Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1999)
’ I • ì ïb? ftartUttìt ffibsemer C By Rose High Bear of Wisdom of the Elders (WOT E) August 11, 1999 Focus u l t u r a l The Cultural Diversity series is for the preservation of tradi tional and indigenous cultures and the ageless wisdom held dear by their people. t D Page 7 iv e r s it y mercifully and m ercilessly hundreds of fire beneath the fish rack s at river’s the Yukon River, with her Dutch h us scending syllable and sound, her re miles dow nstream through the valley edge as their m en and children depart b a n d , W illiam V a n d e r P o o le , the deem ing qualities shone through and beneath the A laska M ountain R ange and return - day after day - fishing, territory’s new constable. H edidn’t know had a quiet, but com m an ding effect on where she enters the Bering Sea. hunting, gathering. Th ey b rin g their Dene tradition, that the woman doesn’t following her m uckluk steps. Raven, another ancient inhabitant O n this clear warm day in May, the grandchildren to the shore and raise remaining villagers know what to do. them to learn o f this way so they can leave her ancestral village. G randm other w as am on g 170 na They’ve predicted this time of ice breakup know this pow er that gives the people tives who fluently spoke Ingalik d ia river and H is people from generation for thousands of years. They take the last life and then swiftly takes it away. lect of A thabascan. When her hus to generation im parting love, wisdom of the K uskoquim watched over the of their belongings to higher ground and Dene ancestors - ancient migrating b an d forbid her from teaching her and hard lesson to all of H is children. he thunderous crack of spring ice inhabitants of the sub-arctic kept our language and culture to the fam ily, she T h is black-winged creature, shrewd T patiently wait to behold what the river has resonates from the riverbank - a sound heritage pure for centuries as we shared w as obedient, but rarely used his lan trickster, yet chosen to speak for C re in store for them this season. T h e flood o f ice an d gu sh in g water this vast tundra wilderness with few gu age, the English language. Su p p res ator, perched in the tree above the villagers have already traveled by dogsled outsiders. The grizzlies and dall sheep of sion of indigenous heritage, though a cemetery and eloquently eulogized my races past below them an d the people the mountains, the migrating caribou Grandm other in 1983, as she began her gradu ally feel relieved that, this tim e, com m on occurrence this last century G ran dm oth er has been com p assio n and the wolves of the foothills, and the throughout the N orth A m erican con final journey hom e to the Spirit World. ate with her children. O nly the lowest moose and of course the m osquito na tinent, did not succeed in takin g the sub-arctic water, ice, silt and debris to portions o f the village have been af tion, that lived along the forested waters. Indian out of this grandm other. Tran- twist its deadly way through the lower fected an d very little riverban k is lost. These were our closest neigh reaches o f this small deserted Dene vil Fam ilies living in lower p arts o f O ld bors. By the turn of the century lage, imperiling foundations o f humble M cG rath will return from sprin g hunt we live in, only the most coura dwellings and all else that lies in its path. ing cam p without heavy loss from this geous of missionaries, the most Spring flooding. It is part of the year’s breakup. T h e ice jam s will gradu ambitious of traders, and the rhythm of life on the eroding, con ally clear and soon the returning fam i most enthusiastic of the min stantly changing banks of this great lies will set up river cam p once again. ers had ventured this far into sub-arctic river, the Kuskoquim . O ur By early Ju n e , the people will be put elders com e to know the river, their ting out fish traps, sm ok in g fish, gath our homeland. My full-bloodied Alaskan grandm other, as she endlessly weaves ering roots, berries an d m edicines, Dene grandmother - Sophie - her way past our village. They spend and fortifying winter dw ellings and migrated to O ld M cGrath in their days listening to her, watching food caches - in preparation for a hard the early part of this century. her, traveling on her, and feeling her w inter that com es too soon. She traveled by dogsled from that signals the alert to evacuate. Most to spring hunting cam ps, leaving only a handful to witness this year’s breakup. They’ve prepared for the raging flood of m any m oods and seasons. She flows T h e gran dm oth ers vigilantly tend T h is is the resum e of my G ran d mother. S ummer E vents her birthplace, Anvik, up on Flatlands Thursday, July 15 Theresa Demerest & Good Company Thursday, July 22 Songwriters in the Round with Craig Carothers Sunday, July 25 at 7:30pm • $7.00 admission The Jack McMahon Band Thursday, July 29 S o p h ie F r e d e r ic k s V a n d e rp o o l was a w e ll- known elder who had 53 grandchildren. She is part of a m emory of how th in g s used to be that is remembered less by the young, but treasured by those of us who lived dur ing those days and grow, from time to time, nostalgic when we see how much the w orld has changed since then. The Jessie Samsel Band Thursday, August 5 at 7pm Retta & the Smart Fellas Thursday, August 12 UNCF Fundraiser with Tom Grant Tuesday, August 17 I& I Thursday, August 19 McMenainins Kennedy School N F I t r i l . P o rtl.iiid O rr p n n • (SO'S) 2 4 9 -3 9 8 3