Publisher's Synopsis
In writing this book about the origins and traditional wisdom of his people, Ilarion Merculieff felt compelled "to break with the conventional wisdom and consciousness," and "to deal with the fact that we are at the edge of human survivability. We cannot think our way out of the challenges we are now facing, we must go to the heart for answers." Born and raised on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea, Merculieff seeks to demonstrate how, for thousands of years, the Unangan people of the Aleutian Islands survived harsh environmental conditions to thrive with rich traditions of art, dance, music, storytelling, ceremonies, rituals, science and technology. They accomplished this because they were "real human beings" who lived in the present moment and in their hearts. This astonishing story, filled with trials, tribulations, humor, grief, horror, wisdom, and love, will capture the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life. Coming from a people that, like the Jews, had their holocaust; like the African Americans, were enslaved -- at the hands of the U.S. Government; and like the Japanese Americans, were interned, Ilarion Merculieff tells his story without hatred, anger, or rage for what he and his people went through and what he learned and applied from this experience. Merculieff, traditionally named Kuuyux (a messenger from ancient times to modern), tells of the compassion of Indigenous Elders and his people and how this way has guided him in his work and life. The message that he brings is that the heart is the place where a being is in constant communication with "all that is." From this great sense of connection to everything "our laws for living grew, as did our natural laws, and our spiritual instructions."
