmsxIqHQO6Xzmq3XBSAK8ttBgtUI7sjd_AfMqc8wwYE7LF4/s1600/2017-06-13+174.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Bz5FRebCB3AtBdFIfZtnhb81N_lbcDvp-Ks7siaqDKq7HR3FGJ_lRQqCTb-okOqA67URXWydGKndgJE9a9Z_tEdN03QhTmsxIqHQO6Xzmq3XBSAK8ttBgtUI7sjd_AfMqc8wwYE7LF4/s640/2017-06-13+174.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-20069779933331216982017-02-09T14:56:00.001-04:002017-02-09T14:56:55.784-04:00WINTER STORIES<br />
WINTER STORIES<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRf5N3_ptOzJ5Zg89CZmhtEzf7GhuZlYpFgylrwJJki7TQFpF5wMp2Ljru_nni-sGdIWRxFiDCp63AA1h2dYQbq9TS-E8Lf65s1tPDxONowapeGTlyHI1SzrqKJB17uJIuWk9tdtR9IHY/s1600/winter+stories+color+collage+3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRf5N3_ptOzJ5Zg89CZmhtEzf7GhuZlYpFgylrwJJki7TQFpF5wMp2Ljru_nni-sGdIWRxFiDCp63AA1h2dYQbq9TS-E8Lf65s1tPDxONowapeGTlyHI1SzrqKJB17uJIuWk9tdtR9IHY/s640/winter+stories+color+collage+3.jpeg" width="482" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Winter Stories</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Crows alight on the bare fish-cleaning
table,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>cold
rain splashes away lingering fish scales, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">and the smokehouse door is latched
tight. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
fish racks are empty now, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">but these days, when our winter stories </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>awaken
us, unfold us from our warm beds, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">our bodies evoke muscle memory—</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>a
precision slice and cut, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">a cold salty brine dripping from our
hands. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our
smoke-scented clothes still hang </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">by the door, our boots in the corner still
flicker </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>with
silver salmon scales and slime; </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">and on this late morning, my elder father
sits </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>in
his recliner with binoculars in hand,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">watching sealions and logs floating by our
fishcamp. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He
recalls a summer full of lines zinging</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">out beyond our boat, fish flipping and spitting
hooks, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>a
flash of salmon sinking beneath </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">the green sea. These winter stories waft
around </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>our
cabin like smoke filaments drifting </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">from smokehouse roof, weaving through </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>sunlight
and hemlock branches. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">These winter stories nurture us: smoked
fish, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>with
a plate of salted crackers, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">salmon oil seeping into the whorls </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>of
our fingertips, our stories embracing us </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">in the solace of a woodstove’s fire. </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*Winter Stories first appeared in the winter issue of <a href="http://ediblealaska.ediblecommunities.com/" target="_blank">Edible Alaska</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ediblealaska.ediblecommunities.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://ediblealaska.ediblecommunities.com/" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1KD25Q6MTOhrb3fcvR7yJB_W3fUKrFcWEBy6m3lBTmKpu0brH6780pHAttqypzK_WYXsdF9L0lv8D2BpQ4jnr9k-hRxgwtEqkFWdAXaRpIEnCl60ilgwMmoBKvgw5js1_rJe9zQKjso/s320/edible+alaska+cover.jpg" width="240" /></a>Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-58890474771761141152016-09-01T11:07:00.000-04:002016-09-01T11:07:10.906-04:00Bound to Place<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfYUNOcOyWh4KVhiuncafUaofaufrxiBlGD3f5b_jOGLFD7Cna-iMMMAjOJj3hhP8sEqD8A5JWEPIVVKi9TUVNfDHHYbTbHUTgksB-AR9woj82skLZRPoNoR7z0KnE3wJQwd2v9omzvo/s1600/2010-10-17+768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfYUNOcOyWh4KVhiuncafUaofaufrxiBlGD3f5b_jOGLFD7Cna-iMMMAjOJj3hhP8sEqD8A5JWEPIVVKi9TUVNfDHHYbTbHUTgksB-AR9woj82skLZRPoNoR7z0KnE3wJQwd2v9omzvo/s320/2010-10-17+768.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<h2>
Bound to Place</h2>
<br />
(*Appeared in<a href="http://boltsofsilk.blogspot.com/2011/10/bound-to-place-by-vivian-faith-prescott.html" target="_blank"> Bolts of Silk</a>) <br />
<br />
Children know <em>haa áan</em>—our land,<br />
ways-of-knowing. Language binds them<br />
to place, my incantations. Fish spawning<br />
in streams, bear cubs birthing in dens.<br />
Children, a seasonal calendar, interwoven.<br />
<br />
Daughter born during the Child Moon—<em>Dís yádi</em><br />
<br />
Daughter in the Black Bear Month, <em>S’eek dísi</em>—<br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">...........</span>Month-When-Black-Bear-Cubs-Are-Born<br />
<br />
Another daughter born in At <em>gadaxit dísi</em>—<br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">...</span><span style="color: white;">..........</span>The-Birth-Moon-When-Animals-Give-Birth<br />
<br />
Son born in At <em>gadaxit yinna dísi</em>—the Breeding Month.<br />
<br />
This animal landscape.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcv7D95-262SE6qc213Tzhyphenhyphenl1df_HyRPLKndvDMBATDdRRQemrjBlaYSFkT3LjYMO88VfF7TiVT-yXGoVp9NniaSLBwKbAwtcGd_LUsdYCvaMd6HSdNnwGLdtPHDrPPEOYQuSUo9GaN4/s1600/Nikka+and+Jonah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcv7D95-262SE6qc213Tzhyphenhyphenl1df_HyRPLKndvDMBATDdRRQemrjBlaYSFkT3LjYMO88VfF7TiVT-yXGoVp9NniaSLBwKbAwtcGd_LUsdYCvaMd6HSdNnwGLdtPHDrPPEOYQuSUo9GaN4/s200/Nikka+and+Jonah.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonZwnHSX4QSpvSrKHDeXG0fnOS8zJ2tzM_S8OuPpif-2q062PbTqyVdmnjy43dDUUdS8IquxGUxGJnvQcHHTjjMu5bGCaRY8yikpITQsyv9jvcS_SFFljSTa5YsHYkNNTIp2KdstnkDU/s1600/2010-10-17+1552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonZwnHSX4QSpvSrKHDeXG0fnOS8zJ2tzM_S8OuPpif-2q062PbTqyVdmnjy43dDUUdS8IquxGUxGJnvQcHHTjjMu5bGCaRY8yikpITQsyv9jvcS_SFFljSTa5YsHYkNNTIp2KdstnkDU/s320/2010-10-17+1552.JPG" width="240" /></a><u></u><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BeblJqdtxhjgte5eeYqkAbRRGESWUhOGkdvLlBnyiFXnvtHqTT12w-9Um4VgzV0lULKf19Ybql-4pgdNCRUCPCFZHKQ2QHsrXIkanIHg1GFv10KFOz7PWbFPExXsBL4xv8Y1WfJ-GXw/s1600/2014-06-08+140.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BeblJqdtxhjgte5eeYqkAbRRGESWUhOGkdvLlBnyiFXnvtHqTT12w-9Um4VgzV0lULKf19Ybql-4pgdNCRUCPCFZHKQ2QHsrXIkanIHg1GFv10KFOz7PWbFPExXsBL4xv8Y1WfJ-GXw/s200/2014-06-08+140.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcv7D95-262SE6qc213Tzhyphenhyphenl1df_HyRPLKndvDMBATDdRRQemrjBlaYSFkT3LjYMO88VfF7TiVT-yXGoVp9NniaSLBwKbAwtcGd_LUsdYCvaMd6HSdNnwGLdtPHDrPPEOYQuSUo9GaN4/s1600/Nikka+and+Jonah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>*Tlingit Language Resources:<br />
