by Peter Twitchell
Yupiaqs are told when we’re children that we came from the land. Our ancestors the elders believed in Ellam Yua, meaning the Son of the Universe. Creator God made us from the soil and that someday we will return to the land.
We believe this, as our ancestors did, and honored and respected Creator God’s son Jesus Christ of Nazareth as we got to know Him when the missionaries came. We honored our elders, our tribal members, and continued learning that we are created equally to love and respect everyone.
When we watch television today, in modern times, we see for example President Biden who wishes to be reelected being attacked by other congressional leaders. We were told never to disrespect our elders in the native culture and that we honor them and respect them.
It’s a contrast when we see these politicians attacking each other, putting each other down and not honoring the good that they have done. We always look at the negative and criticize them publicly over national worldwide television.
As we got to know these outsiders coming into Alaska to live and work, they put each other down, hurt each other and dishonored and disrespected each other because they came from money, dollars, and cents.
We see today, when congressional leaders put down our Presidents of the United States for the poor job that they have done, never mentioning the good that they accomplished during their presidency.
Do you know what we did when we were going to enter a home? Children were told never just walk in to a house, uninvited. They were taught to respect the elders of the home and only when we were told by the homeowner we could sit down we sat down usually next to a parent who was visiting.
Today we are in the modern day world and everything has changed. Gone are the elders of yesterday and so is what they taught us. Native tribes of different areas and communities were respected in the old days. Now we live in a chaotic world. Honor and respect for our elders is seldom practiced by the younger generation. We were told also, if we saw a piece of paper at the home of an elder or an elderly couple, we were not to touch that piece of paper or destroy it because one day that paper would keep us alive.
Paper today is a way of life and we cannot go anywhere in the world without a passport or get a phone or receive a check without a birth certificate showing that you’re a local Alaskan resident. I just wanted to share the little I’ve heard and know. Thank you for your time.
