Findings

Here are the pictures Pedro and I took during our fast write adventure outdoors.

Game.. I realized how unobservant we are when we are walking outside between classes. Pedro and I just stumbled upon these two by chance. Later Don pointed out their tracks that we completely missed.

Moose poop! We see it everywhere. This was our sign of nature, proof that animals are wandering even if we may not see them all the time.

Pedro got a little creative here with the garbage found outside. People are so lazy sometimes. I´m pretty sure there was a garbage can no more than 50 ft away. Sad

Last but not least here we have nature fighting back. No matter how many times we make our concrete paths to cover up the grasses/weeds/moss, nature will find a way to seep through the cracks.

Taboo

                 Yesterday I was watching the show Taboo on National Geographic. I found this episode particularly interesting because we have talked about these leaver people before. This episode was about the Maori people of New Zealand. There was a women, descendant of the Maori people who decided to get her moko, a tattoo associated with the Maori people. As you can see from the picture above, moko is a marking on the lips and chin on women. On men it can take over the entire face or many other places on the body. This is considered a taboo since people in our culture tends to make assumptions about others who have look different, in this case, have tattoos.
                  I really admired this girl for going through with the process and not caring what anyone else thought. In Maori culture it was a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, even a sign of beauty to attract the opposite sex, and she was honoring her ancestral culture. It´s funny to me that there are so many taboos within our culture. I´m guilty of judging people based on things like piercings, tattoos, etc. I don´t do it intentionally but I think the taker culture instills in us certain norms.
                 This show is pretty awesome to watch and definitely brings some new insight to different cultures that we can´t understand due to their distinct beliefs and normal practices. I recommend you all check it out :) Let me know if you see any cool episodes.

Is our lifestyle really easier??

                                                                                2010                  

           A couple of weeks ago we were told to hunt in the AK section of the library. We were on a mission to find a couple pieces of evidence that show how the life of the Leavers, in our case the AK natives, is in fact much easier than our way of life. As I was searching the books of he history and culture of the AK natives I found something that really stood out to me.
           I don´t know about you all but I´ve always had a problem with the ever changing trends in fashion in our taker culture. Ever year we have new shoes, new tops, new hair styles etc. I remember when I was little and cordoroy was "in", then jeans (but not just any jeans, they had to be boot cut), then flare pants (almost bellbottom style) were the new thing, closer to the 2000´s skinny jeans started to turn into what everyone was wearing. Nowaday I believe the new hot style is jeggins :/ (leggins/jeans). Who can keep up! I know some people who care enough to change their wardrobe with this wave of trends but I find it exhausting, unnecessary, and expensive.
            In all the books that I saw in the Alaska native section I noticed that most wore traditional clothing made by their mothers, sisters, or grandparent. Not only did they wear these but they took pride in the fact that they had this skill. I believe this way of life would be so much easier. They still have individuality but they don´t have the pressure to change their looks for aesthetic reasons, they are practical.

         Another aspect of the Alaskan Native leaver culture that I found astounding was their main focus in their every day life. The most essential need they had was survival: food and shelter. Although this may seem harsh to some I believe that if we knew how to survive in that environment we would be set. There are many skills needed to survive but they have a whole village to back them up. If my family were in trouble in this culture, we wouldn´t even have willing neighbors to help us out, let alone an entire culdesac. I feel that we in this taker culture always have something to worry about: bills, taxes, food, clothes, gas, etc. Wouldn´t it be nice if our main priority was just feeding ourselves and our village.
           Next time we hear someone say that the leaver way of life is so harsh and difficult we have to re-think the definitions. I believe that we have a very hard way of life and maybe we as students still don´t feel the impact of having to be independent and live on our own. Living with my parents and still being supported by them I know that I have only a small concept of  what "the real world" of our taker culture feels like.