Sitting on the cold metal seat of my skiff, moving with the boat’s body as it pounds and skips over the ocean. The outboard hums. A gray horizon produces the illusion that the sea and sky are separate. Salty wind moves across my face, the blessing from an invisible hand. Zipping past inlets, winding through islands the seascape unfolds in front of me. Nearing floating birds, they take to the air. Pulling away from the bow of my boat showing, the superiority of their wings and muscles compared to the technology I can afford to buy, I get the sense there is something beneath me. Moments later a whale breaks the surface, blasting the remnants of held breath. The voice of my deceased Father tells me to be careful.

Marlene would become an integral part of the work toward Alaska Native land claims, which ultimately became ANCSA, regional and village corporations, and the landmark system it is fifty years later.

isdom of Elders serves as one of the integral foundational guides for the advancement and prosperity of all Alaska Native cultures.

The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines coupled with the wisdom of Elders has contributed to a healthy start to a new chapter in the COVID-19 journey.

Southcentral Foundation (SCF) began administering the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to both frontline health care personnel and Elders in December. As SCF received additional vaccine, all employees and enrolled beneficiaries ages 16 and older have been provided the opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Davidson is well respected in Alaska and has served in high-profile positions including commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and Lieutenant Governor under Governor Bill Walker. Most recently she was named as Interim President for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

With her background in health care, as an attorney, and as an educator, she was well-suited to lead the university as COVID-19 was changing nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Shortly before Davidson took on her new role as president, to mitigate the spread of illness the university moved many of their classes online.

Please bear with me as I work out the complex reality of what it is like to live and love in an era of blood quantum. I have started and restarted this post many times now, thinking that I should pick a different subject to write on this week. However, despite the turbulent and abundant emotions that are present when discussing and analyzing colonial systems, such as blood quantum, I do believe this is a beneficial conversation to have with our Indigenous relatives and non-Indigenous friends. I want this blog to be an honest representation of the emotions that I have had and will likely continue to experience on my First Alaskans Institute fellowship journey.

One of the things I took from the story, even though it was never directly confronted and dealt with, was the discourse on pipelines and how they effect Indigenous communities. This also played into the exploits of the traveling Christian missionary as they sought to colonize Indigenous peoples’ lands. It’s something that continuously came up and encircled the characters’ lives. I also appreciated the opportunity to learn, through storytelling, some of the traditional beliefs and stories of the Métis people.

The characters and their relationships to each other stood out for me. They were all so wonderfully complex and layered. The family dynamics were excellent (particularly Joan and her nephew Zeus), the women were unapologetic in their sexuality and there was respect for their Elders and Indigenous knowledge. If you’re looking for a little bit of horror that shines a light on colonization and Indigenous ways of being, I highly recommend Empire of Wild.