ondreeuh Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I am soooo glad we were "voted off the island" as we called it. Our two representatives on the district's school board (the mother and grandmother of a problem student) told the principal they would not approve hiring my husband for another year. We were deeply hurt, but it was definitely for the best. We moved to a regular city and we are welcome here. The woman in this article was the worst apple, but the amount of stuff she got away with it not surprising to me because I saw how people basically tolerated everything. Confrontation is not valued in their culture, and with only ~50 residents who live there & leave their houses, you can't ever get space from someone you are feuding with. So when a parent was constantly cracked out, other people took care of the kids and ignored the issue. When the "postmistress" decided she didn't feel like opening the post office, no one said anything (and she only had to do it one hour each on M, W, F). When kids repeatedly came to school with horrible hygiene, the teachers did send them home to shower, but the parents didn't change anything. And when a kid refused to do any schoolwork or even go to school, the parents did nothing but blame the teachers. http://www.valdezstar.net/story/2013/02/13/main-news/bootlegger-with-fraudulent-past-irks-tatitlek/270.html?m=true (I am cringing at the misuse of a comma in the title of the article). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakblossoms Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 What a sad and horrible mess. It is good you were voted off the island. I can't imagine you becoming anything than a victim at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 Yes, by February I was a target of some relatively mild stuff ... one of the aunties who lived out of the village and had never even met me didn't like her nephew's story about me, so she complained to the school district ... despite the fact I wasn't their employee. Another guy who was hired to help clear snow off the school roof tried to extort money from the school district, claiming my husband was negligent in his supervision of the roof crew (dh told him not to break an ice dam yet he did anyway, and almost fell off the roof when all the ice/snow slid off). EVERYTHING was passive-aggressive, behind our backs ... the roof guy never said anything to my husband and even smiled when he gave him a letter threatening legal action. A village is not a sweet, quaint place to live at all. I'm so glad to be free of the drama. Two of my kids are still healing, and it's been 18 months since we moved away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Some of our good friends here spent many years in two different Yupik villages. He worked as a principal in the schools there. They had many stories to tell - not all of them good. Pretty much like what you described. They left when their kids were middle school age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 It's good to hear from you! Are you still in Alaska somewhere?I'm sorry it didn't turn out so well. It looked to be an exciting adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Nice to see you!! Sorry it didn't turn out to be as you had wished--hope your kiddos are able to chalk it up to "life happens" at some point. We can certainly learn a lot from other cultures. Sometimes we learn we really enjoy and appreciate our own culture. ;) Was there anything positive you DID enjoy about living there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I remember . So glad you got voted off the island and are happier where you are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I am sorry it didn't work out for you and that your children were involved in the problems. The 1 1/2 years we spent in Anchorage we really loved, although I came across 1 person that made my life miserable at work. We came across many really nice Alaskans although we didn't spend any time with natives from the villages. I had heard stories that drugs and alcohol were rampant in the villages and that was a major problem. A church that we went to were involved in doing missions work in the bush that included medical and dental care and education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpecialClassical Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 The article was interesting. (Read a chunk of it.)The author obviously wanted to get the last name of the woman in there as much as possible. I was wondering if a pronoun would ever be used. Also, I'm not sure I've ever heard, " telephonic interview" before. As I said, interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 That's crazy. It's very interesting how a small and insulated group can run amok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 Nice to see you!! Sorry it didn't turn out to be as you had wished--hope your kiddos are able to chalk it up to "life happens" at some point. We can certainly learn a lot from other cultures. Sometimes we learn we really enjoy and appreciate our own culture. ;) Was there anything positive you DID enjoy about living there? Yes, I definitely learned to appreciate what we have. Since the village was really more of a family than a community, it was neat to see the close relationship kids had with their aunts, uncles, ummas and uppas (grandparents). Kids also had a "Big Mama" who was like a godmother. The young kids had so much potential as they hadn't yet become cynical. I miss some of the kids. I learned that a one room schoolhouse model may seem ideals, but the reality is much, much different. And I learned just how vital parental involvement is in education. I also learned how threatened some teachers can be by parental involvement. I learned to clean and fillet salmon, I learned how to feed a family when you only get to go to a grocery store once a month, and I learned how to work in a job that had an insane amount of paperwork. That employment experience will definitely help me. My husband learned that he much prefers teaching adults. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 My best friend and her husband spent 15 years in an Artic Eskimo village and have lots of stories to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 I remember. I'm sorry it was a disappointment. Glad you were able to leave! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Wow - what an experience. Thanks for posting an update; I have thought about you and your family over the past year. I hope your children continue to heal. I'm so glad you're in a better place now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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