Back Home

I arrived back home yesterday from Alaska.  The last few days I was there, I didn't have great internet access, so I wasn't able to blog.

Overall, it was a good trip. I learned a lot - some in casual conversation with my cousin and with others so I didn't write it down (but maybe that's best as it was political) - and had four good interviews.  I went to Unalakleet, a place I had never visited before.  I have to say that this village (around 842 people) was, on the whole, fairly healthy compared to a couple of other villages I've been in.   There was a lot of construction going on - they were building a seawall (in case of coastal erosion) and paving the roads. Lots of people were fishing, for themselves and when they got enough for themselves, they also did some commercial fishing.  People were berry picking, too.  Blueberries and salmonberries (also known as cloud berries).  Nome had lots of blueberries, too, but hardly any salmonberries. 

The people in Unalakleet were very friendly, too. I went to the Peace on Earth pizza place for dinner on my first night, and while walking home, a lady (D.) on a 4-wheeler stopped and said, "are you Deanna?" and I said "Yes I was" and she said that someone on facebook told her to say hi to me.  Then, D. said,  "Do you want to come to my house?  I'm going to have dry fish, seal oil, and sura (willow leaves)."  Even though I already ate, I said, "Sure!"  I'm not stupid, you never turn down niqipiaq (Eskimo food or "real food") when it's offered to you.

D. spoiled me.  We ate dried salmon (humpies), miziGaq (seal oil) sura, tugiyuq (sea lovage), masu (Eskimo potato), plus maktak (whale blubber, which I never got used to) and a couple of other things. Mmmm mmmm good!

It was really nice visiting with D.  She talked to a lot of elder ladies about skin sewing and is trying to pass this skill down to the younger generations. She is also really interested in archival documents and photographs - she had even heard of Father Bernard Hubbard, the "Glacier Priest", who took lots of pictures on King Island and about 20 hours of film, from 1937-38. 

The next day, I went to Peace on Earth (free wirelesss internet) for lunch and then I got hold of an elder to interview - she brought me some dry fish, too.  At Peace on Earth, about 12 military guys were waiting for their pizza - Air Force, Army, and National Guard troops, who were doing some training, I think, in their helicopters.  They flew in for pizza and then wanted to fish a little bit before moving on.  (I thought it was ironic to be sitting at a place called "Peace on Earth" with military guys.)

After the interview with the elder, I went to D.'s for dinner - she prepared fresh caught trout and also king salmon and halibut, with a salad, andfresh baked bread.  Yum!!


The next day, I was to have an early morning interview, but I think my interviewee forgot.  I went back to bed to sleep in.  I've been sleeping a lot - I think the pain meds make me drowsy. After lunch, I interviewed another board member and then went to visit the President of Bering Straits Native Corporation - who then invited me over for dinner. 


Both talks went well, then I went to dinner and afterwards, T. (the President) and his wife (R.) took me for a drive on the only roads around Unalakleet.  That was cool.  Saw where there used to be an old Air Force base, that was decommissioned in 1984 (? or was it 1976?).  There was a nice view down into the Unalakleet valley. 


The next morning, I visited T. again - got a second more substantial breakfast - and then back to D.'s house to pick up dry fish (she wanted to send me home with some).  Then, I flew back to Anchorage.


The only thing that marred my trip was the pain and/or nausea that I had.  I started a pain medication just prior to my trip - the swollen lymph nodes under my left armpit started giving me constant pain - and for a day or so, I ended up with nausea, just prior to flying to Unalakleet.   I think I had too much caffeine (diet pepsi) and maybe not enough food.  I started getting nauseous on Monday afternoon (had visited an elder whose house reeked of cigarette smoke) and I couldn't shake it the whole rest of Monday and even the next morning, I felt nauseous.  So, I made sure I ate lots of bread, less caffeine, and then was able to fly to Unalakleet.


But by Thursday/Friday, the pain pills weren't working as well.  I would take one and it would work until about 5 hours after taking it - I could take it every 6 hours.  But I started feeling constant pain about an hour after taking it.   By the time my cousin picked me up in Anchorage, the pain was really bothering me, so after dinner, she took me to  the Alaska Native Medical Center's Emergency Room.  In the end, they said I could double my dose of the pain medication, Ultram (tramadol) (or start taking a narcotic) and I could take Tylenol in-between times if I needed it. 


I had an early flight home on Saturday - I felt okay, just tired, so I slept most of the trip.  Made sure I ate breakfast.  But by the time my folks picked me up, I was nauseous again from the pain pills.


