>> LORI: IT IS A WOUND THAT IS UNSEEN, BUT THE PAIN AFFECTS INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA AFFECTS THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF COUNTLESS ALASKANS.

AND HEALING IS IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US.

>> YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT YOUR GIFTS AND USE THEM THE WAY THEY COME.

YEAH, THAT'S THE SECRET OF HEALING.

YOU ALL HAVE GIFTS, AND YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP THEM IN TO THE UTMOST BEAUTY.

YEAH.

>> LORI: TRAUMAINFORMED PRACTICES CAN HELP OVERCOME THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF VIOLENCE, SYSTEMIC RACISM AND COLONIZATION.

WE'RE DISCUSSING THE PATH TO HEALING RIGHT NOW ON A SPECIAL LIVE EPISODE OF ALASKA INSIGHT.

[MUSIC] ♪ ♪ >> LORI: GOOD EVENING.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THIS SPECIAL, ONEHOUR EDITION OF “ALASKA INSIGHT.

” WE'RE COMING TO YOU LIVE THIS EVENING SO THAT WE CAN ENGAGE WITH THE QUESTIONS OF AS MANY ALASKANS AS WE CAN, IN THIS IMPORTANT DISCUSSION ABOUT THE VERY REAL AND ONGOING EFFECTS OF GRIEF, TRAUMA AND LOSS THAT IS PASSED FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.

TRAUMA AFFECTS OUR LIVES IN DIRECT AND INDIRECT WAYS.

IT CHANGES HOW WE SEE OURSELVES AND OTHERS, AND CHANGES OUR VIEW ON SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.

ALL OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED SOME LEVEL OF GRIEF, FEAR, LOSS, AND WE MAY UNDERSTAND HOW THAT AFFECTS OURSELVES, BUT HOW DOES THAT UNRESOLVED GRIEF AND UNHEALED TRAUMA AFFECT FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES?

IN THE BOOK "HEALING COLLECTIVE TRAUMA" THERE IS A QUOTE BY A JEWISH SCHOLAR ARTHUR COHEN.

COHEN SAID THE GENERATION OF CHILDREN BORN TO HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS WERE THE GENERATION THAT BEARS THE SCAR WITHOUT THE WOUND, SUSTAINING MEMORY WITHOUT DIRECT EXPERIENCE.

THIS WAS IN 1981, 40 YEARS AGO.

RECOGNIZING THAT PEOPLE CARRY THE PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURIES OF THEIR ANCESTORS IS NOT NEW THINKING.

BUT HOW HAS THE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS INHERITED PAIN CHANGED OVER THESE DECADES?

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BEST METHODS TO REACH PATHS TO HEALING AND INNER PEACE?

OUR PANELISTS HAVE WITNESSED THE GRIEF AREN'T THEY ARE COMMITTED TO THE WORK OF AIDING IN THAT COLLECTIVE HEALING HE FOR THE STRENGTH AND HEALTH OF FUTURE GENERATIONS.

WE'LL MEET THEM IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.

I WANT TO REMIND VIEWERS THAT WE'RE LIVE OVER THE AIR AND ONLINE AND YOU CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS BY E-MAIL TO ALASKA INSIGHT AT ALASKA PUBLIC.ORG OR THROUGH FACEBOOK AND I'LL GATHER THEM TOGETHER TO POSE TO OUR PANELISTS DURING THE NEXT HOUR.

BEFORE WE START OUR DISCUSSION WITH OUR EXCELLENT PANEL, LET'S WATCH THIS PROFILE OF A LEGENDARY HEALER.

TRAUMA CAN BE PASSED DOWN.

HERE'S A STORY ABOUT HOW ONE TRADITIONAL HEALER'S IMPACT CONTINUES TO SHINE EVEN AFTER HER DEATH.

JEFF CHEN REPORTS.

[CHANTING] >> THE PAST IS GONE.

I CAN NOW CLOSE THE DOOR AND MOVE ON TO THE OTHER WAYS OF BEING.

>> TRADITIONAL HEALER AND YUPIK HEALER PASSED AWAY IN AUGUST.

AT HER 40-DAY FEAST, THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX TRADITION, FAMILY AND FRIENDS GATHERED TO HONOR HER LIFE.

>> SHE WAS VERY SPECIAL TO ALL OF US, THE GRANDMOTHER.

>> WE WILL MISS OUR LITTLE LIGHT.

>> WHEN YOU PASS, YOU HEAR IN LIKE A LIMBO AND ON THE 40 DAYS WHEN YOU WORK THROUGH EVERYTHING, THEN YOU DO THE REPASS AND YOU MOVE ON TO HEAVEN.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE DID FOR GRANDMA RITA.

IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.

>> GRANDMA RITA AS SHE IS KNOWN WAS BORN ON A FISHING BOAT AND GREW UP IN A COMMUNITIES ON NELSON ISLAND IN WESTERN ALASKA AND AT AN EARLY AGE SHE BECAME A HEALER.

>> I WAS 14, I WAS HIRED BY A PRIVATE DOCTOR AND I DID DIAGNOSING.

>> HER GRAND'S, GREAT GRANDMA, 7 GENERATIONS WERE HEALERS AND SO SHE HAD ALL THEIR HEALING POWERS.

SHE WAS A MIDWIFE, SHE DELIVERED OVER, OH, MY GOSH, 200 BABIES.

>> BLUMENSTEIN TRAVELLED THE WORLD WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF 13 INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHERS AND SHARED ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE AND MENTORED YOUNG HEALERS.

SHE FIRST MET BLUMENSTEIN WHEN SCHEDULING HER EVENT.

>> A GIRL AND TWO MORE, I ENDED UP BEING HER APPRENTICE.

SHE JUST STARTED TEACHING ME ABOUT ALASKA, THE TRADITIONAL ALASKA PLANTS AND HOW TO DO BODY ENERGY WORK.

>> YES, THIS IS A TALKING CIRCLE BLANKET.

>> IN MAY OF 2019 SHE TOLD HER SHE WOULD BE A TRADITIONAL HEALER THROUGH TALKING CIRCLES AND CRAFTS.

>> FROM THEN I WENT ON MORE HEALING AND FORGIVING MYSELF AND OTHERS TO PREPARE MYSELF FOR THAT ROLE.

LIKE I QUIT DRINKING, I QUIT SMOKING, I BETTERED MYSELF FOR THIS ROLE, SO I COULD BE A BETTER ROLE MODEL.

THAT'S THE THING, LIKE A BETTER ROLE MODEL FOR MYSELF AND FOR OTHERS.

>> AND SHE IS A REAL GOOD, SHE FOLLOWS EVERYTHING.

>> I TRY TO ON.

>> YES.

>> BLUMENSTEIN TAUGHT HER AND OTHER YOUNG HEALERS SO THIS WORK COULD CONTINUE TO HAPPEN EVEN AFTER HER DEATH.

>> HEALERS ARE STILL HERE AND EVEN WHEN THEY PASS WE'RE STILL ABLE TO LEARN.

THAT WAS GRANDMA'S ROLE, LIKE THAT'S WHAT SHE WANTED.

SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE SO THE KNOWLEDGE STAYS AND GROWS AND GROWS AND GROWS.

>> YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT YOUR GIFTS AND USE THEM THE WAY THEY COME, YEAH.

YOU ALL HAVE GIFTS AND YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO USE THEM ♪ I LOVE I.

>> SHE SAYS BLUMENSTEIN HELPED SO MANY PEOPLE FEEL THEIR OWN POWER AND THAT WAS HER TRUE GIFT TO THE WORLD.

IN ANCHORAGE, I'M JEFF CHEN.

>> WE WILL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS ♪ HAND IN HAND WE'LL WALK ALONG.