<a href="http://tlingitlanguage.com/" rel="home" title="Lingít Yoo X̲ʼatángi">Lingít Yoo X̲ʼatángi</a> <br />
<a href="http://chilkatindianvillage.org/tlingitphrases" target="_blank">Chilkat Indian Village: Tlingit Language Program</a> <br />
<a href="https://www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/tl/" target="_blank">Alaska Native Language Center</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.sealaskaheritage.org/institute/language/resources">SEALASKA Language Resources</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/Curriculum/Tlingit/Salmon/graphics/moonandtides.pdf" target="_blank">Tlingit Moon & Tide</a> (Examples of moons/months from <br />
Kake, Alaska) <br />
<br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-67966811275298522016-06-20T14:14:00.001-04:002016-06-20T14:14:23.509-04:00Salmonberry Love<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Salmonberry Love</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">hummingbird loops </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">above salmonberry blossoms</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">drawing in my breath</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: purple;">small berry stained hands</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: purple;">fingers the hem of dresses—</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="color: purple;">memory yet to fade</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Here's some information about <a href="https://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00119.pdf" target="_blank">Salmonberries!</a></span><br />
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<img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="180" src="https://scontent.fsjc1-3.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13427814_1151488944914849_8681180994274365410_n.jpg?oh=53ede841fa04c76df1b8a226b647171b&oe=57E6DCE4" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">pale morning’s first light</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">gathers salmonberry blossoms--</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">day returns spirits</span></span></span><div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-69619499115196962182014-12-17T16:27:00.001-04:002014-12-17T16:28:40.656-04:00Intestine of the Sooty Song Sparrow<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6-8MKyY2QvXlpExF-_mW3fx3xXqWWrkhzr7nLEv56RYfdF4cgnVG1JNXp3m0ScIGRnX5jk6sK2gcAF-RCMxVBFn2ziouFF39HnnLfuNMseOICKfC0NdlWVN4sGPgwdRYyHd0zNUDP3s/s1600/Culture+draped+meme.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6-8MKyY2QvXlpExF-_mW3fx3xXqWWrkhzr7nLEv56RYfdF4cgnVG1JNXp3m0ScIGRnX5jk6sK2gcAF-RCMxVBFn2ziouFF39HnnLfuNMseOICKfC0NdlWVN4sGPgwdRYyHd0zNUDP3s/s1600/Culture+draped+meme.JPG" height="320" width="306" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">My daughter dances to the drummer’s beat. Draped around her back is a black button robe trimmed in red and dotted with abalone buttons that form a pattern. She turns her back to the audience and the wool robe moves with her. The fabric ripples and the black-legged kittiwake on her back flies to the mountain with grief in its beak. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">“We wear our histories,” is a common Tlingit saying. Tlingit weaver and clan sister, <a href="http://terirofkar.com/" target="_blank">Teri Rofkar</a>, advised me that we should be telling stories about what’s happening right now. I apply the weaver’s advice to my writing and mentoring. I work with indigenous writers, among them the Tlingit, an Alaskan Native tribe in Southeast Alaska. My children are Tlingit and I’m adopted into the T’a</span><u style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">k</u><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">deintaan clan, Snail House. My Tlingit name is </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">Yéilk Tlaa </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">Mother-of-Cute-Little-Raven.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRD4guJtqyXMxUffuuj7u2ss9Z0kGBxgv5TiLWZANftme2yWK3M5cN_ZMxpVkO9C_vk9k96jS3FNS55jN3oErlDocNUBW5yHm3ZAbFVDWMy8bSyXHWmXKxNIUM7JU2l7igeFi8IwbuCo/s1600/Terri-Rofkar-Lituay-Bay-Robe-Photo-by-Chris-Arend-615x420-550x375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRD4guJtqyXMxUffuuj7u2ss9Z0kGBxgv5TiLWZANftme2yWK3M5cN_ZMxpVkO9C_vk9k96jS3FNS55jN3oErlDocNUBW5yHm3ZAbFVDWMy8bSyXHWmXKxNIUM7JU2l7igeFi8IwbuCo/s1600/Terri-Rofkar-Lituay-Bay-Robe-Photo-by-Chris-Arend-615x420-550x375.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(c)Teri Rofkar</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">Rofkar weaves contemporary stories into her dance robes. The three types of dance robes, the Chilkat, Raven’s tail, and button blanket, are complex designs with many threads, stitches, buttons, and patterns. The robes tell stories. Rofkar’s earthquake robe depicts the 1964 Alaskan earthquake, which she experienced as a child. Another robe tells of the history of our clan family in Lituya Bay.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">I live in Sitka, Alaska and belong to a multi-cultural writers group, consisting mostly of women. (Blue Canoe Writers). We are weavers of words and stories. Sometimes we weave our stories together; sometimes we help one another discover patterns and words for the things we have difficulty expressing. In a traditionally matrilineal culture such as the Tlingit’s, life is complicated by the male-dominated American culture. This complexity is sometimes hard to describe. We get frustrated. We get angry. We write. My daughter, a poet, writes about the male clan leaders who are on the sex offender list. Her poem questions this non-traditional practice.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6fAR4HppFXoYRGU-_viC0Lu2MdgB-UYHqKKK1orQd1YscpKtMUcFJBET4e9EqgbfJVstcAC-YrQu8I4ywYQHX7VT3LukP2CWYzTlMSMtv7-S23twCsf4kV0tba2Qn9OcZEL_9OgeeF4/s1600/Story+quote+Thomas+Builds+the+fire.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6fAR4HppFXoYRGU-_viC0Lu2MdgB-UYHqKKK1orQd1YscpKtMUcFJBET4e9EqgbfJVstcAC-YrQu8I4ywYQHX7VT3LukP2CWYzTlMSMtv7-S23twCsf4kV0tba2Qn9OcZEL_9OgeeF4/s1600/Story+quote+Thomas+Builds+the+fire.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">As a person with indigenous ancestry myself, I understand the complexities of language death, assimilation, acculturation, and how women’s roles are effected by change. Those changes create the basis for our stories. Sometimes it’s hard to look at the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">now</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">, especially when the Tlingits have been in southeast Alaska for ten thousand years. Life here is greatly influenced by the past and traditions.