I spent most of my time yesterday resting, dozing, and just eating small amounts.  The nausea is mostly gone as long as I keep some food in my belly.  I slept about 9 hours last night and then got up and had breakfast.  I picked up my son from his dad's (yay - soooo good to see him!  I really missed him!!) this morning.  But now I'm tired again. 


I think with the pain pills that I need to take a double dose, then six hours later, a single dose, then a double, then a single.  For now, that seems to work.  The double dose keeps the pain away and then the single dose kinda keeps it away but I get less nausea. 


I'm supposed to have Herceptin tomorrow, but I think that that triggered the increased pain, so I'm going to cancel tomorrow until I see Dr. K on Tuesday.  I'm already tired of the pain.  The swelling isn't going down. Something's got to give . . .

In Alaska

After a busy couple of days, I arrived in Alaska last night. I am staying with one of my cousins (there are or were 43 of us; several have passed away) and her son (C. And E.). We have already had some good talks and this evening, we visited with Teddy and Iviana, two of the elders in my community. I had to ask them about bird songs and greetings, but we also heard a lot of other stories.

This afternoon, we had lunch with our other cousin, Toni, and her kids. Then I took Toni and her kids shopping.

So it was a busy day!

As for the new symptom, the swollen groin, my oncologist felt that it was mostly due to the t-cell infusions. I think it might also have to do with the heat because The swelling has gone down some since I arrived in Alaska. Just in case, he gave me an antibiotic, in case the swollen nodes in my armpit have a secondary infection (I had a low-lying fever). He also gave me a prescription for a mild pain pill that kinda makes me tired. The pain pills have helped me sleep the last two nights.

So, I am busy. Everyone wants to know where Eddie and my mom are, but I couldn't afford to bring them with me this time.

Well, off to bed. I am tired!

AFN - the Alaska Federation of Natives

Whew. AFN is certainly a whirlwind. Lots of fun. Got some work done on all three projects - maybe not as much as I'd like, but I met lots of people. Did some observation. Saw some rellies (relatives). Ate "nigipiaq" (real food or Eskimo food).

Actually, y'all might want to hear what we ate one night: dried salmon, half-dried salmon, smoked salmon, seal oil, sura (willow), crab legs, tugayuq (wild celery), and alluk (salmonberries, blackberries, and raspberries mixed with reindeer fat and seal oil). It was mmm mmm good!!!!!

I think I've been full the whole time I've been here.

Good times, good food, good company, tried to meet other people to interview for one of my projects. That's tough. I'd have to just go up to someone and start talking to them, then introduce the topic, and then ask if I could interview them. Hard work, especially for me since I'm innately shy.

Whew, again. I enjoyed it, though. Saw former professors, saw cousins and aunties, meet other Native scholars and artists and a politician or two.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love my job!!

On my way home tomorrow. The time was both too long and too short. Too long since Spagedward stayed home but too short because there was so much more I wanted to do!!!

Have a good Sunday everyone.

Anchorage, Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Whew. What a busy couple of days! Yesterday, Eddie and I and my folks went to Bauman Farms in Gervais - and he had a ball. Then, we had dinner at Heather and Kevin's house - good dinner and good company. (Thanks, guys!)

Today, I had to: get cash, put gas in the car, get Japanese food treats for Eddie's country report, get my chai, drop off a suitcase for mom, pick up a form at Parks & Rec for volleyball, get Cheez-its at the store for Eddie, come back home to get cooked spaghetti for Eddie's science project, and then go to work and gather materials I need for my trip, then I watched Eddie's oral report on Japan, then lunch with a colleague, then back to the office to copy off some forms for my trip and then bring stuff home, then to pick up a friend of Eddie's for a playdate, then I brought him home, took Eddie to K-Mart so my folks could babysit him so I could do qigong. Now, I'm home again and still need to pack and do dishes and take out the garbage.

Whew. Again. Just finished eating dinner (leftovers from my folks) and am watching Field of Dreams while I blog. But I need to pack still. So, signing off!

Tomorrow, I pick up A., R. (two students), and my mom after I drop Eddie off at school. Then, we head to Portland; mom will visit with her cousin and the two students will go to Powell's while I go to the Tribal Museums Conference at the Red Lion Inn Columbia River in Portland. Then, about 3:30 or so, we head to the airport to catch our plane to Anchorage. We land about 8:45pm . . . we are attending the Alaska Federation of Natives convention - I need to do some interviews and also demonstrate the King Island interactive map. I come back home on Sunday.

It'll be a good trip. I'm gonna miss Edward Spagedward, though, as he's staying home so he can do his Jogathon.

