Welcome to "Real People"
Welcome to my new blog, dedicated to Indigenous Nations and Christian missionaries, not necessarily always put together--I mean, there will be posts on Indigenous Nations (Native Americans, Native Siberians, Africans, etc.) and posts on missionaries (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and others), as well as some posts on Native and Euro-American missionaries working amongst indigenous populations. I'll be covering history, current events, and thoughts about the future of Indigenous Nations, missionaries, and missions to indigenous peoples.
"Real People" is what the Yupiit (singular is Yup'ik) Eskimos of Alaska call themselves. While other Native American and Native Alaskan nations often refer to themselves as "the people," when the name is translated into English, the Yupiit Eskimos wanted to distinguish themselves from all the others and thus called themselves the "real" people.
This site is dedicated to indigenous peoples, who have faced manifold sorrows for centuries with tenacity and fortitude, and to Christian missionaries who have carried the Gospel to the ends of the earth with equal virtue and love. Of course, these are just people. The real people are the ones of remarkable life--the Natives whose lives are exemplary for all human beings and the missionaries who gave of themselves for their flocks, not seeking power or glory for themselves, but desiring only the good of their neighbors and the glory of God.
This site is also dedicated to exposing evils perpetrated against Indigenous Nations, both by missionaries and Europeans, Canadians, Americans, and others. It should be noted, however, that there is no hard and fast line between innocent and guilty amongst those non-Natives who have had dealings with Natives. History is an open book, constantly being edited and re-edited. Therefore, even though some individuals might make it into a "Hall of Shame" for their misdeeds, such classifications are not necessarily absolute judgements, although some crimes like murder and theft are always evil. (Laws and policies, on the other hand, together with public opinion, have much more nebulous moral classifications.) The opinion of indigenous peoples themselves toward individuals or groups is also not necessarily unanimous.
While many stories of the history of Native and non-Native interractions are often depressing and anger-inducing, it would be neither fair nor profitable to launch invective against historical or contemporary figures. Given historical hindsight, however, one may be totally justified in outright condemning or praising a particular policy, program, method, etc., but this justification has a weakness due to the fact that the historical record has many missing and hidden parts. A policy which destroyed one Indigenous Nation may have saved another.
In the Native world, it seems as if everything is in a state of flux. What seems good today could be bad tomorrow. Also, it is important to note that, since indigenous peoples are small and underrepresented minorities in the Western world at least, laws and policies of governments and organizations often unintentionally affect them negatively.
This is true in large part due to the fact that, historically, governmental and organizational Native policy has been arbitrary. Natives themselves have only recently been allowed to take part in making the policies which affect them.
Even though indigenous peoples have not been allowed to make policy decisions by the dominant culture for many centuries, this prohibition has not kept them from acting independently and defending themselves from cultural annihilation and state-sanctioned genocide. Through passive and active resistance, Native peoples have been able to survive being swallowed up into a society which has not acknowledged their rights to property, to political and economic independence, to cultural expression, and even to existence.
Christian missionaries, of both European (American, Canadian, Australian, etc.) and Native extraction, have played significant roles in the drama of cultural contact and coexistence. Many, it is true, did more harm than good to Natives. Others were martyred by Natives. Still others defended Natives from abuse and even helped the Natives develop their own culture and polity, aiding their self-realization and working towards greater independence from the dominant culture.
So, since this site is dedicated to Indigenous Nations and missionaries, it has a Patron Saint who is both a Native Alaskan (Creole) and an Orthodox Christian missionary. Ask a blessing from...
St. Iakov (James, Jacob) Netsvetov of Alaska
This site is under the patronage of St. Jacob Nestvetov, first Native Alaskan Orthodox priest to serve in Alaska. (The very first Native Alaskan Orthodox priest actually served in Siberia, about 50 years before St. Jacob's time.) St. Jacob was the son of a Russian father and Aleut mother. He grew up on the Western Aleutian Island of Atka and became that island's first priest. Later in life, instead of going into retirement, St. Jacob was sent as the first Christian missionary to the Yupiit Eskimos on the Yukon River delta. There, he learned a new language and served liturgies in outdoor tents in the dead of winter because there were no permanent churches in the area at that time. Once, the wine in the chalice even froze! Though he was many times so ill that he could not get out of bed, St. Jacob continued to preach the word of God to the people, even as he himself carried out the necessary subsistence activites vital for survival. He spent hours hearing confessions, preaching sermons, and traveling many miles through wilderness expanses. He shared his spiritual and material substance with all those in need, delivering a woman from demonic delusion and sharing his food with those who had none. He reposed peacefully at Stika in 1865, after enduring many sorrows in his last years. For his holy life and missionary zeal, St. Jacob was glorified as a saint by the Orthodox Church. His main feast is celebrated on July 26, while his glorification is commemorated on October 16.
I hope that everyone who visits this blog will find its offerings edifying. If you have something edifying to share--a comment, a correction, a suggestion, anything good, don't hesitate to post a comment. And thank you, in advance.
St. Jacob of Alaska, pray for us sinners!