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">I explain to my fellow writers that what you experienced when you went to the grocery store is just as important as what your ancestors experienced in their day-to-day living. You know the story of how Raven brought daylight to mankind, but the story of the time when you couch-surfed through ten years of your life is just as important. Look for patterns. Weave your story.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofsm5okv4YXWOwpfHP6GVdkXkicSfrPWbhBEvbbn4WrBB0fNHOzLEAThUfSlUkqbGbl13Ivn3tLQP6UEMFz1EOFGVNzHryoDghtjhvn9OWyY-JSKh31Kko7WU3En5fy_43OW4c-X9lr4/s1600/vk+forest+pic+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofsm5okv4YXWOwpfHP6GVdkXkicSfrPWbhBEvbbn4WrBB0fNHOzLEAThUfSlUkqbGbl13Ivn3tLQP6UEMFz1EOFGVNzHryoDghtjhvn9OWyY-JSKh31Kko7WU3En5fy_43OW4c-X9lr4/s1600/vk+forest+pic+4.JPG" height="248" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">The stories and poems written from our lives are intricate just like the dance robes, and, like the robes, our words must dance to live, to tell our stories to the next generation. As women writers we try to figure out how life makes sense. We imagine the things that haunt us, that make us laugh, and make us cry. We search for words. We look for patterns: the teeth of the killer whale, leaves of fireweed, intestine of the sooty song-sparrow.<b> </b>By telling our stories we make a pattern for others to follow. We weave a new future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i>My daughter writes a poem. It is her clan’s story of first contact in Lituya Bay. She sets the pen down and picks up the poem; its wool is heavy with words and ink. The patterns she’s designed herself: the teeth of men, the curling sails of a sailing ship, the song of her clan women. She drapes the poem along her shoulders. The cadence of her words, its drumbeat. The letters flutter like the black strands of wool hanging from the robe. She moves through the verses like the sailing ship heading into the bay. She holds a hollow plant up to her eye and looks through it so as not to turn to stone. This is the moment when her story changes, the moment when her elders head out to the ship, the moment when she feels the poem, heavy on her shoulders. This is the moment when her clan women will listen to her words and remember their todays as well as their histories and look forward to their future. This is when she dances.</i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;">*This blogpost was previously published on another blog: <a href="http://thebetterbombshell.blogspot.com/2012/12/intestine-of-sooty-song-sparrow.html" target="_blank">The Better Bombshell.</a> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-22791874358433703952014-08-09T11:07:00.000-04:002014-08-09T11:08:06.065-04:00Smokescent <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TmUtVM2vWIly1sJguJslnapn42_ZMnfd4P4rTbqU2LghK-q_OGVvXwt53Jf4co8Ey9v0u5nYyyvTHDm-_UYtLCo1sOoL29Rpa9_ahyXuZH2Evg5g68WYduJszicQVn9skSt2mFsSZIU/s1600/2014-07-18+082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smokehouse at Mickey's Fishcamp</td></tr>
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Smoke rises from my father's smokehouse, curls up through hemlocks, drifts down the road. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Salmon in the brine</td></tr>
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Salt brine coats the King Salmon, slick and shiny. I look into the bucket and think I would rather have slices of salmon than jewels. I feel rich. </div>
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Fat drips from the salmon, sizzles on the fire, smoke rises through the salmon slices. </div>
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We are interdependent on fire and ocean and good fat.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good Fat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4N0smyciFN_2wOIWD8YewSUTP9PgglqiRaFLJ_eK45t1efey7vTlDv3xWkfIEUtL5-dPU6AMDV0aqXTn73CeNxxgLv9aVoMOu68KgR1smeWAFCqa5o-1hvAWQhcQuiBjQt-HJkwQIg_Q/s1600/2014-07-12+329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4N0smyciFN_2wOIWD8YewSUTP9PgglqiRaFLJ_eK45t1efey7vTlDv3xWkfIEUtL5-dPU6AMDV0aqXTn73CeNxxgLv9aVoMOu68KgR1smeWAFCqa5o-1hvAWQhcQuiBjQt-HJkwQIg_Q/s1600/2014-07-12+329.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My father and his smokehouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My hands and hair and clothing reek of smokescent. I hold a slice of hot smoked salmon in my hands. I tear a small piece of flesh and taste sea and smoke. At the fishcamp, my scent follows me, room to room. </div>
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We slice and brine and smoke and cook and eat and reek. </div>
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Sometimes, after a good smoke is finished, maybe days later, </div>
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I will wander to the back of the camp just to stand </div>
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by the smokehouse and breathe in its scent. </div>
Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-27861848411929993122013-11-08T17:57:00.001-04:002013-11-08T18:08:04.574-04:00Mickey's Fish Camp at Ḵeishangita.aan--Red Alder Head Village<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_v0e3onRJnOhGgrNttidvomQhQCHAEA3NsuWRdFpE2lXsloVb34OQF4Tmx1Mhv6ENLdefuigwDj670CYPjOj50dVmIDMhJarGajkiAO27OCyraHzIxq4PCOreBlf73RKqJIhFtlfS_Zo/s1600/Fish+Camp+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_v0e3onRJnOhGgrNttidvomQhQCHAEA3NsuWRdFpE2lXsloVb34OQF4Tmx1Mhv6ENLdefuigwDj670CYPjOj50dVmIDMhJarGajkiAO27OCyraHzIxq4PCOreBlf73RKqJIhFtlfS_Zo/s320/Fish+Camp+1.JPG" width="320" /></a>“Wrangell was a tranquil place. I never heard a noisy brawl
in the streets, or a clap of thunder, and the waves seldom spoke much above a
whisper along the beach.” ~John Muir<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve established a family fish camp in Wrangell, Alaska, Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw—Ḵaachx̱án’s
Lake. I've named it Mickey’s Fish Camp after my father, grandfather, and
great-grandfather; three generations of fishermen named “Mickey.” We recently built a smokehouse and will fish and participate in other subsistence activities in Wrangell next summer.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDLxqj5RJfjDCKCkBEfYXlPzOoVy4iETdLT51ivXBpNuRZgawIXM2pLTkkAL7Sd2ndX9POrWcZZQbhaqzY8rQXaKpvUX7iREkKo9cP2ndWN_nATR9WKkGCFv-YF84Zvr_opquAO66gQY/s1600/Fish+Camp+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDLxqj5RJfjDCKCkBEfYXlPzOoVy4iETdLT51ivXBpNuRZgawIXM2pLTkkAL7Sd2ndX9POrWcZZQbhaqzY8rQXaKpvUX7iREkKo9cP2ndWN_nATR9WKkGCFv-YF84Zvr_opquAO66gQY/s320/Fish+Camp+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TXUrpcmEc-Cbby_GrpPAlZA_jgP6_bMhMF5DwUrzXY_ZcXbJG-aAeIh8NO7_OVxY29RfPR6-1IgX8aGvsJfMv_SKVss8UQvh2ipNi9mBZiuUZT5pfqxNoHTKGJbvxzS42hhU3JYX1xg/s1600/Fish+Camp+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TXUrpcmEc-Cbby_GrpPAlZA_jgP6_bMhMF5DwUrzXY_ZcXbJG-aAeIh8NO7_OVxY29RfPR6-1IgX8aGvsJfMv_SKVss8UQvh2ipNi9mBZiuUZT5pfqxNoHTKGJbvxzS42hhU3JYX1xg/s200/Fish+Camp+8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
But what does this have to do with my writing? Well,
