The Way of the Human Being

 Matthew R. Berry

Critical Geography

14OCT2020

Professor Simpson

Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being Response

Harold Napoleon wrote Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being from an imprisoned state for an alcohol related-incident. He does not go into much detail about his own anguish, and focuses on the physical, mental, and spiritual anguish that his people, the Yup'ik, have suffered from in the past generations due to a myriad of different reasons. He writes clear and concise, repeating instances that are obviously extraordinarily painful to write about. He considers the afflictions that plague his people to not necessarily be of the physical mind and world, but an affliction of the spirit brought about through systemic destruction of his culture by means of disease and settler colonialism. This was a pretty difficult read for me on more than one level. I connected on a personal level with Napoleon's introspections into veteran PTSD and the pain they feel. I've seen friends of mine fall into deep, dark places, where violence, drugs, and alcohol are the means to fix the spiritual anguish they feel. For the Yup'ik, this pain is intergenerational, brought about through settler colonialist mentalities and white supremacy that have permeated since the devastating disease outbreaks in the early part of the 20th Century. The destruction of their culture has left them "shell-shocked," and similar to soldiers in Vietnam unable to recognize the world they live in. The difference is that this combat fatigue is perpetuated by systems of oppression in the United States that have changed the mindset of an entire people and follow the objectives of settler colonialism: "to destroy to replace," (Wolfe 2007).

Napoleon lays out important steps that could be taken by other leaders in the community to help bring some reprieve to the intergenerational trauma and pain. Napoleon highlights the fact that Congress has time and time again not been able to successfully help their peoples and thus it is up to the individuals in the community and tribe to work as a team to rectify their own pain. Congress can help out, no less, by: "affirming, by law, what is now reality: Alaska Native people are legally Indians, and as such fall under the special protections of the U.S. Constitution and Federal Indian Law. Congress can reaffirm Alaska Natives inherent right to self-governance under whatever democratic form that government may take." (P. 30) Furthermore, Napoleon underlines the crucial fact that in order for these actions to be successful, the importance of changing the mindset from settler colonialist to a different mindset is paramount. He says, "Yes, the Congress and the American people can help the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Indians to become free, self-supporting Americans, but they must realize that Native people can only do this in their own way, as Eskimos, Aleuts, and Indians. To continue to assimilate them, to continue to keep them as pets unable to care for themselves, to continue to attempt to remake them into anything else but what they are, is to commit slow cultural genocide." (P. 32)

What are some recent updates on the Yup'ik and other Alaska Native tribes since the time of the writing in 1996?

Have there been any headways made towards helping Napoleon and his peoples?

Has Congress done any of what Napoleon suggested?

Has the State of Alaska done any of what Napoleon suggested?

How does this connect to larger issues of capitalism?

How would climate change add to this generational trauma?