"Real People" is what the Yupiit (singular is Yup'ik) Eskimos of Alaska call themselves. While other Native American and Native Alaskan nations often refer to themselves as "the people," when the name is translated into English, the Yupiit Eskimos wanted to distinguish themselves from all the others and thus called themselves the "real" people.
This site is dedicated to indigenous peoples, who have faced manifold sorrows for centuries with tenacity and fortitude, and to Christian missionaries who have carried the Gospel to the ends of the earth with equal virtue and love. Of course, these are just people. The real people are the ones of remarkable life--the Natives whose lives are exemplary for all human beings and the missionaries who gave of themselves for their flocks, not seeking power or glory for themselves, but desiring only the good of their neighbors and the glory of God.
This site is also dedicated to exposing evils perpetrated against Indigenous Nations, both by missionaries and Europeans, Canadians, Americans, and others. It should be noted, however, that there is no hard and fast line between innocent and guilty amongst those non-Natives who have had dealings with Natives. History is an open book, constantly being edited and re-edited. Therefore, even though some individuals might make it into a "Hall of Shame" for their misdeeds, such classifications are not necessarily absolute judgements, although some crimes like murder and theft are always evil. (Laws and policies, on the other hand, together with public opinion, have much more nebulous moral classifications.) The opinion of indigenous peoples themselves toward individuals or groups is also not necessarily unanimous.
While many stories of the history of Native and non-Native interractions are often depressing and anger-inducing, it would be neither fair nor profitable to launch invective against historical or contemporary figures. Given historical hindsight, however, one may be totally justified in outright condemning or praising a particular policy, program, method, etc., but this justification has a weakness due to the fact that the historical record has many missing and hidden parts. A policy which destroyed one Indigenous Nation may have saved another.
In the Native world, it seems as if everything is in a state of flux. What seems good today could be bad tomorrow. Also, it is important to note that, since indigenous peoples are small and underrepresented minorities in the Western world at least, laws and policies of governments and organizations often unintentionally affect them negatively.
This is true in large part due to the fact that, historically, governmental and organizational Native policy has been arbitrary. Natives themselves have only recently been allowed to take part in making the policies which affect them.
Even though indigenous peoples have not been allowed to make policy decisions by the dominant culture for many centuries, this prohibition has not kept them from acting independently and defending themselves from cultural annihilation and state-sanctioned genocide. Through passive and active resistance, Native peoples have been able to survive being swallowed up into a society which has not acknowledged their rights to property, to political and economic independence, to cultural expression, and even to existence.
Christian missionaries, of both European (American, Canadian, Australian, etc.) and Native extraction, have played significant roles in the drama of cultural contact and coexistence. Many, it is true, did more harm than good to Natives. Others were martyred by Natives. Still others defended Natives from abuse and even helped the Natives develop their own culture and polity, aiding their self-realization and working towards greater independence from the dominant culture.
So, since this site is dedicated to Indigenous Nations and missionaries, it has a Patron Saint who is both a Native Alaskan (Creole) and an Orthodox Christian missionary. Ask a blessing from...
St. Iakov (James, Jacob) Netsvetov of Alaska
This site is under the patronage of St. Jacob Nestvetov, first Native Alaskan Orthodox priest to serve in Alaska. (The very first Native Alaskan Orthodox priest actually served in Siberia, about 50 years before St. Jacob's time.) St. Jacob was the son of a Russian father and Aleut mother. He grew up on the Western Aleutian Island of Atka and became that island's first priest. Later in life, instead of going into retirement, St. Jacob was sent as the first Christian missionary to the Yupiit Eskimos on the Yukon River delta. There, he learned a new language and served liturgies in outdoor tents in the dead of winter because there were no permanent churches in the area at that time. Once, the wine in the chalice even froze! Though he was many times so ill that he could not get out of bed, St. Jacob continued to preach the word of God to the people, even as he himself carried out the necessary subsistence activites vital for survival. He spent hours hearing confessions, preaching sermons, and traveling many miles through wilderness expanses. He shared his spiritual and material substance with all those in need, delivering a woman from demonic delusion and sharing his food with those who had none. He reposed peacefully at Stika in 1865, after enduring many sorrows in his last years. For his holy life and missionary zeal, St. Jacob was glorified as a saint by the Orthodox Church. His main feast is celebrated on July 26, while his glorification is commemorated on October 16.
I hope that everyone who visits this blog will find its offerings edifying. If you have something edifying to share--a comment, a correction, a suggestion, anything good, don't hesitate to post a comment. And thank you, in advance.
St. Jacob of Alaska, pray for us sinners!
posted by Eric John at 5:33 PM
1 Comments:
You might take time to view the entire and uncut set of DVD´s called "500 Nations". Although it is a lengthy set, it is more than well worth the gain of knowledge you will absorb. In addition you comment that to your knowledge you are not of any Native blood, but you might be surprised and you can gain this information by contacting DNAtribes.com and having your entire DNA evaluated, which is best done by having all the Panels tested, an eaasy thing to do without any pain involved, and it is not that expensive. God Bless
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