this place, the landscape and the people, tell stories. I’m also collecting subsistence
knowledge about the bays, rivers, and hills that have sustained my family in
order to pass this knowledge to the next generation.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnA9ibmZbO7U0QtGsuHsyGrlDehncQagYe0-MLvWjEl2lu_olKkt6BTSJgFQs38U7de4u0jLvBzfgiaUwyuW785lcz_9LyKSHlgtj1oyv0x6HJqG8AWySV1TkrtsgtTA6BK7GmzTD39go/s200/Fish+Camp+7.jpg" width="200" /></span><br />
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We are a multicultural family,
intermarrying among the Tlingit. So the stories, poems, essays that I write
have their roots in living at the fish camp. I’m going to spend summers there,
living with the ocean at my feet. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“The tide-currents, the fresh driftwood, the inflowing
streams, and the luxuriant foliage of the out-leaning trees on the shores make
this resemblance all the more complete.”~ John Muir<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mickey’s Fish Camp is located near the Red Alder Village
site, Ḵeishangita.aan—Red Alder Head, an early Tlingit village. We hope to
build small workspace cabins on the lot, too, so we can host
writers/artists who need time and space to create as well as participate in fish camp and community. So begins a new chapter in my life: living the fish camp dream, right next to the ocean, with a Kingfisher squawking nearby, a seal bobbing out front of camp, and ducks and whales, and salmon. </div>
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<o:p></o:p><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeDFGL-Vu8XQItawJ0hSkAnvEsUL5ZToGXlYd4BVVtw9xEeCOoltZCQFcRQeRKLmTIaSfQwGe3vNX1Ggi3_fIdZxfa3yjEL2bIUhecC2vgFOcExpkk3VnojzQjjMJ4ZujX2KdQwSzqRQ/s1600/Fish+Camp+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeDFGL-Vu8XQItawJ0hSkAnvEsUL5ZToGXlYd4BVVtw9xEeCOoltZCQFcRQeRKLmTIaSfQwGe3vNX1Ggi3_fIdZxfa3yjEL2bIUhecC2vgFOcExpkk3VnojzQjjMJ4ZujX2KdQwSzqRQ/s200/Fish+Camp+4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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“Everything seems to settle into conscious repose. The winds
breathe gently or are wholly at rest. The few clouds visible are downy & luminous & combed out fine on the edges. Gulls here & there, winnowing the
air on easy wing…” ~ John Muir</div>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Q2mKPRv8wcIaC1lAO3xIQ2vSFtk433E5_nsaaiFvUkXYeqIUlxXegAnY1wFbgUv_gzZ_LyZ-sckpJdAZM0R0-Txmt9tntRZBnn047P9GDc1PMJHwJ5jeW9ArNIpBkbdJ9CIBKZZOQT4/s1600/Fish+Camp+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Q2mKPRv8wcIaC1lAO3xIQ2vSFtk433E5_nsaaiFvUkXYeqIUlxXegAnY1wFbgUv_gzZ_LyZ-sckpJdAZM0R0-Txmt9tntRZBnn047P9GDc1PMJHwJ5jeW9ArNIpBkbdJ9CIBKZZOQT4/s640/Fish+Camp+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-82458580119387557042013-08-18T10:26:00.001-04:002013-08-18T10:26:53.357-04:00Atxhaayí Haa Khusteeyixh Sitee; Our Food is Our Way of Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhpzLZ07sLdjlRHiVUb3VI6Fjk21RuL3sA1N8b0gHR23BiCwHP3rB2iMw_0c6i4DP9Gz7ayGpjdIcUiKnQqfV_a1oSPzRQka2L1DsW3y9D50AlVLt4bS9H2rfmM20UZD-CLFacoF5DNQ/s1600/herring+eggs+subsistence+my+family.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhpzLZ07sLdjlRHiVUb3VI6Fjk21RuL3sA1N8b0gHR23BiCwHP3rB2iMw_0c6i4DP9Gz7ayGpjdIcUiKnQqfV_a1oSPzRQka2L1DsW3y9D50AlVLt4bS9H2rfmM20UZD-CLFacoF5DNQ/s320/herring+eggs+subsistence+my+family.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In
Southeast Alaska we have a saying: “You can’t out give a man from Hoonah.” For
the Tlingit, the gathering, preparation, and sharing of food, is a way of
life: <em>At<u>x</u>aayí haa</em> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>k</u>usteeyi<u>x</u>
Sitee</i>; our food is our way of life. Though I am not Tlingit, my relatives participated in similar lifeways. Having lived my entire life on Tlingit land, eventually intermarrying among the Tlingit, the gathering and preparations of foods that are unique to this landscape are essential to my family's survival.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdx2lc3QtvKP_rGyAjKk3gUdqsH44eUtG1VS_ZVsfhVYZBNNIsHcXn7UHk7sZduL6qyydyLfjJ3LW0xiBhWix6cdoqQkdli6n7wXkDfzppmp_OJNWR4SSLIw9RAz0mzR9aYVS0q_xxHk/s1600/herring+eggs+subsistence+my+dad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdx2lc3QtvKP_rGyAjKk3gUdqsH44eUtG1VS_ZVsfhVYZBNNIsHcXn7UHk7sZduL6qyydyLfjJ3LW0xiBhWix6cdoqQkdli6n7wXkDfzppmp_OJNWR4SSLIw9RAz0mzR9aYVS0q_xxHk/s320/herring+eggs+subsistence+my+dad.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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A friend told me Tlingit food is ‘soul
food.’ Another Elder claimed, “We do not subsist.” The use of the term
‘subsistence’ can be offensive, implying eking out a meager existence
or alternative to welfare. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgP-IhJRqw6IYf5iOGY9iO1c7NrxP5FYwTd1mKtqYu4hyv4kK4_-ZzVKadBoEt4H3a0i-LY7581ELeFf_pYZ5WKqZ8J_evDqtNJl3bwiUa5xp_OdPsui-KGuINevLXYrTR5E6S6R40EME/s1600/Timothy+picks+spruce+tips+subsistence.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgP-IhJRqw6IYf5iOGY9iO1c7NrxP5FYwTd1mKtqYu4hyv4kK4_-ZzVKadBoEt4H3a0i-LY7581ELeFf_pYZ5WKqZ8J_evDqtNJl3bwiUa5xp_OdPsui-KGuINevLXYrTR5E6S6R40EME/s320/Timothy+picks+spruce+tips+subsistence.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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At<u>x</u>aayí <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>K</u>usteeyi<u>x</u></i>
is a way of life in rural Alaska as well as a means of providing traditional
foods for Alaska Natives who choose to live in urban Alaska. Tribal survival
depends upon <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">at<u>x</u>aayí kusteeyi<u>x</u></i>
activities; our food-activities are integral to the Tlingit worldview. Food
links my family to our ancestors and ensures my children’s culture will
continue to the next generation. The past-present-and-future tastes like the bitter/sweetness of spruce tips, the oils in King Salmon. "Home" is a sense of harvesting and preparing our own foods. "Home" is blueberries heaped in a bowl, a pot of shrimp boiling on the stove. </span><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
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<o:p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknSh-f5yGYBqQ6fIwOSu4aTLfjh8Hl5qiob_Cp3nR7W2WQnXlqrARdv-RGiozpygCp2BZE9HdAAK3yhmeBk5-UedLBNh9WpyRduJ2_Sy6ppwgyQXqGAd_nLDddcAco8T4vs6gc6Z6lWs/s1600/salmonberry+subsistence.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknSh-f5yGYBqQ6fIwOSu4aTLfjh8Hl5qiob_Cp3nR7W2WQnXlqrARdv-RGiozpygCp2BZE9HdAAK3yhmeBk5-UedLBNh9WpyRduJ2_Sy6ppwgyQXqGAd_nLDddcAco8T4vs6gc6Z6lWs/s320/salmonberry+subsistence.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In
my worldview, the<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> at<u>x</u>aayí <u>k</u>usteeyi<u>x</u></i>— traditional
lifeway, is not something I do in order to eek out a living. Our<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> at<u>x</u>aayí</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>k</u>usteeyi<u>x</u> </i>is a living culture: It defines my culture.
