G.Yup’ik Women’s Coalition

Yup’ik Women’s Coalition

Interviewees: Lenora (Bird) Hootch and Priscilla Kameroff

1. How did this work come about? And why was it necessary?

We had a women’s shelter in 1979. The safe homes and women came together to discuss

the importance of them. We live in a population of 500 members in village. When it became

legal to import alcohol into the village it caused lots of violence, pain, and real abuse. Women

had a safe place to go to avoid the violence. The village magistrate was very concerned about the

violence and abuse directed at women with children being abused which created an opportunity

to start a program in the village to deal with the violence.

In 1983, we worked with the city council and they donated an old community hall to see

how it might work out for a year; we were interested in how many people it might serve during

the year. We had no funding and operated using only volunteers. Bethel had the nearest shelter

and we were able to get information about how it operated and got some seed money from

Bethel to operate. All we needed was heat to get started since we already had a number of

volunteers.

Before long, a lot of women were coming to center for to escape the abuse. There was a

lot of drinking in homes and it ended up that there were 7-8 children in the center. We applied

for grant to build a shelter going from a residential home to a shelter. We were getting donations

and different funding through the state of Alaska. In 2005, the shelter was defunded, despite

having community confidence and that there was still a big need. We felt like it we were

discriminated against because funding was going to more women’s centers rather than shelters

like ours. Working through Sarah Deer we were able to get a victim’ s support grant from the

Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women. In 2006, we applied for grant to do

education about violence. We received the Tribal Coalition grant in 2007. The primary purpose

of the funding was to promote safety through education and advocacy using traditional Yupik

beliefs and values. What we were doing was dedicated to safety of women.

2. To accomplish your work, how does your project draw upon the best of the what has been or is in your organization and community?

We draw upon the traditional values and beliefs of Yup’ik people. Our work was first

organized and grounded by our elders who are involved in all of our gatherings and take part in

our educational presentations. They guide us how to do with things and how we should face the

challenges we encounter today. One elder told us to do your work with compassion and kindness

and don’t be nosy with your work. Elders tell us that when we do our work in public that we will

come into contact with angry peoples. They tell us not to feel or take in the anger. Instead, be

kind, calm, and compassionate to everyone. If we use this approach our work will go a long way.

We are reminded that this is how the Creator wishes us to work with humility, compassions and

understanding.

3. (a) Why did you get involved and what makes you stay? (b) What is important about what you do and what do you love most about the work?

Lenora: It just happened. I remember that my mother was a midwife and helped others.

The village was small. There were only log cabins and small roads. It was a five-minute walk to

my grandmother’s place and I enjoyed going there. But her nephew stayed with her and liked to

drink. She was small and petite and he used to bring her food, soup, and Native food. During

one of my visits to her place she wasn’t there. I found out that a volunteer came to the village

from the Catholic Church carrying grandma on his shoulder to my home. It was because her

nephew was drinking and she wanted to get a way. It was my first time providing a safe home.

That family member was very abusive. So, I grew up with a passion to help others.

It is important to make sure that the women and children in the community that are

experiencing violence can get away from it and be safe and have a place to go. It hurt my heart

to see them roaming around the village with no place to go. They often have to flee and hide in

willows, smokehouses, or abandoned houses.

4. When your organization has been operating at its best what have been the best, most inspiring, and creative moments and accomplishments of your project?

Priscilla: Doing whatever we can to do healthy activities that make a difference.

Lenora: When we host regional conferences, we see our organization growing and more

women and men becoming involved. We see and understand the intergenerational trauma and

what it means to our well-being. A number of accomplished people, young people, are

beginning to understand the dynamics of violence and that it must be addressed. There is a

danger that we are losing our cultural traditions, but we also see people hanging onto it and

sharing it with others.

It is very moving and inspiring when women share stories of the pains they went

through and that they are not able to say now I know why I feel the way that I do. They speak

of marital rage, different types of abuse and violence and the turmoil they’ve been through. It is

inspiring to hear them say that this is not how we used to be in our culture. Families agree with

this statement. The most important accomplishment is that we have many survivors of violence

and we have survived many challenges for thousands and thousands of years.

5. (a) Thinking big, outside the circle/box, what is the dream of the organization (What might be)? (b) How might this come about and how would you communicate this dream to others?

Our biggest dream is to see no more violence and to return to who we once were. We had

lots of food resources to draw from like moose, fish, and berries. An elder said one time, “Why do

we need that shelter building? Why do we need a shelter like that? We took care of each other,

women and children. We weren’t like this.” We dream of being able to live in harmony without

violence or despair. We are now understanding how the violence in our community happened

and that is important for healing. The Tribal council wants the tribal courts to have elders meet

with abusers or struggling families with unacceptable behavior. The tribal council is gaining

momentum and moving forward, even stronger to help remove the violence.

