[Waves lapping the shore]
[Music: A single drum being hit]
[Music: Drumming and Singing in Dena'ina]
Narrator: Our ancestors survived in some of the harshest environmental conditions.
And developed an interrelated knowledge system that instilled expertise and
skills for their survival.
Our ancestors also thrived in this environment.
A vital part of this system revolved around health and well-being
through direct relationship with the EÅnena (Earth).
Dena'ina is part of the northern Athabascan culture.
We are of Dena' ina descent and our ancestors have lived in the Qizhjeh Vena ("place where people gathered lake"/Lake Clark) area for thousands of years.
Qizhjeh (Kijik) is the resting place of our ancestors. We feel the sacredness of this place when we are there .
Quk' Taz'un Outdoor Learning Camp is held at our ancestral home of Qizhjeh.
Qizhjeh is a sacred place that represents
a life way before outsiders came into the region, and a crossroads for change.
Although the changes were positive in many ways, these changes also suppressed
and replaced a cultural knowledge system and life way. This has instilled a sense
of dis-empowerment which has been passed down generationally. We have coped with
the symptoms of this pain in many ways including a high rate of alcoholism and
drug abuse. Through healing we take ownership of who we are and reconnect
with our own inner strength. Learning from and honoring the knowledge of our
ancestors as well as incorporating new techniques
the Quk' Taz'un Outdoor Learning Camp was created to support a safe environment
that offers tools for well-being and promotes a relationship with the EÅnena
for the younger generation.
[Waves lapping the shore]
[Music : A single drum beat]
Karen Evanoff: I'm very excited about the camp and how well it's going this year,
this is our first year having the camp, and excited about the 12 students that are here.
Quk' Taz'un meaning "the Sun is rising". I feel like our students, to me, I
see them as the Sun rising, as young leaders.
Ada Trefon: It's very important that you
learn about Kijik because this is where we originally came from.
It's very important that you learn about yourself and your people.
Pauline Hobson: To learn our culture,
language, to preserve it. We want you as the younger generation to remember what you have learned
in Dena' ina and to pass it on to the younger generation.
Anthony Trefon: I think Quk' Taz'un camp is good. It's a good learning opportunity. And it's fun.
Clarence Harried: My favorite part is the talking circle. Archaeology is pretty cool and you know.
I want to go to it because you can find some ancient stuff there in the ground learn about the past.
Anthony Trefon: I think it's important that us younger people
are learning from the elders about our Dena'ina culture.
Velma Balluta: I would tell other kids how our ancestors, how they make birch baskets, how they make medicine
or drink tea, or making homemade scrubs, and getting water and how to catch fish and get a lot of food for the winter and summer.
Harley Trefon: I would recommend the camp to other kids because they would learn new things and learn how
to keep the planet clean and how to survive in the wilderness.
I enjoyed yoga because it helped me clear my mind and focus on one thing.
Tristan Evanoff-Stickman: I like making the knives, fish cutting knives and
hiking back to the research house because I'm really curious what we'll find under the ground.
Well we found a can shaped like a spoon, so we think
somebody tried to make a spoon out of a can, because that's what it looked like.
Well we used a metal detector and we found seven places, so we digged up one.
It took about three hours.
Dave McMahan: I'm an archaeologist and I love working with young people
to explain to them why we do archaeology and what it can tell us.
I've been working with Randy and others to do
archaeological survey. It's great to be able to take some of you folks out to
show you the homes of your ancestors.
Jayden Evanoff: I like it a lot and I like having a lot of fun.
And the classes are very educational. My favorite class is going with Randy
up to the ancestor house up by Evil Creek.
The priest put everybody in the water
because they wanted to get baptized to Russian Orthodox Church. And he did, and
an evil monster made a scary noise in the middle of the night. And then the
creek dried up and never flowed again.
Darius Harried: My favorite thing that I've done so far at
camp was the Dena'ina language. I think that is very important to start, for kids
to start learning because kids aren't really getting into that anymore.
And if we don't start getting into that, then it's just gonna go away.
Karen Evanoff: The language is very important. The language is the foundation of our culture.
And a lot of our language revolves around our land and nature, and it helps,
our language helps us to see the world different. It's vital that we all work
together to preserve our language. That we utilize the elders and fluent speakers
we have to continue and pass on to future generations.
Darius Harried: I know a little bit here and there, but I'm still trying to get fluent at it. I hope some day that
I'd be a fluent speaker in the Dena'ina language.
Michelle Ravenmoon: I think the Quk' Taz'un camp is really important because it gets young people out in the wilderness
and it helps us gather together elders, teachers, instructors out in a magical
place such as Kijik. A historical place where we can learn about our culture.
We can learn about our history through archaeology and anthropology. And we
can learn about each other and how to work as a team.
And just spending time outdoors is really important, so for all those reasons
I think the Quk' Taz'un is a good camp.
Karen Evanoff: What's been really important to me, and what I've been learning more about, is
the meaning, and I think sometimes we overlook the meaning, of parts of our
culture. Like listening to Helen from Lime Village telling a story and talking
to the students the other day. She talked about, especially in the evening, she said
even the trees could hear because everything has a spirit. And so the
meaning in everything we do, I think, is really important. Because it provides
guidance for us and it provides discipline and it helps us to be strong.
And it also helps us to develop roots in growing into leaders.
[Waves lapping the shore]
Dave McMahan: I think it's extremely important. I think young people need to know their
roots and where they came from, to help guide them to the future.
Ada Trefon: The language, respect and where you came from, it's very important because this is where we started from.
Butch Hobson: Yes it is. The young people can learn and this place is good place here, because this is an old site.
It's where the people used to live a long time go.
Karen Evanoff: What we would like to provide for the youth, is to help them be good leaders and well and healthy for future generations.
Michelle Ravenmoon: Being here makes me very happy. It makes me feel very peaceful.
And seeing the students out here, and enjoying themselves, and having fun,
it gives me so much happiness. I'm very grateful to be here.
Harley Trefon: The way I would support the camp in the future is, keep it clean and
help teach new things and learn new things from different people from different villages.
Jayden Evanoff: They need cabins, because the tents leak when it rains.
Dave McMahan: I think it's a wonderful experience. This is the best time I've had in a long long time .
Darius Harried: I really like this camp. And I want it to, I want to see it keep going, keep going on in the future.
Max Chikalusion: Healing yourself is a, something like, you guys
are doing here at this camp here. The same thing you know that you guys
are healing yourself. The days you guys been here, maybe three or four days, you
guys feel some things that you guys were dealing with in here.
And laughing, going, expressing it and so that's real important.
Butch Hobson: You guys are doing a good job. I hope you guys just keep on doing this, every year now.
Pauline Hobson: We think of healing. It's very important to heal. And be proud of who we
are, as a Dena'ina. Dena'ina eshlan shida (I am Dena'ina). I want you to be proud of that.
[Music: Drums and Singing]
Karen Evanoff: It's been exciting to see the kids and how much they've learned and how much
they've contributed to make this camp a success. And I see a lot of
future leaders in our kids and I feel like this is just the start.
We had some tears. We talked about healing and how much our people need to
heal. And how important wellness is. And we talked about how our elders three
years ago, there were 30 elders who gathered and they said the most
important thing for our people is that we start healing together. So we talked
about that with these kids. And they were brave enough to share, some of them, and
they supported each other. So they all deserve a big hand for what they've done this week.
[Clapping and Cheers]
[Music: Singing in Dena'ina]
[Music]