A Word on Thanksgiving

I'm not much of Thanksgiving person, especially lately having been emerged in a native culture that has different views on this particular holiday. That being said, I am somewhat caught up in the thought-provoking nature of the season...

I'm Thankful for:
- running water
- health education (hygiene, sex ed and disease transmission)
- healthcare
- easy access to classroom education
- parents that have gone before me and realize & encouraged the value of education
- food in my belly and clothes on my back
- a culture that largely discourages incest and encourages the youth to pursue dreams
- and much much more

Large portions of the state are without running water to bathe, drink or even use the bathroom in. Honeybuckets are still very much in use today in our country- I do not mean outhouses, I mean buckets or in some cases coffee cans that people sit on to do their business. The sometime abysmal knowledge of personal hygiene is saddening. I can't tell you how many times I've had to explain to parents that the reason all 7 of their children now have the same skin infection is that all 7 sleep in the same beds with sheets that have gone 6 months without washing and that you do actually need to clean wounds with soap or other cleaning products- the next line is usually that soap is expensive and washing clothes isn't something they can afford. Or that the reason the antibiotics aren't working is because the child received maybe 2 days out of 10 or 14 prescribed. This is basic health education many do not have. I have seen 16 year old with 2 children- already out of diapers. I've seen one of the highest STD rates in the US- due to lack of sex education or access to birth control. BTW- a portion of those pregnancies are due to rape or incest. I've seen children with disabilities (Autism, physical impairments, FAS, and cognitive issues) seeing a therapist (pick a therapist) once a month- maybe- because the therapist have to fly from village to village to do rounds. And the 1 hospital for the region (the region is the size of the state of Oregon) has only 50 beds with no real trauma team/dept. Sub-regional and village clinics help see more minor cases but you can't go looking for a provider in the phonebook or ask for referrals from friends. You don't get to be picky here- you hope the person seeing you knows what they are doing.

On the flip side, I'm also Thankful for exposure to:
- a much more accepting view of adoption
- tradition actually rooted in STRONG family ties and culture
- a culture that values hard work and working with your hands
- a culture that values and listens to their elders!!!
- A culture that does not value your worth to the community in how many things you have or how much money you make but what you do for and with your neighbors, family and friends

All joking or somewhat scary comments aside- I've been in Rural Alaska for 16 months now and I have seen many things I never really imagined. Just like everywhere else I've lived there is a spectrum of what people have access to in every regard. There are some highly educated and/or driven individuals who use their skills to help progress knowledge yet preserve a culture that has been changing since 'our' (the white man) arrive and subsequent take-over (one might even venture to say hostile take-over). There are those who struggle to gain access to education, opportunities and healthcare but fight for it everyday. And there are those who like living the way the do and want no intervention. There are some (sometimes strong) opinions about the white man and the culture we brought. No one way is right- or wrong. One can only choose what is right for themselves and those close to them. It doesn't make me any less thankful. In fact, I think I can say that it only makes more more thankful for more.