It is a way-of-life, survival birthright for my children and grandchildren, a process of transmitting values. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have a relationship with the lifestyle, to the foods I eat. I raised my
children on halibut, shrimp, crab, clams, salmon, moose and deer meat. Grandson remembers that Spring tastes like herring eggs on beach grass, salmonberry shoots emerging from the earth. My
children, like others raised on traditional foods, are not happy in spirit
until they have access to their traditional foods. The<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> at<u>x</u>aayí</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>k</u>usteeyi<u>x</u></i>
lifestyle is life in its most intimate way. </span><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Traditional
foods are a way of defining who I am, who my children are, linking us to the landscape. I am oil from freshly smoked King Salmon, blueberry juice seeped into finger whorls, the deer's blood on my jacket. I am the halibut slime dried on my boots.</span><br />
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</o:p> </span><br />
Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-47823147119057938182013-07-22T00:49:00.001-04:002013-07-22T00:50:39.746-04:00Breathe In--Breathe Out<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtDWu3dFevMs0UYndk79xJ8yIo_C3fL-iyA12CLVxC-kLdSSgdD1A1yG_34VdY-rHip-2As1iyctmuv8tqYhoLgC0CIfKf0Z-yvF47Jeyq5N-EbhE_yaqBkJTCoJT4iYU3YbIB-90i8Y/s1600/135483913491031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtDWu3dFevMs0UYndk79xJ8yIo_C3fL-iyA12CLVxC-kLdSSgdD1A1yG_34VdY-rHip-2As1iyctmuv8tqYhoLgC0CIfKf0Z-yvF47Jeyq5N-EbhE_yaqBkJTCoJT4iYU3YbIB-90i8Y/s400/135483913491031.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totem Pole eye re-imagined</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Breathe-in experience,
breathe-out poetry." ~Muriel Rukeyser<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Once upon a
time, my ancestor mated with the wind and fell from the sky—she created the
landscape then gave birth to a poet. The bard recited poems about fish-bone
harps and golden orbs of sunlight; and when he did, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">the beasts of the woodland crouched to listen, the birds settled in the
trees to listen, the fish swam next to the shore, and the worms in the earth
surfaced to listen. They listened to incantation, to stories.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I come
from many generations of storytellers and poetry is the medium I chose to tell
our stories. By definition, poetry as story classifies my poetry as narrative.
But toss in whimsy and magic realism, juxtaposition between reality and imaginary,
and the women in my poetry will transform into reindeer and the wolves will walk
like men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSa66csLou1kj5cA1zdLL0MByxOFtRtTTEQklk6YuFqsQgHxVWKm7xPfC71LN1D2bipV437_N9T_lG1wG1vKGWQtAol39LaRasvSpr5a30W0mdvKZOuoGRMWvQgQYCLn99lR8eDtAWwrY/s1600/glyph27+(2).gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSa66csLou1kj5cA1zdLL0MByxOFtRtTTEQklk6YuFqsQgHxVWKm7xPfC71LN1D2bipV437_N9T_lG1wG1vKGWQtAol39LaRasvSpr5a30W0mdvKZOuoGRMWvQgQYCLn99lR8eDtAWwrY/s200/glyph27+(2).gif" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I believe
that poetry can give insight into the human condition and that it’s important
for poets to take on that task. Poetry is story and story is poetry. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My poetry
has always been a means to tell the bigger picture using the smallest of
details. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuCfLnY2vJHEPoSsowNrqEJXY6Gq8XFk09xmI5k5ri84UzEjesLQVZANcBnkLJR0VUFbunGL8sM24EVL1rPYbnuhAZgdL14yMPnSlnZ5_vd9QrhEqdIIdI-vrVaDi6eYbrSt4qVTPAg0/s1600/Jelly+fish+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuCfLnY2vJHEPoSsowNrqEJXY6Gq8XFk09xmI5k5ri84UzEjesLQVZANcBnkLJR0VUFbunGL8sM24EVL1rPYbnuhAZgdL14yMPnSlnZ5_vd9QrhEqdIIdI-vrVaDi6eYbrSt4qVTPAg0/s320/Jelly+fish+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jelly fish re-imagined </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve considered myself a poet since the 6<sup>th</sup> grade when
grief over euthanized kittens made me write my first poem. I recognized that
experience and poetry were connected and that feelings drove the words to
paper. Soon I was immersed in writing poetry. I haven’t stopped since. Writing poetry is a necessary as breath. It is life. Poetry is the landscape
that I live with every day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">*<a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlanetAlaska" target="_blank">Planet Alaska on Facebook</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">*<a href="http://www.vivianfaithprescott.com/" target="_blank">Vivian Faith Prescott author website</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">* <a href="http://planetalaska.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Planet Alaska on Tumblr</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">*<a href="http://instagram.com/planetalaska#" target="_blank">Planet Alaska on Instagram</a> </span></div>
</div>
Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-81000300520753359012013-05-31T12:14:00.001-04:002013-05-31T12:14:19.191-04:00Angels in Flight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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He Dreams of Angels Flying~ Read the poem. Listen to the poem on You Tube at Planet Alaska Poetry. Enjoy~ </div>
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He dreams of angels flying<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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off the O’Connell Bridge, a short walk </div>
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from the Indian Health Service hospital.</div>
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In the four a.m. sunlight, a girl floats heavy</div>
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in midair, raven hair falling, but he catches her, </div>
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ripping his shoulder from its socket; so, the City</div>
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gave him a medal that gathers dust in a box. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Again, years later, below that same bridge, </div>
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a dark silhouette: a black angel with iced </div>
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breath hangs above him on suspension cables </div>
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before leaping into 35 degree water. </div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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In the ocean, he clutches the angel’s head,</div>
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fighting against limp wings and swims through </div>
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the wintry darkness, the smell of alcohol mixing </div>
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with froth and salt spray. No medal this time—</div>
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he volunteers to pluck celestial souls escaping </div>
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from the "third floor" only to return them </div>
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to their captive heaven. At night he pops Advil, </div>
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rubs his shoulder, while I lie beside him listening </div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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to his breathy moans and I know that in his dreams, </div>
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he will always catch fallen angels in hopeless </div>
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attempts at flight. </div>
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<br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-26671996772126531742013-05-27T15:13:00.002-04:002013-05-28T12:14:27.707-04:00Medicine Bag<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPVkttaZBBaQyeJCcaitdzzxddGKdKGL9ehbstos4G0xTcuxTDBMkn0299PF-vyrzPwydOrq4gJNyHs3rjLA-mtDbiewdqmiC44HBDPb_drsMfvXmDYGSTDuIltRmRG6oXOBQxZTVcH8/s1600/Drum+Tlingit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPVkttaZBBaQyeJCcaitdzzxddGKdKGL9ehbstos4G0xTcuxTDBMkn0299PF-vyrzPwydOrq4gJNyHs3rjLA-mtDbiewdqmiC44HBDPb_drsMfvXmDYGSTDuIltRmRG6oXOBQxZTVcH8/s320/Drum+Tlingit.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I stood at
the airport waiting for the plane to land. Beside me a young girl played a
traditional deer skin drum. Along with a few friends we sang the Tlingit song, <b><u><span style="background: white;"><a href="http://137.229.141.31/Alaskool/media/dog_point_v2/t2.rm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-weight: normal;">Tsu Héidei Shugaxtutaan</span></a>:</span></u></b></span><b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Together we will open the container of wisdom.” Behind us the
crew and members from the US Coast Guard Maple and Air Station Sitka stood in
uniform waiting for the man’s arrival. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tsu
héidi shuga<u>x</u>tootáan yá yaakoos<u>g</u>é dakeit haa jeex' a ná<u>k</u> has
kawdik'éet'</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.—<i> Kichnáal<u>x</u></i>.