Have a good week everyone!

PS I'm feeling better.

Safely in Nome

Yay! We finally made it to Nome. We left Eugene at 6:40am (after leaving my house about 4:30am) and got into Nome about 8pm (9pm Oregon time). So, yes, 13 1/2 hours later . . . I'm back! I haven't been to Nome for 2 1/2 years. I've really missed it.

The good news is that not a lot has changed. My cousin Toni's house is relatively the same. The people I know here have not changed their phone numbers so it was easy to get into the groove to let people know that I'm here.

Everyone seems happy to hear from us. I'm happy to talk to them all again.

We had a good visit with Becky today and a really brief one with her daughter, Barbie, and kids.

We're relaxing at Toni's tonight - she and her family went to camp so we have her house to ourselves.

Tomorrow, we will go to camp in the afternoon - it'll take about an hour and a half to get there (with an arrival around 3pm), but since it doesn't get really get dark at night - it might be dusk-like from about 2am to 5am - we won't feel like we have to get home before dark! In fact, it's 10:30pm right now and it's as light out as if it were about 6 or 7pm at home.

One change was that Toni and her husband put blinds up in the room that we use when we're here. Last time, there were no currents, so even in the middle of the night, the light was getting in.

It's feeling a bit like it was in 2005 and 2006 when everyone gathered together for the King Island placenames project. That project was one of the best things I've ever done - it was surely one of the hardest, but in the end, it will be worth it. That same feeling of excitement is there now - maybe not to the same extent, but just getting to see people is fun.

Well, I really need to get to bed. I'm bushed! Have a great week-end everyone!

Getting Ready to Go to Alaska

Hello everyone!
This will be just a quick post as I have a lot I'd like to try to do today to get ready for my trip to Alaska. Still got to pack and do several other errands!

I'm doing well - I've upped my Xeloda dose up to 2/day beginning on Wednesday the 15th.. Not experiencing much in the way of side effects now. I think my body's gotten used to it and/or my "attitude adjustment" (welcoming what it does) has helped. I'm glad I gave myself a week-end off and then started it over again.

Went to my friend's pool on Wednesday evening and then we grilled burgers for dinner.

Went blueberry picking yesterday morning, Scott and I then ran an errand, and then Eddie, my folks, Scott, and I went to Alsea Falls. It was a beautiful, if hot, day.

Running errands with Eddie today, then to my office to pick up some things, then back home to pack and do several other things like prepare Eddie's invitations for his birthday party.

Have a great day!

We leave at 6:40am tomorrow out of Eugene and land in Nome at 8:10pm. A long day, but worth it. Aunt Becky picks us up at Anchorage for lunch - we have a 5 hour layover. Toni will pick us up from Nome. Yay!

Week-end Update

I keep forgetting to let folks know . . . I saw Dr. Kenyon on Friday and we looked at the CT scan and compared it to the one from April and I indeed saw the larger spots on the lungs.

We actually didn't talk about much. He asked what side effects I experienced on Xeloda and on Tykerb. In the end, he thought that I should go back on the full dose of Tykerb and as much of the Xeloda as is comfortable. I'll get another CT scan in three months. In the meantime, we'll monitor the tumor markers and the lymph node under my left armpit.

I took one Xeloda after lunch every day from Tuesday to Friday. I felt slightly nauseous and slightly dizzy every time, within an hour to two afterwards. I also get moodier - the nauseousness is frustrating. I also got pretty mad at Scott on Thursday night - it was a minor thing but I realized the next day that the anger was misdirected. I am angry about the cancer and there was also a couple of things going on at work that were annoying. Scott, unfortunately, got the brunt of it.

I also do feel more tired on the full dose of Tykerb.

My hot flashes are a bit worse.

So, I decided that I'd give myself a little vacation from Xeloda on the week-ends.

I had a busy day today. Went to the library book sale - Mom found a book called "Spaghetti Eddie" which fits Eddie perfectly - then grocery shopping, then back home and packed up to go to a former student's daughter's three-year birthday party (holy cow - how time flies!), then Scott, Eddie, and I went to the Philomath Frolic. Eddie got to ride the rides - we went into the Fun House with him and then Scott rode the Yo-yo with him twice. It was a bit chilly (high 60s, maybe 70) at the birthday party - it was outside at a park - and then by the time we got to the Frolic, the sun came out and it was quite pleasant.

I meant to invite Eddie's cousin over to stay the night, but time got away from me. By the time we got home to have dinner, I was tired. Scott is tired. So, we're all just taking it easy.

I took Eddie to the pool yesterday. I even got in myself.