>> THANKS, JEFF, FOR THAT INSPIRING PROFILE OF A MUCH RESPECTED ALASKA NATIVE HEALER.

IT'S A GREAT WAY TO KICK OFF OUR DISCUSSION TONIGHT.

LET'S MEET OUR GUEST EXPERTS.

LINDA THAI IS A FAIRBANKS BASED SOCIAL WORKER AND TRAUMA SPECIALIST, WORKS WITH REFUGEES.

GAIL JACKSON IS THE FOUNDER OF CREATIVE RHYTHMS, A DRUM CIRCLE FACILITATOR AND A RASMUSEN FOUNDATION FELLOW.

X'UNEI LANCE TWITCHELL, A LANGUAGE HISTORIAN, A FELLOW.

POLLY ANDREWS, LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST WITH SOUTHCENTRAL FOUNDATION'S FAMILY WELLNESS WARRIORS PROGRAM.

WELCOME ALL OF YOU AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING ON OUR PANEL TO HELP ALL OF US BETTER UNDERSTAND WITH HOW GENERATIONAL TRAUMA AFFECTS PEOPLE AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP AND HEAL AND MOVE TOWARD A BRIGHTER FUTURE.

IN THE PROFILE STORY WE JUST HEARD, RITA BLUMENSTEIN SAID THE PAST IS GONE, I CAN NOW CLOSE THE DOOR AND MOVE ON TO THE OTHER WAYS OF BEING.

BUT HOW DO PEOPLE CLOSE THE DOOR ON THE PAST AND MOVE ON?

IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

OR IS IT MORE CLOSING THE DOOR ON THE REACTION TO THE PAST AND LEARNING TO LIVE BEYOND IT?

LINDA, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT?

>> A TRAUMA SURVIVOR DOESN'T HAVE MEMORIES, THEY HAVE SYMPTOMS.

PART OF THE SYMPTOMS IS A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN HOW ONE FEELS ABOUT ONESELF AND HOW ONE MOVES THROUGH THE WORLD FOR YEARS.

THERE IS A LOT TO BE SAID FOR SHIFTING THE IMPACT OF THE TRAUMA ON OUR SENSE OF SELF AND HOW WE MOVE THROUGH THE WORLD.

>> LORI: X'UNEI, IS THE PAST EVER REALLY GONE?

>> GUNALCHEESH.

I WOULD SAY IT'S NOT AND SO IN OUR LANGUAGE AND IN OUR CULTURE WE CARRY THE NAMES OF ANCESTORS BEFORE US AND FOR THOSE WHO ENCOUNTER US WE ARE THOSE PEOPLE AS WELL.

SO I MET AN 80-YEAR-OLD ELDER AND WHEN HE FOUND OUT MY TLINGIT NAME HE STARTED CALLING ME UNCLE.

SO I WOULD CALL HIM NEPHEW.

SO BECAUSE WE CARRY THESE NAMES WE ALSO CARRY THE MEMORY OF THESE NAMES, LIKE MY UNCLE WHO WAS VERY YOUNG AND NAMED AFTER ONE OF HIS UNCLES WENT BY THE PLACE WHERE HE WAS FISHING AND HE SAID THAT'S THE PLACE WHERE WITH I USED TO FISH.

AND SO WE CARRY OUR HISTORIES AND OUR HISTORIES INFORM US.

BUT WHEN WE HAVE TRAUMAS WITH OUR HISTORIES I THINK WE HAVE TO ANALYZE THE WAYS THAT WE CARRY THOSE AND THE WAYS THAT THEY IMPACT US, WHICH IS DIFFICULT I THINK FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES BECAUSE WE HAVE LOST SO MUCH IN TERMS OF LAND AND LANGUAGES, PEOPLE, CHILDREN, IT'S SO MUCH LOSS, BUT IT'S DIFFICULT SOMETIMES TO LET GO AND SOMETIMES THE TRAUMA AND THE NEGATIVITY AND THE VIOLENCE AGAINST SELF AND OTHERS IS SOMETHING THAT BECOMES INHERITED.

IN OUR LANGUAGE WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO WHAT OUR ELDERS DID, TO BE WITHOUT IT, TO LET IT GO.

>> LORI: THANK YOU.

GAIL, TURNING TO YOU, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE PAST AND WHETHER OR NOT IT CAN EVER REALLY BE GONE, IS IT UNDERSTANDING HOW TO LOOK AT THE PAST WITHOUT CONNECTING TO THE PAIN?

>> I THINK IT'S CONNECTING WITH THE PAST AND AT TIMES BEING WITH THE PAIN BECAUSE MOVING THROUGH SOCIETY WE CAN BE TRIGGERED AGAIN AND AGAIN DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION, HAVING A POLICE CAR PULL UP BEHIND ME, THEREFORE I'M TRIGGERED.

BUT I CAN TURN TO MY MEDITATION PRACTICES AND BREATHE, BEING WITH THAT PAIN, TO SETTLE MYSELF, TO GROUND MYSELF, SO THAT THEREFORE I'M NOT ACTING OUT ON THE TRIGGERING BECAUSE THERE'S A POLICE OFFICER BEHIND ME OR IF SOMEONE IN THE STORE JUST CUTS IN FRONT OF ME OR SAYS SOMETHING, CALLS ME OUT OF MY NAME, SO TO SPEAK, JUST HAVING THOSE PRACTICES, BEING WITH WHAT IS ARISING WITHIN MYSELF AND GROUNDING MYSELF TO BE AWARE.

>> LORI: THANK YOU.

POLLY, HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS, ESPECIALLY REFLECTING ON WHAT OUR OTHER PANELISTS HAVE SAID, AND WITHIN THE WELLNESS WARRIOR'S PROGRAM DO YOU LOOK AT A WAY OF DEALING WITH THE PAST WITHOUT CLINGING TO IT?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

I THINK THAT IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT OUR STORIES BECAUSE OUR STORIES ARE CONNECTED TO THE STORIES OF OUR PARENTS AND THE STORIES OF OUR GRANDPARENTS.

SO TO UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THE PAIN AND SOME OF THE TRAUMAS THAT YOU MAY BE EXPERIENCING IN OUR LIVES TODAY ARE MAYBE CONNECTED TO THE STORIES OF OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE THAT UNDERSTANDING AND LEAD TO HEALING.

I THINK YOU SAID EARLIER, YOU SAID TRAUMA CHANGES HOW WE SEE OURSELVES AND WHEN WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE OUR STORIES WE COME TO GRASP AN UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THAT PAIN AND ABOUT THAT TRAUMA AND ABOUT THOSE MESSAGES ABOUT WHO WE ARE.

IF WE CAN COME TO THAT UNDERSTANDING, I THINK THAT OPENS THE DOOR TO HEALING.

>> LORI: ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SENTIMENT FROM EVERYONE TO GET US STARTED THIS EVENING.

AND I WANT TO REMIND OUR AUDIENCE THAT WE ARE COMING TO YOU LIVE.

I WANT TO REMIND OUR VIEWERS THAT WE'RE LIVE OVER AIR AND WE'RE DOING A SPECIAL ON HEALING PAIN OF THE PAST.

YOU CAN JOIN THE CONVERSATION IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DROP COMMENTS IN TO THE ALASKA MEDIA FACEBOOK PAGE WHERE WE'RE STREAMING LIVE OR E-MAIL COMMENTS TO ALASKA INSIGHT AT ALASKA PUBLIC.ORG.

LET'S LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE WORK THAT ALL OF OUR PANELISTS DO.

GAIL, DESCRIBE HOW YOU CAME TO UNDERSTAND THE HEALING POWER AND CONNECTION THAT YOU FOUND THROUGH THE DRUM CIRCLE FACILITATION TRAINING THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN.

