August 18, 2009, Alaska~

Dear Book-of-Words~

Aama here.  Sorry if I haven't written in such a long while; too busy taking care of family, of the sewing, cooking, cleaning.  Even though I am a child by most people's standards, in my world, I am already a grown women.  My culture expects it.  Mother does most of the work; yet I am expected to help her at all costs.

In my world, there is no time for fun and games.  My world is serious; the family depends on me and mother to provide for their needs, be it clothing, food, shelter, whatever.

This is when I wish I had been born a boy.  Boys have much more freedoms, especially when they're little, like Sammik and Ululiq, who are only three winters old.  I also have two small sisters named Maki, five winters old, and Mikisaq, four winters old.  Then there are the three eldest children, who take on the bulk of the work:  me, aged fourteen winters, and my sixteen- and eighteen- winters-old brothers, Qisuk and Sorqaq.

Maki and Mikisaq get to play too, but Mother is teaching them how to sew; when they are a little bit older, like six or seven winters, they will then learn how to cook and take care of the household chores.  By the time they reach teenagerhood, they will be as reliable as me.

It is pretty warm here, for this far north:  temperatures in the thirties and forties; however at night, it gets cold, into the twenties or upper teens.  The snows have since melted; however, it won't be long before they return, signalling yet a new start to a long, cold winter.  The snows will be around until June; they start in September.  The only months we don't have any snow at all are July and August.  These are also the days where we pick berries and other edibles so we can have food for the winter, or, as we call it, the Long Dark.

Soon, Father, Sorqaq, and Qisuk will go hunting; they want to get enough bear, seal, and fox meat for our family, so we can have food for the Long Dark.  They are usually gone for weeks at a time; this is the time I get scared; I'm afraid Nanuq or some other predator will get them.  So far, the Great Spirit has kept constant watch over them, kept them safe; but what's to say it won't happen??

Last year, my friend Iriq lost his father to a Nanuq; members of his hunting party found him, disemboweled and bloody, in the snow.  It was bad, very bad.  There was an awful lot of wailing and crying going on when the news reached our village.  I will never forget it as long as I live.

Soon, Aurora will be making her appearance in our northern skies.  She has been there some nights, but in the coming weeks she will only get more active.  I just pray I don't see any red auroras; the world is bad enough without a red aurora forboding more trouble ahead!!

Well, I have to feed Ululik; he's been sick with a lung sickness.  Nose is running all the time, he coughs, and he is feverish.  I am getting worried about him.  If he doesn't get better soon, we may have to send for the shaman, to see if he can do anything, relieve his suffering.  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is Aama saying goodbye!

~Aama.  :)