Into this "Spirit World", the Western individuals came. Their unfounded fears cried, "Devil Worship" against a people who lived their lives "paying attention", being mindful of the spirit beings of their world, with which they lived in harmony.

The Westerners brought with them "Yuut tu'qur'pat'rrat'ne" which meant the "Great Death" or when a great many died. This is when the "ancient spirit world of the Eskimo" which was a very, very OLD world died. "Yuut tu'qur'pat'rrat'ne" refers to when the various epidemics decimated the Native people in Alaska. The influenza epidemic which started in Nome in 1900 killed 60% of the Eskimo and Athbascan people. It killed whole families and wiped out whole villages. The suffering, despair, heartbreak,desperation and confusion that the dying and the survivors lived through is unimaginable.

The Alaskan Native of Today's time, is linked to the old through the experience of the great Death. One was wiped out by it, the other one shaped by it. These victims like any other victims were in "shock" and in trauma. But unlike today's victim, no help was available. This Great Death was experienced alone in the isolation of the tundra and the homeland. The Native people were quiet. The survivors seemed to have agreed without discussing it, not to talk about the horrors....to much pain...emotions would run rampant that they might not be able to control. "na-llu-unguak" in some Alaskan cultures is a way of dealing with unpleasant experiences by pretending that it didn't happen.... Certainly, there was lots to pretend that they did not know.

The Yu'ya'raq was abandoned overnight while Christanity was embraced. The missionaries told them not to talk about their believes and that indeed these believes had come from the devil "tun'rrak". The old ways were hidden and children were sternly warned not to discuss their old beliefs. Fatalists---people who were not sure about the future--even the next day--insecure--always telling their children not to make long range plans as they might die in the morning...From their own lifes they knew how fleeting life could be and the missionaries Christian God had a terrible wrath about him. They learned about hell where they were told their ancestors probably went.

The old ways were forbidden and children who dared expressed an interest were severely punished. All forms of governing were given up...whoever was most aggressive became the governing power. The act of suppressing an act, drives it further into the psyche or the soul of a person where it then festers and colors the life of that person. Eventually, this will destroy him. There is shame and a haunting of memory even in sleep.

Living under such stress, one becomes less able to deal with even the minor difficulties of everyday life. Even in sleep, there is no peace. Jobs become impossible to hold...there is a seeking for escape....drugs and suicidal rate on the Tundra of today are very high.....The Suicidal rate of the Teens is one of the highest in our Nation. As in a great war, the post traumatic effect is one of the soul itself. The very soul is attacked. More trauma and heartbreak are a result when the individual is eventually destroyed by the pains they have not found answers for.

Over half the people had been killed. The survivors were shaken to the core of their beings. They were as refugees in their own land, a remnant of the ancient and proud people who made their lifes happy ones in some of the most turbulent weather conditions imaginable on the face of Mother Earth. The survivors as a whole did teach their children of kindness, forgiveness and sharing yet they were unwilling to face and discuss the problems and unplesantness in the family or the village. The Great Death was not discussed. The survivors had become emotionally handicapped and they passed these symptoms on to their ancestors. Several generations of suppressed emotions, confusion and feelings of inferiority and powerlessness now permeate even the very young.

In the 1960s, the Native peoples lifes improved. They are no longer hungry, they are well fed and well clothed. Many live in comfortable houses. Even with the material life improving, the quality of life has detiorarated. There has been a rise in alcohol abuse and associated violent behaviors which have upset the family and village life and have resulted in physical, psychological injury, death, and imprisonmnet. It is the young that are dying, going to prison and maiming thmselves. In Village Life, the death of one young person is mourned by all Villagers....who often will say they cannot understand why this is happening.

The alcoholism is like history repeating itself in a very tragic and heartbreaking way. Alcoholism is an epidemic that is raging much as the Great Death did and is born out of the Great Death. The young ones learn to turn inwards...they have also become demoralized, discouraged and do not think very much of themselves often.

The elders are given great respect in Alaska. It is through the words of the elders that some think healing can come. It is through the elders sharing their experiences and their pain and remembrances and sharing the beliefs that despite the many attempts were never quenched. The elders have begun speaking of the many hurts and haunts not because they wish to evoke punishment on anyone but because it is the way to heal...the way to understand "Why" and thus give their children and their children's children the heritage they deserve.

Some Native people in Alaska have expressed that mourning the loss of what once was will help with embracing what presently does exist. It is through communication and love that new growth comes. "Talking circles" have begun in some Alaskan tribal areas. They are where people come together and speak the truth about all things. Not a circle made to argue or debate but a place to share oneself and one's experiences, feelings and thoughts with the rest of the village.

****A special "Taikuu" to Harold Napoleon, Burt Thomas, Irene, Walter, Annie, Pearl, Auggie and the many others on the "temporal" Red Path and also those who are now on the "Blue Path" of Spirit for the UNDERSTANDING they have helped me gain and who I can also say that their love, words and/or ways will remain in my heart now and always. (Iris Little Bird Pathfinder)

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