On Monday, Oct. 9, organizations across Bethel put together a full day of celebrations for Indigenous Peoples' Day at Bethel's Kuskokwim Consortium Library.
Hands-on activities started at 3 p.m. Kimberly Jackson helped people make akutaq, everyone's favorite dessert.
“So I put, because I grew up in Akiak and people make it differently the way that they grew up, I put mashed potatoes, and Crisco, and sugar, and water,” said Jackson. “There's so many different ways you can make it, but that's how I'm making it.”
Jackson was taught by her mother and grandmothers, and she taught her daughter, who’s mixing her own mashed potato and Crisco dough beside her.
“Wash your hands first,” Jackson said. “Or lick your hands.”
At long plastic tables a little ways down the room, kids drew silly and terrifying expressions on plastic masks. Serena Solesbee taught people to bead small flowers into earrings and bracelets. She learned herself when Elders would come to her school for workshops during culture week. She has jewelry that was dyed naturally, with grass and clays.
Solesbee likes that beading lets people express themselves and learn about the culture.
“I think it's just reclaiming. So a lot of reclaiming our culture, reclaiming who we are,” said Solesbee. “Just reclaiming, you know, what it actually is. Because Native people have been around for forever.”
As the afternoon became evening, kids posed with a mascot of Molly of Denali before the community marched down the highway. Marchers carried signs reading "Resilient. Proud. Free." "Indigenous values are good for ALL Alaskans’" and "Time to rise," beside a rising sun. Beforehand, Arianna Samson, originally from Kipnuk, made a speech.
Samson said while the holiday was once celebrated as Columbus Day, Columbus didn’t discover America. She said that discovery of America is built on social unrest, the loss of the Indigenous way of life, mass genocide, and the colonization of Native people.
“Many horrible things have occurred after Columbus has stepped foot onto our grounds. But today is now known as Indigenous Peoples' Day. A day to remember those who we have lost in the past and even now, those who we have lost in boarding schools, the mistreatment of our pupils, and those who have gone missing,” said Samson.
“Today is also a day to celebrate the resilience of our people along with our heritage. We should be proud of who we are. Grateful for the beauty that is so embedded into our culture and lands. Today is a day to honor our people, a day of recognition and to be proud of who we are,” Samson said.
After the community marched a short loop to the hospital and back, dancers from Ayuprun Elitnaurvik elementary school took the stage in beaded headdresses and kuspuks. The girls wore red with brown trim, and the boys wore brown with red trim. Each had their own set of dance fans.
The dancers were confident, poised. The crowd was quiet too, taking in a piece of culture once taken away.
