by Peter Twitchell
It’s good that indigenous people are getting their covid vaccinations, not just to extend our lives but to preserve our native culture through our culture bearers, our Elders, and our children. To preserve our culture and our language is very important and that’s one way to do it at this time by staying healthy.
We need to pass down our language and traditions to the younger generation.
Everyone needs to do their part by preserving our different language and customs and traditions so that our children can inherit these and use them in their life for generations to come.
Thanks to modern medicine this has been possible. We have to avoid becoming a lost race of people. Our indigenous people are rich in culture, traditions, and language and we need to keep it that way for generations to come.
During COVID 2021, my Yup’ik language kept me sane. I found myself many days speaking my language in my apartment and it was good to hear my language because I was the only one isolated, hunkered down.
But I was not so alone. I had my ancestors’ tongue to speak as though someone was there with me. I did not feel so alone in a world that was struck with fear and uncertainty. I was comforted!
I survived the whole year of being isolated by myself, but never feeling for a moment that I was totally alone. I had my ancestors there in the room with me through my language. My indigenous language kept me company. Even my Grandmother, my Mother, my Father were in the same room comforting me.
We are all responsible as indigenous people to conserve and save for the next generation our language, customs, and ways and values.
As individual indigenous people you know it is our responsibility to keep ourselves healthy as best as we can – caring for this body which is sacred to extend our lives and continuing to serve our people.