>> I HAVE LEARNED AND CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD SINCE THE PANDEMIC I HAVE A MONDAY CALL WITH PEOPLE THAT I HAVE COME IN CONTACT WITH IN KOREA, GERMANY, AUSTRALIA, ALL OVER THE WORLD.

AND ATTENDING ONE OF MY TRAININGS I HEARD A STRANGE SOUND IN THE ROOM AND I LOOKED AROUND AND THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE CRYING AND KNOWING AND THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED AND FOUND OUT THE POWER OF THE DRUM.

AND THE DRUM IS A PART OF EVERY CULTURE, EVERY CULTURE HAS A DRUM.

AND WITH THAT DRUM, THAT DRUM CONNECTS US TO OUR HEART, THAT HEARTBEAT THAT WE WERE IN THE WOMB WITH.

IN TODAY'S SOCIETY WHEN WE'RE IN THE PACE OF GOING HERE AND GOING THERE WE FORGET ABOUT THAT HEARTBEAT THAT WE HAVE WITHIN OURSELVES AND THAT HEARTBEAT THAT WE CAME IN TO FORM WITH IN OUR MOTHER'S WOMB AND WHEN WE CONNECT WITH THE DRUM, CONNECTING WITH OTHERS, OUR HEART SPACE OPENS AND WE CONNECT WITH THE POWER OF THE DRUM, WHICH OPENS US ALL TO CONNECTION.

>> LORI: WHEN YOU DECIDED TO GET THIS PERCUSSION TRAINING, WERE YOU SEEKING PERSONAL HEALING OR WERE YOU THINKING MORE ABOUT HOW IT COULD HELP OTHERS?

>> WELL, I KNEW THAT IT HAD HELPED ME.

CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE, LIKE I SAID, ALL OVER THE WORLD AND THE FEELING THAT I GOT WITHIN MYSELF, A SENSE OF FULLNESS, A SENSE OF CONNECTION.

AND FROM THAT EXPERIENCE I WANTED TO SHARE THAT EXPERIENCE WITH OTHERS, INVITING THEM IN, FACILITATING COMMUNITY DRUMMING CIRCLES IN SPACES WHERE IT'S INVITING AND SAFE AND OPEN FOR FOLKS TO COME IN, TO BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY DRUMMING CIRCLE, WHETHER IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY JUST TAKE A TAP OF A BELL OR ON A DRUM, THEIR VOICE AT TIMES WORDS HAVE NO WAY OF EXPRESSING, BUT THROUGH THE INSTRUMENT PEOPLE CAN SAY A LOT.

>> LORI: POLLY, HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE WELLNESS WARRIORS PROGRAM?

WERE YOU DOING OTHER CULTURAL HEALING OR MAYBE YOUR OWN HEALING WORK?

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO IT?

>> WELL, PART OF MY OWN STORY BROUGHT ME TO THE WORK THAT I DO TODAY, LOOKING AT THE IMPACT OF MY STORY AND MY TRAUMA AND I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN THE WORK AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF FAMILY WELLNESS WARRIORS AND WANTING TO BE A PART OF AN ORGANIZATION WHERE IT'S OUR NATIVE PEOPLE LEADING IN OUR OWN HEALTH CARE, IT'S OUR NATIVE PEOPLE LEADING IN OUR OWN HEALING.

AND I'M WITH SOUTHCENTRAL FOUNDATION OF FAMILY WELLNESS WARRIORS AND IT'S THAT STORY AND THAT PICTURE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HEALING THEMSELVES AND PASSING THAT HEALING ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION.

SO IT'S PEOPLE LEADING IN OUR OWN HEALTH, IT'S OUR OWN PEOPLE CREATING AND LEADING PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS THE WHOLE PERSON'S HEALTH.

AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IS RELATIONSHIP, THE BUILDING OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP.

AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO IS STORIES BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT CONCERNS OUR HEALTH AND OUR WELLNESS AND OUR HEALING GOES BACK TO RELATIONSHIP.

IT GOES BACK TO OUR STORIES AND BEING ABLE TO HEAL IN THAT.

SO ONE OF THOSE PROGRAMS WITHIN THE NEW SYSTEM OF CARE IS FAMILY WELLNESS WARRIORS.

I GET TO BE A PART OF THAT HEALING WITH MY PEOPLE AND FOR MY PEOPLE.

>> LORI: THE WELLNESS WARRIORS SEEK TO HELP PEOPLE RETURN TO THEIR OWN TRUE SELVES.

DESCRIBE HOW THAT WORKS AND HOW IT WAS DEVELOPED.

>> SO OUR NAME, THE NAME OF FAMILY WELLNESS WARRIORS IS A DENA'INA ATHABASCAN WORD THAT WAS GIFTED TO US AND IT MEANS RETURNING TO OUR TRUE SELVES.

IT CARRIES THAT IDEA THAT OUR TRUE SELF IS WHO THE CREATOR INTENDED US TO BE.

THAT'S OUR STRENGTH, OUR GOOD TEACHING, OUR GOOD WAYS AND ALL THOSE GOOD THINGS THAT CAME FROM OUR GRANDPARENTS, THAT CAME FROM OUR ANCESTORS BEFORE US AND IT CARRIES THAT IDEA THAT HEALING LIES WITHIN RETURNING TO OUR STRENGTHS AND RETURNING TO THOSE GOOD WAYS AND WHEN WE RETURN WE COME BACK TO OUR TRUE SELVES AND THAT IS HEALING.

>> LORI: ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU.

X'UNEI, WHEN YOU WERE IN SCHOOL YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T FEEL VERY OFTEN THAT IT WAS FOR YOU.

WAS IT MOST OFTEN IN A WAY HISTORY WAS TAUGHT?

OR WAS IT ALL THE CURRICULUM AND HOW TEACHERS CONDUCTED CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION?

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY YOU FELT LIKE YOU DIDN'T HAVE A PLACE THERE.

>> I WAS BORN IN SKAGWAY, ALASKA AND MY FATHER IS YUPIK AND MY MOTHER IS HAIDA AND TLINGIT.

WE MOVED TO ANCHORAGE, I WAS PRETTY YOUNG.

I THINK WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL WAS WHEN I STARTED TO EXPERIENCE QUITE A BIT OF RACISM THAT WAS BOTH AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, ONE PERSON TREATING ME DIFFERENTLY FOR WHO I WAS AND INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL.

I HAD AN ALASKA NATIVE TEACHER WHEN I WAS IN THE FOURTH GRADE, WHICH I THINK WAS FABULOUS.

BUT THEN I STARTED NOTICING, WELL, WHERE ARE THE OTHER ALASKA NATIVE PEOPLE?

THEN AS WE WENT THROUGH SCHOOL, I JUST REALIZED THIS DIDN'T SEEM TO FIT WITH WHO I WAS.

I DIDN'T SEE MY PEOPLE.

SO I THINK STILL TODAY THIS IS A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM WITH EDUCATION.

MY THERAPY AS MOST PEOPLE WHO GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL IN ALASKA COULDN'T TELL YOU THE 23 ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGES.

THEY COULDN'T NAME 20 PROMINENT ALASKA NATIVE PEOPLE FROM HISTORY.

THEY COULDN'T TELL YOU WHAT ANCSA IS OR WHAT A TRIBE IS.

AND I THINK THERE'S A REASON WHY THESE THINGS ARE MADE INVISIBLE.

IT'S A CONTRIBUTION TO INDIGENOUS ERASURE AND I THINK IT GOES THROUGHOUT ALL, ALMOST ALL EDUCATION.

I NOTICED THIS WHEN WITH I WENT THROUGH COLLEGE AS WELL.

IN 1996 I STARTED TO LEARN THE TLINGIT LANGUAGE WITH MY GRANDFATHER, WE'RE VERY CLOSE AND I REALIZED THROUGH HIS SISTER THAT HE SPOKE THE TLINGIT LANGUAGE AND I ASKED HIM TO TEACH ME.

