Berries and questions
Ahhh, Saturday in Nome. I was supposed to go hiking today, but the ranger who was scheduled to lead it had to cancel due to a family emergency. I hate not having a car. We are having a beach BBQ tonight with some of the clinic folks, so that should be a good time. Otherwise, it is overcast, and I spent a good part of the morning playing Tomb Raider.
There are berries up here. I have lived in the desert far too long, when the only appealing fruit had spines on it. While the fam was up last weekend, we did a little berry picking. They have salmon berries (which are kind of a pink, salmon if you will, colored raspberry which grows very close to the ground. Actually everything grows very close to the ground. There are no trees up here. Unfortunately all the salmon berries we picked were a little past season, and tasted quite awful. I am sure fermented berries have their place, but not in my mouth. Fortunately while on the quest, we also learned that blueberries were also ripe for the picking. We collected a fair sized container full, which is surprising since I ate every other one I picked. (One for me, one for the bucket, one for me, one for...me, one for the bucket)
So, I am supposed to go to one of the villages in this region for one of my last weeks here. I was originally scheduled to go to Shishmaref, a community of about 150 that is located on a sand bar between the ocean and Grantley Harbor. It is so precariously placed, that the sea wall is being washed away, and the town has voted to relocate some 13 miles away. As intriguing as it sounded, I was glad to be switched to Savoonga, which is one of the two towns on St. Lawrence Island (the other being Gambell). It is a little larger, but also a huge hub of history, and the walrus/ivory trade. The island has been inhabited for at least 4000 years, and the people are still primarily subsistence based (meaning they fish and hunt for all of their foods). You can also seen Russia on a clear day from the island. Crazy things happen, however, and there was a shooting (possibly accidental, 13 year old shot by a 15 year old) last week, and a homicide (wife killing husband after years of abuse) last night. This has thrown the whole village into turmoil and psychological stress. Nearly 1% of the community was directly invovled in these deaths within the past week.
This has raised a number of issues. I have met many people from Gambell and Savoonga, and they have been the friendliest people I have met since I came here. How can such nice people lead such violent lives? Is it the stress of living on the island, isolation, or just the nature of this group of people that leads to violence. In speaking with one of the other Docs I work with, he mentioned how nearly all of the violence is within the family up here. Nobody goes to the bars looking for a fight. It all happens at home. I don't know if any of you have seen the Inuvik (I think that is the appropriate group) Eskimo film Fast Runner, but the violence within that movie is quite appalling, despite the fact that it appears to be accepted within the cultural norm. Other questions revolve around the kids involved in the shooting. Will the shooter ever be able to live a normal life within this small community even if the shooting was a true accident?
I am sure we can all come up with a thousand more questions. The big question for me, is, will I still be going? Hopefully we are still scheduled to go, although they are sending other medical providers in the interrim (the community health aides are related to the people involved - as is most of the town - and are frazzled). I think that although this might not be the most pleasant time to visit, it will certainly be a true opportunity to learn.
There are berries up here. I have lived in the desert far too long, when the only appealing fruit had spines on it. While the fam was up last weekend, we did a little berry picking. They have salmon berries (which are kind of a pink, salmon if you will, colored raspberry which grows very close to the ground. Actually everything grows very close to the ground. There are no trees up here. Unfortunately all the salmon berries we picked were a little past season, and tasted quite awful. I am sure fermented berries have their place, but not in my mouth. Fortunately while on the quest, we also learned that blueberries were also ripe for the picking. We collected a fair sized container full, which is surprising since I ate every other one I picked. (One for me, one for the bucket, one for me, one for...me, one for the bucket)
So, I am supposed to go to one of the villages in this region for one of my last weeks here. I was originally scheduled to go to Shishmaref, a community of about 150 that is located on a sand bar between the ocean and Grantley Harbor. It is so precariously placed, that the sea wall is being washed away, and the town has voted to relocate some 13 miles away. As intriguing as it sounded, I was glad to be switched to Savoonga, which is one of the two towns on St. Lawrence Island (the other being Gambell). It is a little larger, but also a huge hub of history, and the walrus/ivory trade. The island has been inhabited for at least 4000 years, and the people are still primarily subsistence based (meaning they fish and hunt for all of their foods). You can also seen Russia on a clear day from the island. Crazy things happen, however, and there was a shooting (possibly accidental, 13 year old shot by a 15 year old) last week, and a homicide (wife killing husband after years of abuse) last night. This has thrown the whole village into turmoil and psychological stress. Nearly 1% of the community was directly invovled in these deaths within the past week.
This has raised a number of issues. I have met many people from Gambell and Savoonga, and they have been the friendliest people I have met since I came here. How can such nice people lead such violent lives? Is it the stress of living on the island, isolation, or just the nature of this group of people that leads to violence. In speaking with one of the other Docs I work with, he mentioned how nearly all of the violence is within the family up here. Nobody goes to the bars looking for a fight. It all happens at home. I don't know if any of you have seen the Inuvik (I think that is the appropriate group) Eskimo film Fast Runner, but the violence within that movie is quite appalling, despite the fact that it appears to be accepted within the cultural norm. Other questions revolve around the kids involved in the shooting. Will the shooter ever be able to live a normal life within this small community even if the shooting was a true accident?
I am sure we can all come up with a thousand more questions. The big question for me, is, will I still be going? Hopefully we are still scheduled to go, although they are sending other medical providers in the interrim (the community health aides are related to the people involved - as is most of the town - and are frazzled). I think that although this might not be the most pleasant time to visit, it will certainly be a true opportunity to learn.
posted by rob at 3:46 PM
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