We will open again this container of wisdom left in our care.—George Davis</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3M9W1K85k3H4Ai4GiPNnziC5MoDXC1EUnPNM8UMW6T8ExZopIl5cPUkp7EmK5y_yjC1PZhVr6Tyz8PyX7T3BSM8T1zV5FC3gwlQXx5VGz8drcgPmK7QU0ZMDJS1Y4-OEQaqR9nBs93c/s1600/howie's+iphone+04JUL10+223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3M9W1K85k3H4Ai4GiPNnziC5MoDXC1EUnPNM8UMW6T8ExZopIl5cPUkp7EmK5y_yjC1PZhVr6Tyz8PyX7T3BSM8T1zV5FC3gwlQXx5VGz8drcgPmK7QU0ZMDJS1Y4-OEQaqR9nBs93c/s320/howie's+iphone+04JUL10+223.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
plane, a man in a camouflage uniform sat in a window seat watching the treetops
for bald eagles. The jet landed and the flight attendant welcomed the officer
over the intercom and thanked him for serving the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
passengers disembarked and the man walked slowly down the jetway carrying a
large green duffle bag. He’d just returned from the Middle East after having
been deployed for seven months. In the small terminal, he looked around
apprehensively. He just wanted to come home and pet his dogs and hug his
grandkids, and hug me. He didn’t want a big deal made out of his homecoming.
But it was a big deal since he’s my husband.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sure, I
worried about my husband when he was deployed with his unit, but he had his
medicine bag, one that he wore around his neck. Years ago I made my husband a
medicine bag when he graduated as a Physician Assistant. A medicine bag is
basically a sacred pouch, often a small pouch that’s only a few inches square. You
wear it like a necklace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-z2vLubqlHMEWkwwjyc9NPlziPxggWZF1TYQjRVFgJQxD7QNhOo-DeaZQsJ_1zaqwKan16ETzWiRMUJNZg7VGsQSx8ERUktQVJAAmjBSQF24GNlJ7wEEozErlY2rAMVSXUToRrYqj7AA/s1600/medicine+bag+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-z2vLubqlHMEWkwwjyc9NPlziPxggWZF1TYQjRVFgJQxD7QNhOo-DeaZQsJ_1zaqwKan16ETzWiRMUJNZg7VGsQSx8ERUktQVJAAmjBSQF24GNlJ7wEEozErlY2rAMVSXUToRrYqj7AA/s320/medicine+bag+1.JPG" width="190" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The medicine
bag is typically used by a healer, a shaman. In my culture it’s a<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> noide</i>, which is a traditional healer,
storyteller. In my husband’s case, he’s a healer. He’s adopted into a Tlingit
clan: <span style="background: white; color: black;">Wooshkeetaan Tóoś Déx′i<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Hit, Eagle/<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Shark</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Backbone<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">House</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of Hoonah. </span>My
husband often incorporates traditional medicines with modern methods of
healing. Fish head soup works for the flu and devil’s club salve helps heal
open sores. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Funny,
though, I don’t know what’s in my husband’s medicine bag. If you have one, no
one is supposed to know what you put in it. Some people include an heirloom
that means something to them, or a piece of a dried medicinal plant or a small
token of some kind. Whatever it is, it’s usually important and has a spiritual
or social significance. In the past, as well as today, medicine bags are used
in healing ceremonies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I imagined
that my Coast Guardsman husband might carry a poem in his medicine bag too. Like
me, my husband is also a poet. While he was gone to war I wrote a couple of
short stories and a few poems about him and the Iraq war. Some were about what
my husband might be going through. Some were about what I was going through. In
one poem I imagined what was in his medicine bag and how it could keep him
safe. It had spiritual powers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I think
about it, a medicine bag is a good metaphor for inspiration. It’s a container
of wisdom. If you had a medicine bag what would be in it? Would it give you strength? Would it protect you or give you courage? Would it be a reminder
of past times, a grandmother or mentor who’s long dead. Perhaps a lock of a
child’s hair? A poem? A special coin? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whatever is
in your medicine bag, don’t tell me.--</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep to yourself. But think about the
medicine bag as metaphor. It can be a thing of inspiration, healing, and power.
It is good medicine.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, the
best medicine might be a small pouch of hidden things designed for power and
protection. Sometimes, though, the best medicine is remembrance. Memorial Day
is a day of remembrance for those who’ve died in our nation’s service. It’s
also a time to remember those who’ve served or are serving in the military,
people like my husband. My father-in-law served on the aircraft carrier USS
Franklin. My children’s aunt served in the Navy and her husband disappeared on
a Navy submarine never to be heard from again. My grandfather served as a raid
warden in our small Alaskan community. Many friends and neighbors have served in the military. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On Memorial
Day, we lay wreathes on tombstones, we walk in parades, we have BBQs and picnics.
I usually take a quiet walk with my husband; a small but meaningful thing to
do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We walk on a
nettled trampled path in Totem Park. I hold my husband’s hand. We point out
bald eagles and note the incoming tide. We talk about stories, and poetry, and
little things that make us a couple. I squeeze his hand tight and thank god
and the spirits that he came home safe. What kept him safe when he was
deployed with his unit? Was it something he folded inside his medicine bag? I
don’t know, but what I do know is that I still wonder what’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">inside</i> his medicine bag. </span></div>
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*Previously published on my Young Adult/Middle Grade blog <a href="http://pocketfulofcharms.blogspot.com/2012/05/medicine-bag.html" target="_blank">Pocketful of Charms</a>. </div>
Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-3801765884231452492013-05-15T00:56:00.002-04:002013-05-15T00:56:58.889-04:00Shakes Island <br />
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Recently I participated in the Shakes Island rededication in my hometown of
Wrangell, Alaska. Each of the photos includes a fifty word poem to accompany
it. Poetry is a means of making sense of the colors, sounds, smells,
people, and ceremonies that are a part of my life.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Grandson, know how the ovoid bends, how the split-U forms feathers,
how frog is wide-lipped. And a hundred years from now someone will touch your
adze marks, run their fingers along a wing, a clawed foot and know—you are the
shoreline, the eagle’s curved beak, the frog’s bent knee. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Old wide mouth bear, you rescued people from the flood. You
rescued me, too, a teenage girl writing poetry beneath your open hands. I scratched
poems in school notebooks, blue ink, with a baby growing in my belly. Later, I laid
my child at your feet offering her up to cedar. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Gw91XtmjeCYJOMGxyFqdvU6fvxi6lhP4wElrV6J7xlqAwEpm_EXqcqOEdvLZzKcfmK8AmgqZJXqVBNk8ufTCHvVWPBaZKYojbOCQTZm-tnFpBxpFQ4_P1vfAy5Y-U_g6yOvGOuZ-kVY/s1600/IMG_7570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Gw91XtmjeCYJOMGxyFqdvU6fvxi6lhP4wElrV6J7xlqAwEpm_EXqcqOEdvLZzKcfmK8AmgqZJXqVBNk8ufTCHvVWPBaZKYojbOCQTZm-tnFpBxpFQ4_P1vfAy5Y-U_g6yOvGOuZ-kVY/s320/IMG_7570.JPG" width="320" /></a>Bear Screen: newly carved with human hair adoring your ears.
