Courtney Agnes - Preserving Our Way of Life

you I grew up here in Tanana my parents are Patrick and learning more and Mary Jane wheel of rampart and Jerry woods of Tanana my grandparents are Jack and Courtney Moore Charlie and Carrie Jordan of Tanana Walter and Judy woods of Tanana Manley and then the late Henry wheel and Betty wheel of rampart and so I got I have family all over the you Congress all over the state in fact but my mom grew up migrating the river with her her parents you know they would go out on the trapline they would follow the fish follow the moose that kind of lifestyle they're really nomadic when I was little we used to cut fish from warning tonight for weeks on the end you know we would eat fish we would dreams I would dream about the fish we would process the fish that's how we've earned our living this is my late grandma Carrie Jordan she's the guy my group grew up with my mom's mom and she's like the strongest figure that I hold in my heart um you know her words growing up with resonate within me and we would walk down the front shoot with her with her clay tune we'd go she'd go shoot chickens and she'd take us picking berries and then she'd make the dam with us my dad you know he's well-known across the state for being a dog man when I was born I came home to a dog kennel I remember eating like hundreds of dogs and he used to trap the Sun we always had a part in a role in her family I had to work we didn't have a lot but we were happy [Music] we feed them chum salmon and whitefish and cheese's my dad he'd like by like supplements of everywhere if he had a formula to make a dog feel better with the eye of a newt and a tail of a toad he would find it he would put it in their roots and make them feel better so that's one of the resonating jokes around Tanana [Music] one of the most important features that my grandma passed on to me was like we always had warm clothes growing up I always had mukluks I always had a beaver hat and I always had beaver mints so we were always dressed more when my brother would go off racing with dogs with my dad in high school she made him brand new beaded gloves that portrayed how culturally rich he was you know he came from a good family beating keeps me and my mind busy and it also relaxes me I went to school in Fairbanks for three years I'd be beating through college and she'd just buy me supplies like she'd send me a whole entire moose skin trapping animals you know respecting them and their spirit is really important for for all of us that's one of the things when Graham always talked about as respecting the balance between nature and animals and the the world we live in here [Music] that was Miss Rio in 2002 I worked in construction for 10 years I've been an actor on the show you come in with my dad and my brothers and I was his basic life around Hana and what we do here and why we live here we're not serving yes why is it you know what that one's really positive for me to help portray our culture you know people around the world I'm on the school board Tribal Council and I'm stay at home mom I started dating my husband and college and we've kind of been stuck with each other since but we got married and Francis was 15 months old and I just I went and got her one day and she went she came through us to the foster system and um I you know what she knows she's adapted I knew I was adopted and I felt lucky in that way and so I want her to feel that way also we had another daughter two years ago and they both change them for the better and so our life here in Kanna has evolved around you know them making sure that they're happy healthy learning driving growing like one of the things that really resonates in my oldest other is is Indian as my best friend Dena will come and Gator for dance practice we're really lucky to have people in Tana that have that are a part of our support system to raise our girls you know you heard the term of village raised as a child I guess I mean I don't think I would survive having kids decided have that support system you know one thing that I found that is really useful is I have a daughter who has special needs and I use those dogs to teach her about responsibility values it it reaches her in a different way to where she can understand she has to be a part of our entire family system you know she has to contribute and she loved it she loves the dog she loves you know driving them she actually just drove him a couple days ago and she was so excited working with them I love I love love love making leaders so I like formulating the team that is the best possible racing and I'm the kind of person that like I get on a one-on-one level with them and I'm like you're going to love me after all the hard work is done and we're ready to go and we're out there driving and I mean we have a team of 20 dogs and we're going at 20 24 miles an hour that that's when I met my most creative and excited moment in my life last fall I was moose hunting and my husband had to leave so he has a good work so getting a moose fell on me we weren't lucky for the first two weeks the animals not going to let me kill it you're not going to you're not going to be you know that big successful hunter the animal gives itself to you and that's vital that connection is vital and so one of the days I was fed up and I was like damn alone going hunting and something told me you know you have to stay in this area something says you need to go down so I drove my boat down and I shot it looks by myself I think down to my knees and I said thank you you know you know you're feeding us thank you for giving your life for us preserving our way of life is really important for me when I'm out on the land it talks to me I hear it I listen and I there's a vibration there that I feel and I take it in enough that makes me get down on my knees and and just I'm grateful I'm reverent and I'm like I'm connected to it you know this is the land of my ancestors this is where I'm meant to be I have that feeling that connection you know you

Channel: TananaChiefsConference

Views: 86,352

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Id: YVrFvcg4ib8

Length: 9min 21sec (561 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 14 2017