AND INITIALLY HE WOULD SAY THINGS LIKE, HE POINT AT HIMSELF AND SAY [SPEAKING ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGE] HE WOULD SAY NOW YOU SAY IT AND HE WOULD LAUGH AT ME.

IT BECAME A CONNECTION.

I ENCOUNTERED A TEXT CALLED STABILIZING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES WHICH HAPPENED TO BE DROPPED OFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA WHERE I WAS GOING TO SCHOOL.

AND I WAS INSPIRED BY THAT BOOK AND I WROTE A PAPER CALLED STABILIZING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES.

THE TEACHER ASSISTANT WROTE ON THERE, Y MINUS, WHY DOESN'T EVERYBODY JUST SPEAK YENNING INITIAL, A C MINUS, NO, SPEAK ENGLISH, THERE WAS NO FEEDBACK ON MY RESEARCH AND WRITING.

I WAS ANGRY.

I PROTESTED AND BROUGHT IT TO THE TEAM, TO THE HEAD OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AND I GOT THE GRADE OVERTURNED.

BUT IT SHOWED ME THAT THIS SYSTEMIC EXCLUSION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND HISTORIES, IT WASN'T JUST AN ALASKA THING.

SO AS I STARTED TO TALK WITH OTHER NATIVE AMERICAN FOLKS WHO WERE DOWN THERE AND WE RALLIED TOGETHER AND WE LEARNED HOW TO SORT OF STAND UP FOR THINGS AND HOW TO USURP A SYSTEM THAT'S BUILT TO EXCLUDE US, I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT MY ROLE IN EDUCATION AND STARTED WORKING FOR THOSE BACK HOME IN SKAGWAY AND THEN WENT BACK TO SCHOOL IN FAIRBANKS.

AS I STUDIED IN FAIRBANKS, KEPT THINKING ABOUT HOW I COULD CONTINUE LEARNING AND TEACHING THE TLINGIT LANGUAGE AND AT THE SAME TIME REALIZING WHAT KIND OF SITUATION OUR LANGUAGE IS IN, WHICH DR. MICHAEL CROUSE SAID PROBABLY EIGHT YEARS AGO WE STAND TO LOSE MORE NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES IN THE NEXT 30 YEARS THAN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN NATIONS.

I DON'T THINK ENOUGH PEOPLE KNOW THAT.

I DON'T THINK ENOUGH PEOPLE REALIZE THAT'S NOT A PREDETERMINED THING.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COLLECTIVELY DECIDE EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT'S THE ROUTE WE'RE GOING TO GO, NATIVE AMERICAN GENOCIDE.

TYPICALLY THE ANSWER IS WELL, WE'LL JUST GO ALONG BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT.

BUT I THINK THE CONSCIOUS THINKING ABOUT IT AND SHIFTING THAT DIRECTION AND REFORMING EDUCATION TO CREATE ROOM IS THE DIRECTION TO GO.

>> LORI: VERY WELL SAID.

LINDA, YOU STARTED WORKING IN THIS TYPE OF THERAPY AFTER READING A BOOK AND REALIZING YOU, YOURSELF, WERE A SURVIVOR OF INHERITED TRAUMA.

TELL US ABOUT THIS REALIZATION AND THE PERSONAL WORK THAT FOLLOWED FOR YOU.

>> SO IN 2014 I READ A BOOK ABOUT HIS OWN EXPERIENCES AS A RESEARCHER AND PSYCHIATRIST WITH TRAUMA, AND STARTED WITH VIETNAM VETERANS AND MOVED IN TO CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS.

AS THEY TELL THE STORY OF HIS CAREER I STARTED TO SEE MYSELF IN ALL OF THE CLIENTS THAT HE WAS DESCRIBING.

AND YET I HAD NO MEMORY OF ANY SORT OF TRAUMAIZATION THAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME, YET I HAD ALL THE SYMPTOMS ON OF A TRAUMA SURVIVOR.

MY NERVOUS SYSTEM WOULD VERY EASILY, I WOULD BECOME ANXIOUS, MY HEART RATE WOULD GO UP AND TAKE A LONG TIME FOR ME TO HAVE MY HEART RATE GO BACK DOWN.

I WOULD RESORT TO CERTAIN BEHAVIORS OR SUBSTANCES AS WAYS OF COPING.

I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS NORMAL.

I HAD STRUGGLES WITH MOVING THROUGH THE WORLD WITH RELATIONSHIPS WITH MYSELF AND WITH OTHER PEOPLE.

YET I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS ANY OTHER WAY OF BEING.

SO IN READING THE BODY KEEPS A SCORE, THAT SPURRED ME TO COME TO A COMPASSIONATE ACCEPTANCE THAT THERE WAS TRAUMA IN MY OWN HISTORY THAT I COULDN'T REMEMBER.

AND YET IT SPURRED ME, IT SPURRED ME TO GET CURIOUS, AND MY CURIOSITY I STARTED TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT TRAUMA, MADE ME LEARN ABOUT ADULT CHILDREN OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND ALCOHOLICS.

MY PARENTS WERE NEITHER AND WE SURVIVED THE VIETNAM WAR AND SURVIVED COMMUNISM AT THE END OF THE VIETNAM WAR AND WE FLED VIETNAM BY BOAT AND WE SOUGHT REFUGE.

WE WERE WITH REFUGEES AND LIVED IN A REFUGEE CAMP AND THE AMOUNT OF TRAUMA THAT HAPPENED TO MY PEOPLE DURING THAT EXPERIENCE.

IT'S ONLY IN RECENT YEARS THAT I HAVE COME TO TERMS WITH THE SHEAR AMOUNT OF LOSS THAT ACTUALLY GOES WITH TRAUMA WHERE IT'S THE LOSS OF CULTURE, THE LOSS OF LANGUAGE AND MY PARENTS RAISED MYSELF AND MY LITTLE SISTER IN ANOTHER COUNTRY BEREFT OF THEIR ANCESTORS TO HELP THEM.

AND PART OF THAT DISLOCATION FROM HOME IS ALSO A DISLOCATION FROM A SENSE OF HOME WITHIN OUR BODIES.

SO FOR ME AS A CHILD I NEVER HEALTH THAT MY PARENTS WERE PHYSICALLY THERE BECAUSE THEY WERE HOMESICK, THEY HAD SO MUCH OF THEIR OWN TRAUMA TO DEAL WITH.

THERE WAS A LOT OF SURVIVOR GUILT, THE INABILITY TO ENJOY THEIR LIVES BECAUSE THEY HAD SOMEHOW MANAGED TO ESCAPE AND SURVIVE.

SO MANY WERE LEFT BEHIND.

I ACTUALLY, I PHRASE IT VICARIOUS SURVIVOR GUILT IN THAT BEING RAISED BY PARENTS WHO DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO ENJOY THEIR LIVES, I THEN INHERITED THE INABILITY TO ENJOY MY LIFE AND I SEE THAT AMONG SO MANY OF MY CLIENTS AS WELL AS MY PEERS THAT WORK BECOMES A SECONDARY SATISFACTION.

>> LORI: YOU'VE SAID THAT TRAUMA IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAN BE MISTAKEN FOR PERSONALITY.

TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS.

>> YEAH, SO TRAUMA, IN AN INDIVIDUAL, TRAUMA CAN LOOK LIKE CONTROL, IT CAN LOOK LIKE BEING UPTIGHT, IT CAN LOOK LIKE BEING DEFENDED, BEING GUARDED, BEING DEFENSIVE, BEING PROTECTIVE.

AND IT CAN ALSO LOOK LIKE THE OPPOSITE.

