In June of 1942, seven months after attacking Pearl Harbor, the Japanese navy invaded Alaska's Aleutian Islands. For nine thousand years the Aleut people had lived and thrived on these treeless, windswept lands. Within days of the first attack, the entire native population living west of Unimak Island was gathered up and evacuated to relocation centers in the dense forests of Alaska's Southeast.
With resilience, compassion, and humor the Aleuts responded to the sorrows of upheaval and dislocation. This is Vera's story, but it is woven from the same fabric as the stories of displaced peoples throughout history. It chronicles the struggle to survive and to keep community and heritage intact despite harsh conditions in an alien environment.
This is a story of heartbreak - of how a community can be moved out and later forgotten and resented by those near whom they live.
ReplyDeleteWritten as poetry in free form allows a flow that moved forward without dragging the story back.
There is a resilience in the Aleutian people, but removed from their homes, communities and environment, they are dragged down.