6. What do you appreciate most about those you work with and what do they appreciate about you?

We have a core group here that works together to support one another and the mission. We

appreciate working with our co-workers, community, and organization partners because they

understand the work we do. The staff especially understands who we are and why we do what we

do. We work well together on the problems we encounter. I think that people appreciate that we

are trying to be good role models in the community.

7. (a). What do you feel are the most important strategies and practices of your project? (b). How do they serve to empower the community? (c). What has your community appreciated most about what you do?

In 1979, we opened our women’s shelter. Today, we have one of the oldest shelters among

the tribal nations. We do outreach to outlying villages to prevent violence. Alcohol, violence,

drugs, homelessness are major issues. There are struggles because of language and value

differences with mainstream society, especially for those that grew up traditional home and

families. Our work is guided by our elders and the traditional beliefs and values of the Yup’ik

people. We make sure that that women and children in our community are safe and have a place

to go. There is not enough housing.

8 and 9. (a) What positive images do you and your organization envision for the future of your work and the people you serve? (b) What commitments do you and your organization have to make sure you are on the right path that will lead to positive changes in the organization and community?

The vision is for the people to understand what happened to us and how we were before.

We want our people to understand our inherit rights and sovereignty because the system has

been failing us. In the 1970s we had more deaths, drownings, and accidents due to the bringing

of alcohol into our village. Now we are working to change things in a positive way. We will

continue to work with our elders and use our traditional ways. Lenora: I have been working

there for over 30 years. I get burnt out, stressed, and wish to do other work, but I cannot walk

away from what we are doing and what needs to be done. Priscilla: It is so needed in our

village.

Applying the Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Cycle

I. Discovery: The Discovery phase is a search to understand the “best of what is” and “what has been.” It begins with a collaborative act of crafting appreciative interview questions and constructing an appreciative interview guide. Appreciative interview questions are written as affirmative probes into an organization’s positive core, in the topic areas selected. They are written to generate stories, to enrich the images and inner dialogue within the organization, and to bring the positive core more fully into focus.

A program to address violence against women and children has been operating for a long

period of time in the community where the Yup’k Women’s Coalition (YWC) is located.

Discovering what is the best in the organization and community meant people getting involved to

create a safe space for women, even though dramatic changes were happening which created

unstable and dangerous conditions.

We had a women’s shelter in 1979. The safe homes and women came together to discuss the importance of them. We live in a population of 500 members in village. When it became legal to import alcohol into the village it caused lots of violence, pain, and real abuse. Women had a safe place to go to avoid the violence.

In the discovery phase of the organization there was a deep commitment to address and

resolve violence in the community, despite the lack of the most simple amenties, funding, and

being overlooked. Volunteers were an important resource in this effort:

We had no funding and operated using only volunteers. All we needed was heat to get started since we already had a number of volunteers. Before long, a lot of women were coming to center for to escape the abuse. There was a lot of drinking in homes and it ended up that there were 7-8 children in the center. In 2005, the shelter was defunded, despite having community confidence and that there was still a big need. We felt like we were discriminated against because funding was going to more women’s centers rather than shelters like ours.

To realize the best of what is, the project draws creatively upon a positive core of

traditional values, beliefs, and spiritual teachings, which frame the strengths, knowledge, wisdom,

and natural resources present in the organization and community:

We draw upon the traditional values and beliefs of Yup’ik people. Our work was first organized and grounded by our elders who are involved in all of our gatherings and take part in our educational presentations. They guide how to do with things and how we should face the challenges we encounter today. They tell us not to feel or take in the anger. Instead, be kind, calm, and compassionate to everyone. We are reminded that this is how the Creator wishes us to work using humility, compassions and understanding.

In getting involved in the work, Lenora shares that there is a tradition of helping in her

family and, as a young woman, it prepared her to know how to intervene and support others

when necessary:

I remember that my mother was midwife and helped others. The village was small. It was a five-minute walk to my grandmother’s place and I enjoyed going there. But her nephew stayed with her and liked to drink alcohol. During one visit to her place she wasn’t there. It was because her nephew was drinking and she wanted to get a way. It was my first time providing a safe home. So, I grew up with a passion to help others.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy

motivated Lenora to get involved. She witnessed the desperate lives of women in her the

community who were doing all that they could to flee from violence. She felt a deep emotional

wounding seeing this pain and struggle:

It is important to make sure that the women and children in the community that are experiencing violence can get away from it and be safe and have a place to go. It hurt my heart to see them roaming around the village with no place to go. They often have to flee and hide in willows, smokehouses, or abandoned houses.