IT CAN LOOK LIKE BEING VERY, VERY, VERY EASY GOING WHERE I'LL SAY YES TO ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN ORDER TO APPEASE, IN ORDER TO MAKE SOMEONE ELSE HAPPY OR HAPPIER OR LESS DANGEROUS SO THAT I CAN AVOID FURTHER HARM OR POTENTIAL HARM TO MYSELF.

>> LORI: THANK YOU.

GAIL, I WANT TO BACK UP TO YOU AGAIN.

IN AN EARLIER INTERVIEW YOU SAID THAT THE WORD "HEALING", THAT IT CREATES AN EXPECTATION THAT SOMETHING WILL CHANGE AND IT MAY NOT.

TALK ABOUT THAT.

DO YOU WORK TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THEY MAY NOT LIKELY WILL NOT FEEL ALL BETTER TOMORROW.

>> YES.

I THINK THE WORD "HEALER" SETS A PERSON UP TO THINK THAT WHATEVER IS PRESENT IS GOING TO BE GONE.

AND SO THEREFORE, I DON'T USE THAT WORD AT ALL BECAUSE WITH THE WORK THAT I DO I FEEL IT'S TRANSFORMATIONAL, THAT WHEREVER THIS PERSON IS IN THIS MOMENT DOING THE PRACTICES OF DRUMMING, OF MINDFULNESS PRACTICES OR EVEN WITH THE SOUNDS, THAT THE PRACTICE IS TRANSFORMATIVE SO WHATEVER THAT IS, IF THEY'RE FEELING ANXIOUS, THAT OVER TIME WITH THOSE PRACTICES THAT THEY BECOME LESS ANXIOUS, THAT IT DOESN'T GO AWAY BUT THE TRIGGERING OF WHATEVER MADE THEM ANXIOUS LESSENS OVER TIME.

>> LORI: THANK YOU.

POLLY, YOU SAID PREVIOUSLY THAT PART OF THE SOLUTION FOR HEALING IS THE NEED TO EMBRACE BOTH SIDE, THOSE WHO WERE HARMED AND THOSE WHO CAUSED THE HARM.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR MANY PEOPLE TO SORT OF WRAP THEIR HEAD AROUND.

HOW DO YOU DO THIS IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T CREATE MORE HARM?

>> THANK YOU FOR ASKING.

I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE SOMETHING THAT LINDA HAD SAID EARLIER.

LINDA TALKED ABOUT HOW OFTEN WHEN THERE'S TRAUMA IN OUR LIVES THAT WE OFTENTIMES WE AREN'T AWARE THAT WE ARE CARRYING THAT TRAUMA AND HOW PART OF SURVIVING IS OFTEN LIVED THROUGH THOSE UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS AND COPING, WHETHER THAT IS ADDICTION, UNHEALTHY ANGER, UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, CONTROL AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS CAN BE PRESENT IN OUR LIVES FROM THE TRAUMA THAT'S ENTERED OUR LIVES.

AND WE END UP TESTING SOME OF THOSE SAME HARMS THROUGH THE NEXT GENERATION AND WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING THAT IT'S HAPPENING.

SO ON AT THE FAMILY WELLNESS WARRIORS WE REALLY GO TO THAT PLACE OF ACKNOWLEDGING THAT PLACE AND ACKNOWLEDGING THAT TO END THE CYCLE OF HARM WE HAVE GOT TO EMBRACE BOTH SIDES, THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HARM AND THOSE WHO CAUSED HARM BECAUSE WE REALIZE THE TRAUMA IS PASSED DOWN AND IT HAPPENS IN GENERATIONAL CYCLES.

MOST OF US WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA AS CHILDREN ON REPEAT THE SAME TRAUMAS AND IT GETS PASSED DOWN.

SO HERE TODAY WE'RE INVOLVING BOTH SIDES AND WE'RE SHOWING THAT INTERGENERATIONAL HEALING IS POSSIBLE AND THAT PEOPLE WHO HARM CAN BE, CAN BECOME A PART OF THAT HEALING BECAUSE I MYSELF, SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCED CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, I GREW IN TO ADULTHOOD AND IN SOME WAYS I PASS THOSE UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS TO MY OWN CHILDREN WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING OUR UNDERSTANDING WHAT WAS HAPPENING.

AND SO FOR ME, I'VE GOT TO EMBRACE BOTH SIDES, THE SIDE THAT HAS HARMED AND THE SIDE WHO HAS BEEN HARMED AND IT'S REALLY EMBRACING THE FULL PICTURE IN ORDER TO HEAL THAT FULL CIRCLE OF INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA.

>> LORI: IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO HEAL IF YOU DON'T FORGIVE.

IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO HEAL WITHOUT FORGIVENESS?

>> WELL, I THINK THAT THAT'S A HUGE PART OF THE HEALING PROCESSES, ACKNOWLEDGING AND ACKNOWLEDGING COMES THROUGH THE SHARING OF OUR STORIES AND UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF OUR STORIES AND THE IMPACT THAT WE HAVE WITH THOSE AROUND US THROUGH OUR RELATIONSHIPS, THE IMPACT WE HAVE WITHIN RELATIONSHIP, HOW WE HAVE BEEN HARMED IN RELATIONSHIP BUT WE ALSO HEAL IN HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP.

>> LORI: THANK YOU.

X'UNEI, YOU SAID EQUITY IS THE ABSENCE OF DISPARATE.

PLEASE DESCRIBE WHAT THAT MEANS AND HOW THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED.

ABSENCE OF DISPARITY.

>> A LOT OF THE WORK THAT SOME OF US DO HERE IN JUNEAU WITH THE AWARE, LIKE IN HAIDA, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA SOUTHEAST, JUNEAU SCHOOL DISTRICT, A LOT OF ANTIRACISM TRAINING.

IT'S A BIT TRICKY THESE DAYS BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S ANTI, ANTIRACISM WORK THAT ALSO GOES ON AND PEOPLE SORT OF SEE ANTIRACISM WORK AS ANTIWHITENESS WORK.

I THINK THERE'S SOME THINGS WE NEED TO SORT OF EXAMINE WITH THAT.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY, WE'RE NOT SAYING LIKE EVERYBODY NEEDS TO GET THE SAME STUFF.

WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS EQUITY IS THE ABSENCE OF DISPARITY.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT THINGS AND YOU SEE THAT THE NUMBERS DON'T LINE UP, THEN YOU HAVE TO SORT OF EXAMINE WHAT COULD BE GOING ON.

ALASKA NATIVES ARE MORE THAN 20% OF THE POPULATION, THAT MEANS NEARLY ONE OUT OF EVERY FOUR ALASKANS IS ALASKA NATIVE, THEN YOU SHOULD SORT OF BE SEEING SIMILAR NUMBERS FOR EXAMPLE IN THE FACULTY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, WHICH IS ABOUT 3 TO 4% ALASKA NATIVE.

THEN YOU SHOULD ALSO BE SEEING, IF YOU LOOK AT GRADUATION RATES, INCARCERATION RATES, WHATEVER SORT OF STATISTIC YOU'RE LOOKING AT TO MEASURE, EITHER THE SUCCESS OR DIFFICULTIES THAT POPULATIONS FACE, THEY SHOULD BE ABOUT THE SAME.

AND IF THEY'RE NOT AND IF THEY'RE PRETTY STEADILY DIFFERENT ACROSS THE BOARD, THEN I THINK YOU HAVE INEQUITY AND THEN YOU HAVE TO DO ANALYSIS OF SYSTEMS AND YOU HAVE TO DO ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIORS AND PRACTICES AND EXPECTATIONS AND YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT STEREOTYPES AND YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF TO SORT OF FIGURE OUT HOW COULD YOU SHIFT AT A FOUNDATIONAL LEVEL, AT A STRUCTURAL LEVEL?