I saw my plastic surgeon's wife who is a nurse on Thursday. She gave me another laser treatment to the TRAM flap scar which is kinda thick (about 1/4 inch) and feels like a cord. Then, Friday, I talked to his nurse on Friday about getting a tattoo for the areola/nipple. Basically, everything's healed up enough to do this. So, I may do this in mid to late September . . . I would like to maybe get a tattoo on part of the TRAM flap scar, but they say to wait until about a year after surgery.

So, I've been trying to take it easy - both last night and tonight. I colored mandalas both nights.

The plan is in motion. We'll see what happens next month. Although I don't like taking Xeloda, the fact that I experience side effects means that it's doing something. I choose to believe that it's doing what it's made to do - kill those flippin' cancer cells.

In one week, I'll be in Alaska! Yay! I saw several people who worked with me on the King Island project today and several of us get to go back at the same time. We're all excited! It will be soooo neat to be back among many of my cousins and other relatives! My mom is excited as well.

And, oh yeah, an OSU student that I knew from the Longhouse was at the birthday party today with her little one-year-old boy. I went to his birthday party a few weeks ago . . . and held him a lot and fed him apple cake. The week before his birthday, I got to hold him again during a baby shower. Today, he came right to me - he kept wanting me to get a balloon for him. Later I took him the park. Then, it was time for me to go and the little guy didn't want me to leave! His mom was holding him and then he held his hands out to me and then cried when I didn't take him! He's such a cutie - just adorable, big brown eyes, big eye lashes, and lots of hair.

It's nice to be wanted by such a little cutie! : )

Home Again

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to blog this past week ... it was a busy one! Fairly successful, too, even if I do say so myself. Yesterday, after packing and checking out of the hotel, Teddy (King Island elder), Larry (our linguist), and I worked on placenames for about four hours. We double-checked spellings, duplications, translations, and some locations. We each were working off of several lists. It got confusing at times, but in the end, I think we have a "near final" version. I say "near final" because I think this placename list will ever evolve, depending upon input from others. I need to make changes to the spreadsheet this week and will send it to the rest of the research team.

I showed the proposed web design on Friday evening for our interactive map to a few community members: Teddy, Agnes, Becky, Joe, Aleta, Rudy, Clara, Grace, Cindy, mom, Grace's son Kian, Eddie, and my grad student, Danielle. All thought it was a great design and are anxious to see the "final" result up and running, which might not be until summer. I received some feedback, the most important of which was to make sure that I copyright it to the King Island Native Community and that I put a copy of our Intellectual and Cultural Property Rights statement with the map.

On Friday morning, I saw Matt Ganley, the guy who is creating our photo-map. He said he would try to get something to me soon. If I don't, I am instructed by him to "keep kicking me in the butt" to get it. If other King Islanders want to help me "kick his but", please feel free to do so!

Community member, Jimmy, made a couple of ivory beads for me to give to Scott - he wanted one for his pierced ear. Jimmy, ever the joker, told me that he was only going to charge me $30 and that he gave me a $100 discount. He knows he owes me. Can't tell what he owes me - but I thought I'd just say he owes me anyway.

I sat and listened to a session about the energy crisis in rural Alaska on Friday morning. Turns out that many rural (mainly Alaska Native) communities are experiencing a rather large out-migration due to high energy costs. One person, Orville Huntington of Huslia, mentioned that he spent $950 for two barrels (I think they were 50-gallons each) of oil for heating which would probably last two months. Other people from other rural communities, including the Bering Straits Native Corp, are turning to alternative energy sources. BSNC has recently turned on 18 small wind turbines to help with the energy costs. Charlene, the King Island Native Community coordinator, reported that King Island has installed a small wind turbine on our King Island community building which will basically take care of the heating in that building - she reported that it cost KINC $3000 every two months. Another community, Kwethluk, had to have emergency fuel flown in because the ice froze up, preventing the barge from delivering the oil. One person mentioned that in the wake of contact with westerners (i.e., Euroamericans), Alaska Natives started building houses above ground . . . which lose a lot of heat compared to the semisubterranean houses most communities used to have.

I would also state that the Anchorage Daily News has been doing a great job reporting on Sarah Palin. Larry, our linguist, stated that a lot of Alaskans are finding out more about her actions since she was tapped to be McCain's running mate - and what they are finding out about what she's done hasn't really gone over very well, in general. She had a tape-recorded message at the Alaska Federation of Natives on Thursday in which she promised to create a "subcabinet" for rural affairs. This idea received a rather cool reaction from AFN - they want an emergency task force created - not an extra layer of bureaucracy once removed from her office.

