by Peter Twitchell
When I was growing up in the 1950s us kids always listened to what our Elders and especially moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas who were teaching us to love, respect, and be kind to each other and the land, rivers, and waterways, to keep everything clean, even our minds and thoughts.
We often heard our Elders talking amongst themselves of respect for wild animals that gave themselves to us.
“When we were hunting they’d say, the Elders gave us instructions – respecting even a dead beaver, otter, or fish. They always instructed us to pour some water into the animal’s or fish’s mouths so they wouldn’t be thirsty on their journey in the Animal Kingdom. Otherwise we would become poor hunters.”
Of course, not everyone practiced this law of the Ancients!
Throughout the 1970s I began seeing white plastic quart size empty oil containers on the Kuskokwim River, sloughs and waterways. As I walked the tundra I began seeing black 33 gallon trash bags full of dirty diapers, trash, and garbage strewn on the tundra that animals had opened. It was sad that more and more villagers were taking their trash by snowmachine and, dumping it on what was once a clean and pristine Tundra, where you saw nothing but salmon berries, blueberries, blackberries, and red cranberries.
And worst still, I witnessed young kids throwing on the ground their candy wrappers and empty pop cans. These kids were with their parents who said nothing to admonish them as they were trashing the streets of Bethel.
I began seeing empty liquor bottles and beer cans strewn on the ground in Bethel, Alaska! This was occurring through the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. I very rarely see litter on the ground in the Kenai peninsula, Anchorage, and the Matanuska Valley. It is encouraging, yes, and anyone who is caught littering on the highways when caught face a $1,000 fine.
I am grateful that we were taught as children never to trash our land out of respect for the Creator God who created it for us to keep clean, And I know, we will endeavor to do this!
More and more our kids have no respect. They have no Higher Power. That’s why they are committing suicide. They have no sense of direction in their lives. Elders need to reach out to help kids, not write them off as a lost cause. Kids today need to feel that they can reach out and ask for help.
