Alaskan Rituals - 21st Century Version

Alutiiq Museum

Cama'i Gang!!  Now - in case you're not completely current on your Alutiiq language skills, that is "Hello" in the language of the wonderful folks who have been hanging out on Kodiak for the last 7,000 years or so.  (It is pronounced "cha - my".)  Wherever you go on the island there are frequent and prominent reminders of the rich and varied cultures whose presence over the centuries has made an indelible imprint on life here.  And, of course, those traditions, customs, folklore and even language have begun to be shared among the young people creating a better understanding all the way around and reinforcing the fact that each culture can have enormous pride in their own characteristics while at the same time appreciating, respecting and honoring those of others.  A tiny but excellent starting point for your investigation of those things is the Alutiiq Museum.  It shows how important education is to our common understanding of our neighbors and the things they seek to teach visitors are both practical and intriguing.  The alphabet is one of the first things you encounter after entering the beautiful museum and it shows that, as in English, there are 26 letters in the language but beyond the number similarities diminish rapidly.  In fact - let me throw some confusion into the subject!  Although the museum itself refers to the language as "Alutiiq", it is actually a bit different than that.  The term often used to describe the indigenous populations during the early years of Eurasian (Russian) and European exploration was "Aleuts."  Well, it turns out that what we know as Aleuts were from a group that referred to itself as "Unangans" (real people.)  The folks who lived in and around Kodiak, on the other hand  called themselves "Alutiiq" based on the traditions of the "Yupik" people.  Now - to close out this complicated lesson - it turns out that another term - "Sugpiat" (plural) - is the broader term originally used to describe the population and it, too, means "real people."  So - the bottom line is that you might see either - or all - of the terms used to describe the indigenous population and they will all be correct.  (Hmmmm....)  Oh, another thing I found fascinating and, strangely, took great pride in was that in 2010, about the time our great-niece was entering Kodiak High School, the students vigorously - and successfully - lobbied the school to begin teaching the Alutiiq language!  Go Bears, you rock!!!  Now, I don't want to make more out of it than I should but, all week long we talked about how wonderful the kids we met were and we kept observing that the graduation ceremony was one of the best and most dignified we had seen.  Could the step to include that language have been one more plank in building a bridge of brotherhood and sisterhood that is so crucial to our ongoing relationships?  We'll just have to see but I can testify to the fact that something good took place within that group of young folks.  Oh - and speaking of "rocking", our great niece and nephew took us to one of their favorite lunch spots - "Monks Rock" - a restaurant/gift shop/book store run by the Russian Orthodox brotherhood and I can tell you - they do, indeed, rock!!!!  That was one of the biggest sandwiches I have ever seen and history was made that day when I couldn't even finish it!  What a wonderful mix of cultures, traditions, styles and personalities.  It has resulted in such a wonderfully beautiful tapestry of community.  I wish I could bottle the magic and sell it to some of our cities where neighbors seem to have such difficulty getting along.  But, I remain optimistic that one of these days we will all get a better handle on the path to peace among ourselves.  We'll keep plugging away at it.  Remarkably, almost as if it were an omen of optimism, as we drove around town that day we passed a structure and almost missed it.  A huge "Inukshuk".  For those of you who were with us as we traveled around Lake Superior - or - were along as we traveled from Skagway, Alaska to White Horse in the Yukon Territory - you remember our tales of the little figures that we found along our route.  We were to learn that they were stone figures left by the indigenous people centuries ago to show others the best route, the most productive hunting or fishing locations or to warn of perils along the way.  Right there outside of Kodiak was a huge Inukshuk pointing to the general area of the town as if to say - "If you want to see how to do it right, go down there!"  It was a warm, reassuring and encouraging sight and we are so thankful to have seen it.  Oh, we can learn so much good stuff from our brothers and sisters from every culture on theplanet.  I thought back to the customs of my own ancestors - way back in Holland - and immediately observed a modern-day manifestation of something they used to harness the power of nature hundreds of years ago.  Deja vu???  Serendipity?? Magic?  Who knows - and, does it matter.  The message is that this world is chock full of surprises, wonders and, yes, magic.  We'll pause for now.  I got hungry talking about "Monks Rock" so I'm going to go make a sandwich.  We'll be back soon so - See ya then!