A generation awaits you— kids smoking cigarettes on the island, moms and
babies, a fisherman waiting for the tide to swallow the grid. You begin your
story, button robes catching the light, dancers beneath your feet. </div>
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Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-3595136868314238732013-04-10T12:58:00.001-04:002013-04-10T12:58:23.543-04:00Hair Like She Wore It<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDB7MrVU1JWpDGw9FRcTT4CX7kufe8O_yUnUwFmGDHeIjNdZnZswrxNo61NByzh8Lj_swYrYneXgq0gfBp7DnNoZ3n3irvK7EiWpLK9muSNIi1ORusXvd1h1BYfn_TuzHlQOJYRwOwjy8/s1600/Girl-Green-Hair-Piercing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDB7MrVU1JWpDGw9FRcTT4CX7kufe8O_yUnUwFmGDHeIjNdZnZswrxNo61NByzh8Lj_swYrYneXgq0gfBp7DnNoZ3n3irvK7EiWpLK9muSNIi1ORusXvd1h1BYfn_TuzHlQOJYRwOwjy8/s200/Girl-Green-Hair-Piercing.jpg" width="192" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Happy National Poetry Month!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuxgAsXoTqGQBbNkG_8KF8JlvkkYUvGoU5hblAdii7pS89hyphenhyphen_hbwkGoxnBT3wPGBePRGLzAdhncELgNCsmdo0gxsdms9NX9lDPuSgNujLxFoGGLwKt6KkyUBlVtUljvShUjvEPTfDLOU/s1600/Vk+hair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuxgAsXoTqGQBbNkG_8KF8JlvkkYUvGoU5hblAdii7pS89hyphenhyphen_hbwkGoxnBT3wPGBePRGLzAdhncELgNCsmdo0gxsdms9NX9lDPuSgNujLxFoGGLwKt6KkyUBlVtUljvShUjvEPTfDLOU/s320/Vk+hair.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(c) Photo by Vivian Faith Prescott</span> </td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.fullofcrow.com/poetry/archives/vivian-faith-prescott-0412/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Hair Like She Wore It</span></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuxgAsXoTqGQBbNkG_8KF8JlvkkYUvGoU5hblAdii7pS89hyphenhyphen_hbwkGoxnBT3wPGBePRGLzAdhncELgNCsmdo0gxsdms9NX9lDPuSgNujLxFoGGLwKt6KkyUBlVtUljvShUjvEPTfDLOU/s1600/Vk+hair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My daughter once claimed </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">a right to dye her hair green</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">since her grandmother declared</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">alien status from another planet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />
<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1327671092651364" style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And when she grew up, she dyed it pink</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">and the public school questioned</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">her ability to be a foster mother.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And once she shaved it off;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">no water at the hatchery barge,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">said salmon slime stuck in it,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">got tired of picking out the scales.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Now it’s long, down to her butt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">where she flips it back<br /> s</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">o it doesn’t drag in the toilet</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">and the tourists she shows around town</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">politely ask to touch her “Indian” hair.</span></div>
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Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-46932277015376515152013-03-27T03:42:00.000-04:002013-03-27T03:46:22.602-04:001964 Alaskan Earthquake <div align="LEFT">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIzo4YReADU97IJYzFIM1_sj4XYQzY5Li_JbvbgMjrkBIe9rM1UnYtZHOAAdEv7tpjm6N5Fh1-dfAWWVMwFAFjFhkzGpm8WiWXYw_mWYbqgsrWy4YAgx1VHXBhr23nTaupstvK72yNdw/s1600/earthquake+64+pic+1+USGS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIzo4YReADU97IJYzFIM1_sj4XYQzY5Li_JbvbgMjrkBIe9rM1UnYtZHOAAdEv7tpjm6N5Fh1-dfAWWVMwFAFjFhkzGpm8WiWXYw_mWYbqgsrWy4YAgx1VHXBhr23nTaupstvK72yNdw/s320/earthquake+64+pic+1+USGS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">144 Deaths in the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake (March 27th): The Tsunami took 129 lives, the Earthquake, 15 lives. (I am counting Ralph Thompson, 3</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd </span><span style="font-size: medium;">officer on the freighter, Chena, who had a massive heart attack and was evacuated from the boat, but didn’t die until the following morning. He is not listed in the official death count). </span><br />
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* The last name on the list is my cousin, Jerry.<br />
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<a href="http://soundcloud.com/planetalaska/the-names-of-the-dead-in-the" target="_blank">PLEASE READ THESE NAMES OUT LOUD</a>: <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Simmie Alexanderoff, Eddie Anderson, Mary Anderson, Rudy Anderson, Adolph John Arrigone, Sgt. Kenneth T. Ayers, Clayton James Baker, David George Barnes, Micky Lee Barnes, Ricky Barnes, Vicky Barnes, Clarence Paul Bledsoe, Alfred Blendheim, Dan Boddy, Alfred Brossow, Freddy Brown, Jack Leroy Bushor Jr., Charles W. Byers Sr., Rev. Duane Carriker, Thomas Carroll, Alex Chimovisky, Annie Chimovisky, Emanuel Chimovisky, Agatha Winifred Clawson, William E. Clawson, Dennis Cunningham, Maurice Curry, Frances Damon, Larry Damon, Leonard Day, Alberta Day, Mary Eva Deis, Earl Floyd Edwards, Juanita Pearl Edwards, Emil Elbe, Sally Eleshansky, Steve Eleshansky, Tonda Eleshanksy, Frank Erb, Jack Evanoff, Nellie Evanoff, Sally Evanoff, Willie Evanoff, Mabel M. Fenner, Joan V. Fields, Lester Floyd Finke, Douglas A. Granger, Paul Gregorieff, James Wilson Growden Sr., David Growden, James Growden Jr., William Hammerly, Mrs. William Hammerly, Margaret Harris, Donald Harrington, Robert Percy Harrison, Jesse Lee Hatch, Henry Henderson, Lavella Hillsbery, Arvilla Jackson, Cindy Jackson, Danny Jackson, Dora Jackson, Sam Johnson, Bill Jones, George Joselyn, Billy Joy, Gary Lynn Kleparek, Leora Knight, Stanley Knutsen, Daria Kompkoff, Willie Kompkoff, Julia Kompkoff, Norma Jean Kompkoff, Richard Kompkoff, Joann Kompkoff, Howard H. Kraiger, Patricia Kulstand, John "Sut" Larson, Virgil Connoly Layton, Lousie McKenzie, Robert McKenzie, Richard A. "Ricky" McKenzie, Tammie McKenzie, Oran Gilbert Magruder, James W."Jay" Manson, Joseph S. Martinez, Sgt. Donald McClure, Alvin Ross McCoy, Perry Mead III, Merrell P. Mead, Lewis Mickelson, Teresa Lee Mickelson, Randy Mickelson, Keith Mickelson, Victor More, Donald Mueller, Harry Nielsen, Lt. Col. Thomas Norris, Don O’Leary, Theodore Panamarioff, James Parks, Sammy Pettikof, Frank O. Reid, Albert Reft Sr., Richard Jay Robinson, James Rowe, Mary Louise "Bobby" Rustigan, William Elmer "Dutch" Schmidt, Eugene Albert Schultz, Jeanne Selanoff, William "Billy Selanoff, Thomas Selanoff, Robert Selanoff Jr., Robert Martin Simmons, Louise Simmons, Frank Spadaro, Sterling Stapp, Deborah Stuart, Earl Lincoln "Smokey" Stuart, Janice Stuart, Larry Stuart, Marie Stuart, Lee Marlin Styer, George Tabasco, William G. Taylor, Ralph Thompson, Phillip Totemoff Jr., Jack Theodore VanBuskirk, Anna Vlasoff, Richard P. Vosgien, Arlene F. Wallace, Frank Walunga, Gerianne Dee Ware, Elis Waseli, Phillip G. Wheeler, Alva Marvin Wisdom, Milton Thomas "Bud" Williams, Bonita Ione Wright, William Eugene Wright, Donald Wyatt, Nick Zeider, Gerald Lee Hibner-Zook. </span></div>