BECAUSE THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE LEARN IN SCHOOL, IF WE LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF THINGS ARE MANDATORY, IF WE LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF THINGS ARE OPTIONAL, WE LOOK AT WHAT TYPES OF THINGS ARE PHASED OUT AS WE GO FURTHER ALONG, BECAUSE THOSE THINGS ARE SEEN AS THE SERIOUS SUBJECTS OR THEY HAVE REQUIRED AND NEEDED SUBJECTS IN ORDER TO HAVE SUCCESS IN THE WORLD, THEN WE HAVE TO SORT OF SAY WELL, ARE THOSE STANDARD INCLUSIVE?

COULD YOU DO ONE YEAR OF ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGES TO GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL?

THAT WOULD BE AMAZING.

COULD YOU PUT THE PLACE NAMES THAT WERE HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS BACK ON TO THE LAND AS OFFICIAL NAMES?

I THINK THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC.

CAN YOU RECOGNIZE THAT PEOPLE'S HOMES WERE BURNED DOWN AND VILLAGES WERE BUILT ON TOP OF THEM AND THEN WHEN NEWS STORIES CAME OUT ABOUT THOSE THINGS THEY MADE FUN OF THE FACT THAT IT HAPPENED.

LIKE COULD YOU IMAGINE IF A FIRE BURNED DOWN BASICALLY AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND WHEN THE NEWSPAPER WROTE ABOUT IT THEY'RE MAKING JOKES ABOUT ROASTING HOT DOGS AND MARSHMALLOWS ON THE BURNING HOMES.

AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR PEOPLE.

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR VILLAGES AND THAT'S WHAT THE MEDIA DID WITH THE INFORMATION.

IT'S A JOKE, IT'S FUNNY, THE DISPLACEMENT OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THEN THE ONGOING SUFFERING THAT WE SEE.

SO THE SUFFERING THAT WE SAW BEFORE I THINK CONTINUES TO ECHO BECAUSE WE COLLECTIVELY FAILED TO EXAMINE IT AND TO SEE HOW COULD ANTI-INDIGENOUS RACISM OF THE PAST TRANSLATE TO THE ANTI-INDIGENOUS RACISM THAT WE SEE RIGHT NOW.

>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE'RE GOING TO WATCH ANOTHER PROFILE.

BUT BEFORE WE DO, I JUST WANT TO REMIND OUR VIEWERS THAT WE ARE LIVE TONIGHT AND YOU SHOULD FEEL FREE TO WEIGH IN WITH YOUR COMMENTS OR YOUR QUESTIONS.

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR OUR GUESTS?

YOU CAN SEND THEM TO ALASKA INSIGHT AT ALASKA PUBLIC.ORG.

OR YOU CAN ALSO DROP THEM IN TO FACEBOOK.

NOW WE'RE GOING TO WATCH ANOTHER PROFILE OF A GROUP OF YOUNG PACIFIC ISLANDERS WHO ARE SUPPORTING EACH OTHER AND USING ONLINE LIFE IN A MORE POSITIVE WAY.

THE PANDEMIC HAS MADE MANY OF US FEEL ISOLATED WITHIN OUR OWN COMMUNITIES, OFTEN LEADING TO SEVERE IMPACTS TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH.

A GROUP CALLED NESIAN LOUNGE FORMED RECENTLY IN ALASKA TO CONNECT YOUNG PACIFIC ISLANDERS WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR THE REVOLUTIONARY ACT OF SHARING FEELINGS.

HERE'S A LOOK AT HOW THEY FORMED SO THEY COULD ADDRESS DIFFICULT TOPICS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.

>> MY NAME IS DASH, I AM A BOARD MEMBER OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY OF ALASKA AND I'M HERE TO REPRESENT NESIAN LOUNGE.

>> [INAUDIBLE] THIS PERSON IS IN THE MILITARY.

>> EVERY OTHER NEWS FEED IS A REST IN PEACE POST, MY PRAYER WARRIORS, PRAY FOR SO AND SO, LITERALLY ALL THE POSTS THAT I SEE ON FACEBOOK WHEN I SCROLL.

AND A LOT OF IT WAS COVID RELATED.

I'M JUST LIKE WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY TO COME TOGETHER?

>> THERE WE GO.

WHAT WE'RE GOING TO START OFF BY DOING, WELCOME, EVERYBODY TO THE NESIAN LOUNGE.

>> WE STARTED OFF AS THREE PEOPLE, THREE YOUNG PEOPLE HAVING CONVERSATIONS OF HOW THERE'S NOT MUCH OF A SPACE WHEN IT COMES TO OUR PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITIES AND INDIVIDUAL, LIKE TO SHARE AND JUST LET OUT THEIR FEELINGS.

IT COMES TO VULNERABLE CONVERSATIONS, SO WE JUST DECIDED LET'S DO IT.

>> HELLO, WELCOME.

>> WE STARTED THE CONVERSATION AROUND COVID AND EVERYBODY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IDENTITY, EVERYBODY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH, LIKE DEPRESSION AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS AND CULTURE.

SO YEAH, WE JUST WENT ALONG WITH IT.

NESIAN LOUNGE IS SPACE FOR PACIFIC ISLANDERS TO JUST LET GO, LET GO OF THINGS.

THAT'S REALLY HEAVY ON YOUR HEART, HEAVY ON YOUR MIND, SO OUR ZOOM CALLS ARE VERY INTIMATE.

A LOT OF TEARS IN A LOT OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I GUESS THAT'S THE NEED FOR ME.

TRAUMA COMES IN SO MANY DIFFERENT FORMS SO IF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE OR IF OUR INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT ADDRESSING IT TO THE WAY THAT'S HEALING, IT'S JUST GOING TO GO DOWN LIKE GENERATION, LIKE GENERATIONAL TRAUMA.

>> I AM SO HAPPY TO BE HERE.

THIS IS MY FIRST NESIAN LOUNGE.

>> THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THESE SPACES TO SHARE AND WE CAN SUPPORT THEM HOWEVER WE CAN, AS MUCH AS WE LOVE TO COME TOGETHER AND LIKE BE IN THE SPACE PHYSICALLY, THIS VISION, WALL WORLD WITH COVID HAS BROUGHT US TOGETHER ON IN A WAY THAT WE NEVER THOUGHT WAS POSSIBLE.

AND THAT'S VERY POWERFUL.

>> THIS IS SUCH A GREAT EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE USING THE INTERNET IN A WAY THAT HELPS BUILD CONNECTIONS RATHER THAN MAKING US FEEL MORE ISOLATED.

HOW DO YOU RECOMMEND MANAGING THAT SO PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY YOUNGER PEOPLE, USE IT IN A HEALTHIER WAY TO AVOID SCREEN ADDICTION AND THE DESPAIR THAT CAN COME FROM THE PERCEPTION THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS HAVING A GRAND TIME WHEN YOU MIGHT NOT BE?

YOU'RE AN EDUCATOR.

WHEN IS THE INTERNET HELPFUL AND WHEN IS IT NOT?

ESPECIALLY IN EDUCATION.

>> WELL, WE HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR YEARS NOW TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE UTILIZE THE INTERNET TO CONNECT FOLKS TO LANGUAGE LEARNING.

SOME OF THE LANGUAGES THAT WE WORK IN HAVE 30 SPEAKERS LEFT, 10 SPEAKERS LEFT, YOU KNOW, 50 SPEAKERS LEFT.

SO THE REALITY IS THERE ARE SEVERAL COMMUNITIES WITH NO SPEAKERS AND THEN WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING ALL OVER.

WE HAVE SOMEONE CALLING IN FROM GUAM TO A LANGUAGE CLASS.

