Poet Bob Holman arrived in Juneau, Alaska September 16, the first stop on a month-long tour of Alaska to raise awareness of the importance of language revitalization. When his trek across Alaska concluded October 18, Holman had visited Juneau, Kotzebue, Barrow, Arctic Village, Fort Yukon, Fairbanks, Homer, Kodiak and Anchorage.
Poetry slam at Effie Kokrine Charter School
On his many stops he screened his documentary film “Language Matters.” The film was shot around the world, focusing on language revitalization efforts in Australia, Wales and Hawaii. It is a moving and hopeful document of a familiar history among endangered languages. Screenings in the Interior were held in Arctic Village, Fort Yukon and at Schaible Auditorium at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) on October 1.
Doyon Foundation and the Alaska Native Language Center supported Holman’s visit to the Interior, where he also conducted poetry slam workshops and performances at Effie Kokrine Charter School and Golden Heart Academy at Fairbanks Youth Facility. While in Fairbanks he visited Diiginjik K’yaa Ch’at’oh, a new Gwich’in language immersion nest for children begun by a group of parents wanting their children to speak their ancestral language. Holman also sat in with the Takudh Singers as they practiced to hold a Takudh Holy Communion service in Fort Yukon. Holman documented his journey around Alaska on Facebook, and posted podcasts, including one from Arctic Village.
Bob Holman with Golden Heart Academy instructors Mike Shay & Nicole O’Donnell
Gwich’in instructor Joel Tritt with class
We hope that Holman will return in the near future to film a sequel of “Language Matters,” in which the story of Alaska Native language revitalization can be shared. Holman was especially impressed with the fact that all 20 Alaska Native languages, including Eyak (which no one currently speaks), have been made official languages of Alaska. The story of how this legislation was passed is as compelling a story as any from around the world, and it should be known by people far and wide.
We wish Holman well on his continued journey. “Gwiinzii adak’aantii jya’ ts’a’ niiyut kwaa neenarahaan’yaa. Take good care friend, and we will see you again soon.” – Allan Hayton
Poems composed by students of Golden Heart Academy at Fairbanks Youth Facility.
No Man’s Land
When we got close enough
we could see the
tree line of No Man’s Land
almost in a straight line.
Remembering the old stories
my grandma told me.
Smelling the fresh caribou
as we got closer,
me and my brother and my
girlfriend started
walking up the mountains towards
the caribou. We all
stopped and fixed us some
lunch sitting on the
soft tundra grounds of the arctic,
picking berries, waiting to
gain our strength back from our
rough 3 mile hike up the
mountains of the No Man’s Land. We
pitched our tent, picking
them fresh ripe blueberries,
waiting for our parents
to bring us fuel as we ran out of
Waiting to go home, we finally
started on our 20
miles back home to our soft
beds with a sled load
of fresh caribou meat for
my mother.
~Anonymous