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</span></span><br />Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-45087186117390012852013-03-16T19:18:00.000-04:002013-03-16T19:18:48.033-04:00Haa Kusteeyí
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8KnSyqJQ5fC0upuzNQDivtl51URL3oZDgEb0xuP38QjfcClB35pk2z-Ocv5IIGV2LQoh82Ma-6kGbmkXJnCTXQYMuiw7CNvaPASwpGuY_oHxEHM-N73qY7dtqfyC6e5caH7hg8ug9dM/s1600/Totem+Centennial+Tommy+Joseph.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8KnSyqJQ5fC0upuzNQDivtl51URL3oZDgEb0xuP38QjfcClB35pk2z-Ocv5IIGV2LQoh82Ma-6kGbmkXJnCTXQYMuiw7CNvaPASwpGuY_oHxEHM-N73qY7dtqfyC6e5caH7hg8ug9dM/s400/Totem+Centennial+Tommy+Joseph.JPG" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Face of Mother Earth on the totem at Sitka's Totem Park.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">The pole was carved by Tommy Joseph.</span> </td></tr>
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<span class="usercontent">Whorls record time in wind and rain, a battle in
<em>Shis'kí Noow</em>. In the carving shed, a hand grips an adze, copper paint beneath
fingernails. Children, this is you, woodchips at your feet, cedar shavings
adorning your hair. You are joints, ovoids, fins, and feathers. You are carved
story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">*This 50 word prose poem was featured in a </span><a href="http://www.pechakucha.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Pecha Kucha</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in Whangarei New Zealand. (Pecha Kucha is an evening of presentations consisting of 20 slides, 20 seconds each. For the September 20 show, the organisers are putting together a story of one day around the world: August 18, 2012) Here was the assignment: <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 14.39px;">Take a photo at any point during the day or night of August 18 – from 00:00 until 23:59.</span></span></span>Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347647173581830978.post-14821585857002067572013-02-15T08:27:00.001-04:002013-02-15T08:29:46.430-04:00Stone Angels<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Xiyy7Rj0_t4P1LrHyvS7gm7-WMjQkY-qG2eYnx1sZPKd9MuSH3_5_qoMHZkbhWXuSNS2OJWpDHrt2m6YDMQlcU4djJ1G-3hdCgjIQMmAVXA8YakbiH7tgRziv2cMFLj8P7viHnNHF14/s1600/Stone+angels+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Xiyy7Rj0_t4P1LrHyvS7gm7-WMjQkY-qG2eYnx1sZPKd9MuSH3_5_qoMHZkbhWXuSNS2OJWpDHrt2m6YDMQlcU4djJ1G-3hdCgjIQMmAVXA8YakbiH7tgRziv2cMFLj8P7viHnNHF14/s320/Stone+angels+3.jpg" width="195" /></a><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Inside the small
cemetery, near the ferry terminal, centuries old spruce trees weep with sap and
soggy green moss. The steep hillside behind is thick with Western
Hemlock—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yán</i>, spruce and alder. A wire
is strung between wood posts fencing off the cemetery. Long wispy strands of
dried grass, like the unkempt hair on a newly awakened child, grow next to the
fence.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLTDyUj_k9W63yJS8DDcZuxN60FcbV3yUjWsLWq0eLpgLPzSzVePYd1WSkPszuUN6KSpMnZ7glCukvmMTui8_SRrxN-VBgrUJ32G9Z7u6_rJgLnyywMMZ47nNA3_spiAEArxZ_T9R3bw/s1600/Stone+bear.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLTDyUj_k9W63yJS8DDcZuxN60FcbV3yUjWsLWq0eLpgLPzSzVePYd1WSkPszuUN6KSpMnZ7glCukvmMTui8_SRrxN-VBgrUJ32G9Z7u6_rJgLnyywMMZ47nNA3_spiAEArxZ_T9R3bw/s200/Stone+bear.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Stone bears
stand on hind legs guarding the old bones. White crosses and pink plastic roses
contrast with old marble headstones and Russian Orthodox crosses. Tree roots
protrude from underneath the remaining patches of snow like veins beneath a
layer of thin skin. Five stone angels, one headless, stand reverently in the
umbra above the wet sunken graves and matted grass. A green coverlet of emerald
colored moss creeps across the face of the headstones covering their ornate
details. I make out the names Williams, Jack, Marks; names carved in stone, clinging to eternity with the same names of those who still live in the
village. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzb2ljp0Nd4-itHOKmAnYCNtcd1YH3O2HFMmSIJYWEvODsWkTwbTwrrdjVWpkJJzihMbpuT2rWFku_VPTeJz99J3HvCpsmCcrDFcJSypUn7lIUdNevrceKXQnSjkz3-_iTV2QFi4owDCM/s1600/Stone+angels+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzb2ljp0Nd4-itHOKmAnYCNtcd1YH3O2HFMmSIJYWEvODsWkTwbTwrrdjVWpkJJzihMbpuT2rWFku_VPTeJz99J3HvCpsmCcrDFcJSypUn7lIUdNevrceKXQnSjkz3-_iTV2QFi4owDCM/s1600/Stone+angels+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzb2ljp0Nd4-itHOKmAnYCNtcd1YH3O2HFMmSIJYWEvODsWkTwbTwrrdjVWpkJJzihMbpuT2rWFku_VPTeJz99J3HvCpsmCcrDFcJSypUn7lIUdNevrceKXQnSjkz3-_iTV2QFi4owDCM/s320/Stone+angels+2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Hemlock branches
sag low across the cemetery forming a jade canopy. This type of hemlock can
grow from 100 to 150 feet and live to be 500-years-old. For at least a hundred
of those years, the spruce and hemlock have watched weeping humans tending to
grief, and reverent caretakers caring for the dead. It's hard to believe that in
the age of heavy machinery, villagers still dig the graves by hand. For them,
grave digging is part of the ceremonial aspect of death. Gravediggers are
helping with the grieving process and are remembered when our families hold the
memorial, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>k</u>oo.éex</i>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlLNPtdPeoXQujnjFRT-eEJhlHFc-4UvNDcI2GDu658l_MOiFpmZ22K-EMA3mw4KsplV7viID2d6VvD7YBI5Bp-660l522UlOKKliCYFMAYawdDkBfHV-ILNaFNAb1UaasM_od4qlUOI/s1600/Stone+angels+black+and+white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlLNPtdPeoXQujnjFRT-eEJhlHFc-4UvNDcI2GDu658l_MOiFpmZ22K-EMA3mw4KsplV7viID2d6VvD7YBI5Bp-660l522UlOKKliCYFMAYawdDkBfHV-ILNaFNAb1UaasM_od4qlUOI/s320/Stone+angels+black+and+white.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A pair of
eagles—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ch'aak',</i> sits on the pilings
at the ferry terminal dock, watching over the cemetery. Their black-feathered
bodies and white heads, a contrast to the bright fluorescent orange
weather-sock drooping down against the pole beside them. The eagles sit,
unmoving. Behind them, the morning sunlight pokes through the clouds; the light
dances on the water like a thousand shards of glass across a mirror. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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* Stone Angels is excerpt from my creative nonfiction piece <em>The Shape of a Village,</em> which is published in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Madroad-Breadline-Press-Coast-Anthology/dp/1461054745" target="_blank">Breadline Press' anthology Mad Road</a>. (The village of <a href="http://www.visithoonah.com/" target="_blank">Hoonah, Alaska</a>)Vivian Faith Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06037496619980707677noreply@blogger.com0