SO AS WE HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE LEARNING WITH US, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP IT REALLY DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE IF WE HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE ONLINE AND FOLKS WHO ARE IN THE ROOM.

AND WHEN THE PANDEMIC REALLY SORT OF PUSHED US IN TO LOCKDOWN, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE MOVE TO MAKE, BUT A DIFFICULT DECISION BECAUSE WHEN WE CAN'T BE AROUND OUR ELDERS WHO ARE OUR TOP NOTCH SPEAKERS OF OUR LANGUAGES, WE HAD TO REACH OUT TO FAMILIES AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY COULD CONNECT.

WE HAD TO GET iPADS OR OTHER SORT OF DEVICES TO OUR ELDERS SO THEY COULD CONNECT.

WE STARTED PARTNERING WITH OTHER GROUPS, LIKE OUTER COAST AND COUNCIL OF TLINGIT AND HAIDA AND HERITAGE INSTITUTE TO SAY WHAT IF WE MADE CLASSES FREE AND AVAILABLE?

WE JUST SEND FOLKS THE LINKS?

SO WE'RE SITTING THERE LAST SUMMER WITH 150 PEOPLE LEARNING A LANGUAGE THAT MIGHT HAVE 30 OR 40 SPEAKERS REMAINING.

SO IT WAS A HEALING THING FOR FOLKS TO HAVE THAT AND TO SAY MAYBE THIS WILL PAUSE MY LIFE FOR A MOMENT AND REALIZE I DO HAVE TIME FOR THIS BECAUSE WHEN IT COMES TO INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES I THINK THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE THAT HELP US, TO GET US TO THINK THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME AND WE DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY.

I WOULD, BUT IF ONLY THIS THING OR THAT THING OR THE OTHER THING.

IT'S HELPFUL TO SET THOSE OTHER DISTRACTIONS ASIDE AND SAY WELL, IF I ACTUALLY JUST SORT OF WENT FOR IT AND I BECAME PART OF THIS LANGUAGE LEARNING AND YOUTH COMMUNITY, THEN IT CAN HELP ME TO TRANSFORM MY IDENTITY IN A POSITIVE WAY AND HELP TO FILL A GAP.

ONE OF OUR ELDERS WHO WENT TO A BOARDING SCHOOL, WHO HAD A HARD TIME WAS VIOLENTLY ATTACKED AND ABUSED BY A TEACHER FOR USING HER LANGUAGE.

SHE TOLD US [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE] NOTHING CAN MEASURE UP TO OUR LANGUAGE.

SO I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN CONNECT AND WE'RE TRYING TO ALSO FIGURE OUT IT CAN'T ALWAYS JUST BE THE SAME THING SITTING THERE AND STUDYING, SITTING THERE AND STUDYING.

HOW CAN WE GET PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR CHAIRS AND HOW CAN WE JUST BUILD THIS SENSE OF COMMUNITY AS FOLKS ARE DOING THIS LIKE-MINDED.

>> LORI: ABSOLUTELY.

LINDA, HOW DO YOU HELP PEOPLE THROUGH PSYCHO THERAPY WHEN THE SYSTEM THAT CREATED IT IS ROOTED IN COLONIAL PRACTICES?

>> TAKING A DECOLONIZE AN ANTIOPPRESSIVE APPROACH TO PSYCHO THERAPY IS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY FELL IN TO BECAUSE OF MY OWN EXPERIENCES OF WANTING TO GET HELP AND YET NOT FEELING COMFORTABLE GETTING HELP WITHIN SYSTEMS THAT ARE SO ROOTED IN EUROCENTRIC APPROACHES.

SO BEING I WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE TO A CLIENT THAT THERE ARE FORCES AND SYSTEMS AND INSTITUTIONS IN SOCIETY THAT ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THEIR EXPERIENCES OF MENTAL WELLNESS, TO BE ABLE TO HELP SOMEONE NAME THE FORCES OF THE PATRIARCHY, THE FORCES OF COLONIZATION, THE FORCES OF TOXIC CAPITALISM, THE FORCES OF RACISM THAT ARE STRUCTURAL.

SO THIS WAY THEY CAN RECOGNIZE TRAUMA ISN'T PTSD HIM IT'S NOT POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.

IT'S PRESENT AND PERVASIVE AND CURRENTS AND INSTITUTIONALIZED AND SYSTEMIC.

AND THAT CAN HELP T ALLEVIATE THAT PERSON FROM THINKING THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME.

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU.

IT'S THE SYSTEMS WITHIN WHICH WE OPERATE.

THE EUROCENTRIC APPROACH TO PSYCHO THERAPY LEND TOWARD THIS NOTION THAT IF YOU DO THE WORK IN THE FOUR WALLS OF MY OFFICE, THEN YOU CAN GO BACK OUT THERE IN TO THE WORLD AND BE HAPPY AND FREE.

WELL, HAPPIER.

HOWEVER, WHAT IF IT'S ACTUALLY THE CONDITIONS OF THE WORLD THAT IS CONTRIBUTING TO LOWER YOUR SELF-ESTEEM?

WHAT IF IT'S MESSAGES IMPLICIT WITHIN THE MEDIA, WITHIN THE SYSTEMS IN WHICH WE LIVE THAT ARE CAUSING FOR US TO ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE ANXIETY THAT IS REAL.

MAYBE PERHAPS AS A MAJOR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL I CAN HELP TO NORMALIZE AND NAME SOME OF THOSE EXPERIENCES SO WE CAN WORK ON THE THINGS THAT WE CAN SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE MORE EFFECTIVENESS AS YOU MOVE THROUGH THE WORLD KNOWING THAT NOT ALL OF IT IS YOU.

>> LORI: THANK YOU.

WE'RE GOING TO WATCH ANOTHER SHORT VIDEO NOW.

THIS HOUR IS GOING BY SO FAST.

WHICH WISH WE HAD TWO HOURS THIS EVENING FOR OUR EXCELLENT PANEL.

ANOTHER AREA OF TRAUMA CAN BE THE FAMILY AND SOCIETAL PRESSURE AGAINST LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLEA NEW FILM PROJECT CALLED DEAR KEN BY INUPIAT AND MEXICAN FILMMAKER ALEXSA SEEKS TO HUMANIZE AND NORMALIZE STORIES OF THEIR PEOPLE TO HIGHLIGHT THE MESSAGE THAT WHOEVER WE ARE, WE'RE ALL OKAY.

>> AS SOMEONE THAT'S QUEER AND ALASKA NATIVE I REALLY CAME FROM NOT REALLY HAVING THAT REPRESENTATION OF SOMEONE THAT'S INDIGENOUS BUT ALSO QUEER AND THEN FEELING KIND OF STUCK IN THESE TWO WORLDS AND NOT EVER FEELING LIKE YOU FIT IN SOMEWHERE.

HEARING THESE MESSAGES FROM ALL DIFFERENT TRIBAL NATIONS THROUGHOUT ALASKA AND WHERE THEY DRAW THEIR STRENGTH FROM, WHAT THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED AND ALMOST LIKE, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS A VIEWER FEELING VALUEDATING AND HEALING ON THE OTHER, VALIDATING AND HEALING ON THE OTHER SIDE TO HAVE SOMEONE THAT CONNECTS WITH YOU IN THAT WAY HAS BEEN A BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE.

>> DEAR KEN, [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE] HELLO, HOW ARE YOU?

MY NAME IS ENGLISH NAME KYE ASH, I IDENTIFY AS NON-BINARY I'M FROM THE LOWER YUKON.

FROM THE AGE OF 10 I HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN I WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER KIDS GROWING UP.

THERE WAS A CERTAIN FLARE COMING FROM WITHIN.

WHEN I WAS TOO CERTAIN ABOUT, SINCE THEN BOTH FAMILY AND FRIEND WOULD FIND OUT I LIKE BOYS.