The YWC has the capacity to transform violence by bringing people together to connect

their stories and lives. The best of what is, is that YWC makes it a priority to educate the next

generation to understand and discover the importance of addressing and ending violence:

Doing whatever we can to do healthy activities that make a difference. When we host regional conferences, we see our organization growing and more women and men becoming involved. We see and understand the intergenerational trauma and what it means to our well-being. A number of accomplished people, young people, are beginning to understand the dynamics of violence and that it must be addressed.

A particularly interesting discovery and inspiring moment seized upon by the

organization is that despite the challenges of violence against women in the community, the

incorporation of traditional culture in the project has enabled some to continue to hang onto

their traditional culture. This inspiring moment reflects a positive core of resilience and the

knowledge of the best that has been:

There is a danger that we are losing our cultural traditions, but we also see people hanging onto it and sharing it with others.

Another inspiring moment happened when the YWC used their organizing talents to

provide a forum for Native women to demystify violence and share their understanding and

affirm that it was not a part of Yup’ik culture:

It is very moving and inspiration when women share stories of the pain that they went through and that they are not able to say now I know why I feel the way that I do. The speak of marital rage, different types of abuse and violence and the turmoil they’ve been through. It is inspiring to hear them say that, this is not how we used to be in our culture.

A survivor is one who has the capacity, strengths, and talent to overcome difficulties. In

the discovery phase, there is an acknowledgement by the project staff that the people in the

community are survivors. Despite the violence in the community and a long tumultuous and

intense history many difficult challenges – they have survived:

The most important accomplishment is that we have many survivors of violence and we have survived many challenges for thousands and thousands of years.

II. Dream: The Dream phase is an energizing exploration of “what might be”: a time for people to explore their hopes and dreams for their work, their working relationships, their organization, and the world at large. It is a time for groups of people to engage in thinking big and thinking out of the boundaries of what has been in the past. The intent of the Dream phase is to identify and spread generative, affirmative and hopeful images of the future

The hopes and dreams of the YWC for their organization and community is to recapture

traditions, behaviors, values, and behaviors that were compromised by a history of oppression

and colonization; to regain a traditional life without violence. Within the wisdom of Yup’ik elders

there is the knowledge that ancestors possessed the capacities to sustain and care for themselves

and one another:

Our biggest dream is to see no more violence and to return to who we once were. We had lots of food resources to draw from like moose, fish, and berries. An elder said one time, “Why do we need that shelter building? Why do we need a shelter like that? We took care of each other, women and children. We weren’t like this.” We dream of being able to live in harmony without violence or despair.

III. Design: The Design phase involves making choices about “what should be” within the organization or system. It is a conscious re-creation or transformation, through which such things as systems, structures, strategies, processes and images will become more fully aligned with the organization’s positive past (Discovery) and highest potential (Dream).

There is a deep appreciation between the workers in the YWC. Understanding and

supporting one another means greater success resolving issues of violence, along with the many

challenges that come with it. What should be in the organization are workers who are

appreciated by the community for their efforts:

We have a core group here that work together that support one another and the mission. We appreciate working with our co-workers, community, and organization partners because they understand the work we do. The staff especially understand who we are and why we do what we do. We work well together on the problems we encounter. I think that people appreciate that we are trying to be good role models in the community.

Important strategies and practices are essential to what should be in the organization in

order to manifest success and culturally appropriate services. Having the capacity to reach out to

others to help them understand what their community has been through and what it needs

contributes to the empowerment, resilience, and wellness of the people:

We do outreach to outlying villages to prevent violence. Alcohol, violence, drugs, homelessness are major issues. There are struggles because of language and values differences with mainstream society for those that grew up traditional home and families. Our work is guided by our elders and the traditional beliefs and values of the Yup’ik people. We make sure that that women and children in our community are safe and have a place to go. There is not enough housing.

IV. Destiny: The Destiny phase initiates a series of inspired actions that support ongoing learning and innovation—or “what will be.” The Destiny phase, however, focuses specifically on personal and organizational commitments and paths forward which result in changes in organizational systems, structure, processes or procedures.

The destiny of the YWC is inspired and influenced by an understanding of how past

events shaped current circumstances. Throughout this interview the positive core of commitment

has been an ever-present factor and commentary, as has been traditional knowledge and the

natural wisdom and cultural resources of elders.

The vision is for the people to understand what happened to us and how we were before. We want our people to understand our inherit rights and sovereignty because the system has been failing us. Now we are working to change things in a positive way. We will continue to work with our elders and use our traditional ways.

In the end, the destiny of the YWC might be best articulated in the individual unique

gifts, skills, experience, and commitment that Lenora embodies in her own resilient nature:

I have been working there for over 30 years. I get burnt out, stressed, and wish to do other work, but I cannot walk away from what we are doing and what needs to be done.