I was able to interview an elder from Unalakleet about the Alaska statehood; I also interviewed Teddy and then another woman whose father was opposed to statehood. I've interviewed four people total and Brenda has done some good archival research for me on the Inupiaq view of statehood.

I also interviewed a couple of people about Alaska Native Corporations, including the president of BSNC. I also found out that a board member for BSNC lives in southern Oregon and I plan to visit her to interview her as she's been involved for a long time. All the stuff I read in the Anchorage newspaper will also contribute to that project.

I was also very fortunate to see many many KIs there in Anchorage. I want to list them all, but I'm still trying to settle in at home after my trip - things like laundry, Eddie's homework, getting my checkbook caught up, ironing, etc. I will list everyone I got to see later ... it was a really really productive trip, I think. I only wish I could've done more interviews, but I think I set too many goals for this trip. That'll just mean I have to go back to Alaska! Sooner rather than later!

Thank you - everyone!! - for the trip. Becky & Joe and Teddy & Agnes & Cindy fed us and several people sat with me for an interview - Teddy, Sylvester, Tim, Fran, and Dixie. I owe so many people thanks...but I need to remember! So, as soon as I do and I have time, I will thank everyone!

The End of Writer's Block - woo hoo!

I'm so proud of myself! I got six pages written today on the article about placenames! Woo hoo! Yippee skippy! Well, technically, it was five pages since one page was references. But still! That doubled the number of pages I'd written to a total of 10 (including references).

Woo hoo! Or did I say that already?

I'm pretty relieved, too, because this puts me in really good shape to complete it by the November 1st deadline. Whew. I now have a pretty good vision of the rest of the article, too. I may end up with another 8-10 pages, which is a respectable length for a paper. (By the way, it's at a line and a half spacing - if I used double-spacing, I'd probably have about 13 or 14 pages now.)

All the time I invested in studying the list and finding duplicates served me well. It was also good preparation for my trip to Anchorage on Saturday - I now have a good handle of the questions I need to ask in order to be confident that our place-name list is as accurate as we can make it.

Speaking of the Anchorage trip, I think I'm in relatively good shape there, too. I've started gathering files and other materials that I need for the trip (informed consents, etc.); I have a decent list of people I'd like to interview; I have a power point presentation to show community members in order to get their feedback on what information I should include on our interactive map; I have a prototype interactive map to show; I have my audio recorder and camera ready to go - well, I've given them to my new grad student, Danielle, so she will know how to use them so that she can handle the technical stuff and I can do my interviews; I've notified community members and two of the researchers I've worked with that I will be in town - one has responded and will join us for a day or two of finalizing placename lists. I still haven't found a room to show the powerpoint, and the other researcher has not responded to several emails and a phone call - not much I can do there. Overall, I'm in good shape; I know which community members will be in Anchorage from Nome (thanks, Charlene!!); and I've lined up one or two interviews already. Mom was pretty happy to hear that my cousin, Rudy, will be there. Her cousin Gemma will be there as well. Overall, I think it's going to be a great, productive trip. And, Charlene and her son will be there.

My counselor today noted how different I sound about this trip than I did about the Greenland trip in August - she noted that I sounded more enthusiastic and energetic. I have this "I will go" rather than "I guess I'll go" attitude.

Weather forecast: temperatures ranging in the 20s to 30s for most of our visit. Probably some snow and it looked like it might be partly cloudy or cloudy through the weekend. They were expecting an inch or two accumulation yesterday, an inch today, and another inch tomorrow.

Yes, it'll be strange going from 65 and sunny yesterday to 20-something and snowy on Saturday. But I'm looking forward to it. I haven't been to Alaska for a year. I miss everyone! I miss the atmosphere. We're going during AFN - the Alaska Federation of Natives convention. There's always an aura of excitement and expectation. Fun stuff. I"m excited!!

BTW, I read the newsletter for ICC-Alaska yesterday. ICC stands for the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and it's the organization that meets every four years and brings together Inuit from Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland in order to lobby for certain political actions that will benefit all groups in the four nations. The Alaska office this past year applied for a grant from the Alaska state legislature to run a culture camp in Southwest (Yup'ik Eskimo territory) Alaska. Culture camps are camps where Alaska Native youth (or Native American youth here in the states) spend a week or more with elders, learning about traditional culture and language. Apparently, the Alaska state legislature approved the grant proposal . . . but Sarah Palin vetoed it and I don't think they were able to hold the camp. That might give you a clue as to who will get my vote this year ...