AT THE AGE OF 12 THAT FEAR BECAME REALITY WHEN I WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH ANOTHER BOY BEHIND A PUBLIC BUILDING.

A GROUP OF KID CAME AROUND AND CAUGHT US WITH OUR PANTS DOWN LITERALLY.

ALL I COULD DO AT THE TIME WAS RUN AWAY AS BEST I COULD.

FAST FORWARD 6, 7 YEARS, I FINALLY DECIDED TO COME OUT AS GAY THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.

AS TIME WENT ON I BEGAN TO SLOWLY BUT SURELY SETTLE IN TO THE WORLD I SET OUT FOR MYSELF WHEN I WAS 10.

I HAVE BECOME MORE AND MORE COMFORTABLE WITH WHO I AM AS A PERSON, WHICH SPARKED IN THE ART OF DRAG AS I GREW OLDER.

IF IT WASN'T FOR DRAG, I WOULDN'T HAVE FURTHER EX-FLOOR RACING.

IN THE ART OF DRAG, THERE'S A NEW PERSONA FOR STAGE FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD.

IT ALLOWED ME TO BE THE PERSON I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE GROWING UP, FEMININE, STRONG, EMOTIONAL, AND SOMEONE ON TO LOOK UP TO.

AFFIRMING AS A DRAG QUEEN MADE ME APPRECIATE MYSELF AT A NEW LEVEL.

WORDS TO THOSE FOR THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE IT WOULD BE THIS: LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOURSELF EVEN ON THE MOST TOUGH DAYS.

THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO WILL VALUE YOU AS A WHOLE AND WILL LOVE YOU UNCONDITIONALLY.

THE PATH AHEAD OF YOU MAY BE DARK AND DEAR DREARY AND THERE MAY BE TIMES WHEN YOU WALK ALONE BUT KEEP IN MIND TO ALWAYS BE STRONG AND MOVE FORWARD.

BE PROUD TO BE TWO SPIRITS, LGBTQ PLUS AND ALASKA NATIVE.

>> LORI: THE VIDEO SERIES WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT THE ANCHORAGE MUSEUM OCTOBER 4.

PART OF THE CLOSING DINE LINE, BE POWED TO BE TWO SPIRITS, BE PROUD TO BE TWO SPIRITS.

CAN YOU REFLECT ON THAT?

THE POWER THAT COMES FROM RECOGNITION AND ACCEPTANCE.

POLLY, WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE MINUTES LEFT.

GIVE ME YOUR ANSWER AND THEN WE'LL GO TO GAIL AND CLOSE OUT.

>> YES, I JUST WANT TO REITERATE THAT POWER OF OUR ON STORY AND BEING CONNECTED TO THE STORY OF OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS.

YOU KNOW, I WAS 27 YEARS OLD WHEN I FIRST HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY STORY IN A SAFE PLACE AND TO UNDERSTAND THAT STORY.

SEVERAL YEARS LATER MY ADOPTIVE MOM WENT THROUGH THIS TRAINING AND SHARED HER STORY AND A YEAR OR TWO LATER AFTER THAT, MY 897-YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER SHARED HER, MY 87-YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER SHARED HER STORY AND SHARED HER HEALING.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT STORIES THEY CHOSE ON TO SHARE.

I JUST KNOW THAT THERE WAS HEALING THERE.

AND IN THAT, THAT'S THREE GENERATIONS OF HEALING.

>> LORI: VERY POWERFUL.

>> FROM STORIES THAT WERE VERY DIFFICULT.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT IN BREAKING CYCLES AND UNDERSTANDING THOSE STORIES AND BEING A HEALTHIER MOM, MY CHILDREN ARE BEING PARENTED BY A MOTHER WHO HAS BROKEN CYCLES AND IS MORE WHOLE ON, RETURNED TO HERSELF VERSION OF HER THAN SHE HAS BEEN BEFORE.

YOUR STORY MATTERS AND YOUR VOICE MATTERS.

>> LORI: IT'S A JOYFUL MESSAGE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THAT WITH US.

GAIL, I WANT TO TURN TO YOU IN OUR LAST MINUTE HERE.

REFLECT ON THE POWER THAT COMES FROM THAT RECOGNITION AND ACCEPTANCE OF WHO YOU ARE.

>> IT'S LETTING GO OF THE LAYER, DOING THE WORK TO LET GO OF WHAT SOCIETY PUTS US, PUTS ON US, THE GENERATIONAL TRAUMA THAT WE EXPERIENCE DOING THE WORK BECAUSE THE ANSWER IS WITHIN US AND WHEN WE PEEL OFF THOSE LAYERS OUR LIGHT SHINES.

WE BECOME WHAT SPEAKS TO OUR HEART, WHAT BRINGS SMILES, WHAT LIGHTS US UP, WHAT GIVES US THAT JOY EVERY MORNING OR DAY.

AND KNOWING THAT OKAY, THIS TOO WILL PASS AND THEN WE CAN MOVE ON AND START ANEW AGAIN.

>> LORI: THANK YOU.

WE DID HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT CAME IN THROUGH FACEBOOK AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET TO THOSE THIS EVENING BUT WE'LL BE FORWARDING THOSE ON TO OUR GUESTS AND HOPEFULLY THEY CAN PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS FOR SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL OF YOU, LINDH YA, POLLY, X'UNEI, GAIL, IT'S A POWERFUL EXPERIENCE AND I HOPE IT BROUGHT SOME COMFORT TO OUR VIEWERS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK YOU DO ON BEHALF OF ALL OF US.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS EVENING, FOR DISCUSSION THAT HOPEFULLY BROUGHT A GLIMPSE OF UNDERSTANDING AND CLARITY TO SOMEONE IN DESPAIR.

PAIN FEELS SO PERSONAL BUT THERE ARE OTHERS WHO MAY KNOW THE SAME TYPE OF STRUGGLE THAT YOU'RE HAVING AND CAN OFFER A HAND OF ASSISTANCE TO GUIDE YOU TO A BETTER PLACE OF LESS STRUGGLE AND INNER TURMOIL.

BECAUSE SURVIVING KEEPS US ALIVE, BUT THRIVING IS THE PATH TO FULFILLMENT AND TRUE HAPPINESS.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN THERE WON'T BE PAIN OR SETBACKS AT TIMES.

WE'RE HUMANS AND SOME DAYS MAY BE FINE, SOME NOT.

EVEN WHEN WE'RE EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY WE WILL STILL HAVE GOOD AND BAD DAYS.

BUT TOGETHER WE CAN MOVE IN TO AN EQUITABLE FUTURE WHERE THOSE GOOD DAYS BECOME THE NORMAL FOR ALL PEOPLE RATHER THAN THE EXCEPTION FOR TOO MANY.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING.

TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF AND CONNECT WITH OTHERS TO SHARE IN THE JOURNEY TOWARD INNER PEACE AND STRENGTH.

THAT'S IT FOR THIS EDITION OF ALASKA INSIGHT.

BE SURE TO TUNE IN DAILY TO YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC RADIO STATION FOR ALASKA MORNING NEWS AND ALASKA NEWS NIGHTLY EVERY WEEKNIGHT.

BE PART OF IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING ON TOPICS ALASKA EVERY TUESDAY MORNING AND VISIT OUR WEB SITE, ALASKA PUBLIC.ORG FOR BREAKING NEWS AND REPORTS FROM ACROSS THE STATE.

WHILE YOU'RE THERE, SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY DIGEST WHERE YOU WON'T MISS ANY OF ALASKA'S TOP STORIES OF THE DAY.

WE'LL BE BACK NEXT FRIDAY.

THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING.

I'M LORI TOWNSEND.

GOOD NIGHT.