Learning the Traditions and Culture

beautiful view at the dock

The people in this place have survived here for many years without any outside influence, and because of this they have some very unique beliefs that are very different from the things that I learned and believed as I was growing up. Most kids in the lower 48 are scared of things like the monster in the closet or under the bed and believe in leprechauns having pots of gold at the end of rainbows or like the Lucky Charms leprechauns. Kids here have been raised believing things similar, yet very much directed to the culture and life out here.

Friday was an early out and for most of the day I only had five students, so it worked out that I had an opportunity to listen to my students tell me some stories about the things that they believe out here. A little side note I feel necessary to share is that when they tell these stories they actually believe them. Even adults who have talked about the "Little People" still believe these stories. Other people grow out of those beliefs and move away from that kind of thinking, but these people don't.

going on a walk where we heard there might be a bear, we were prepared :)

My students told me a few stories about the "Little People" or ik ja nook* in Yup'ik. These are similar to leprechauns, only I don't think they are all dressed in green and have pots of gold at the end of rainbows. The Yup'ik people believe that these creatures live under the ground. I was told of caves that are on the other side of the Yukon River from where we live. The villagers here will never let someone go explore those caves. They believe that is how the "Little People" come out of the ground and if you go into a cave they will kidnap you and force you to live underground forever.

The "Little People" also try to grab you above ground. One of my students said his cousin was walking to fish camp and the grass around her was swaying. There was something moving in the grass. She stopped and looked and saw a "Little Person" look at her. He smiled at her and then began to chase her. Fortunately for her, she made it to camp before he caught her.

we all spent some time shooting

Another story about "Little People" was told to me by a teacher from Scammon Bay. She said her father had been out fishing and camping. He put his fish under his mat and slept on top of them so that the "Little People" couldn't steal them from him. During the middle of the night, however, the fish beneath him began moving. He confronted the "Little Person" about trying to steal his fish and realized he had to fight the "Little Person." The thing about fighting these "Little People" is that they know how to use your strength and size to their advantage, so the harder he fought, the more power the "Little Person" had. He had to be very gentle and patient to beat the "Little Person," which he did succeed in doing and was able to take his fish home to his family.

Our target

Another thing the people here believe in is a long gook*, which is when you hear or see things. My students told me many stories about this on Friday at school. They said that if you wake up in the middle of the night and try to move around but are stuck and can't do anything, it is because someone is on top of you and won't let you go.

They also said sometimes you can see them, walking around. You can tell when it is not real by looking to see if they are actually touching the ground. If they aren't touching the ground, if they are really floating, then you should go another way.

"This is how Oregonians do it!"

One of my students has had an experience where she was in the bathroom looking at her reflection in the mirror and there was no one else in the room. All of a sudden, her hair was bouncing up and down next to her head. One of these spirits was playing with her hair.

Another tradition that I find somewhat fascinating is that before anyone eats, they must first offer a bite to those who have passed before them. This also applies for when you drink something. One of the teachers in this village went out moose hunting with a native villager. She brought coffee with her and before she could take a sip they made her dump a little bit of her coffee into the water, so that those who have passed before her could have some, too.

Bear beware!

One last thing that I found very unique to this culture I have learned. When these people go out hunting or fishing or whatever, they do not guarantee that they will catch anything. They don't say they are going to kill things either because then the animals will not come. You see, they believe that the animal gives itself to you. If you say, "I'm going to catch a moose!" Then you won't see any moose because the moose doesn't choose to give himself to such a greedy person.

I find it very interesting how people believe different things, and how those beliefs are formed. I don't know the background on any of these beliefs I have written about today, but I do find them unique and it is one of the things that makes me love being out here even more. The culture of the Yup'ik people is slowly dying. The kids don't know as much Yup'ik language anymore because they speak English and as things become more westernized the original lifestyle is being lost. When I went seal hunting last week, as one of the other boats was pulling in the seal, the man I went with said to me, "This is our way of life." With the next generations becoming more reliant on the conveniences of the lifestyle of the lower 48, how long will their "way of life" last? I hope that somehow their lifestyle can be perserved. After all, they lived this way for hundreds of years without any help from others.

She found a comfortable seat on the drift wood

*I am not positive on the spellings of these words, I got this much with help from a teacher who has been here for a while. They are probably not correct spellings, but they are educated guesses based on what we know about the language.