Concerns About Human Health

Examples of Concerns:

Hannah Miller of Council noted, "Few people of my age are still living. ..So when all this cancer started, I wondered at night whether all this cancer is caused by something we are eating, breathing, or because we aren't cleaning up after ourselves? Would it be wonderful if we could just get a glimpse of what's happening to our food."

Charlie Johnson of Nome said, "I just came from downtown and I was telling this young lady I was attending this meeting, and that we were discussing how we could eradicate the influx of cancer in out people. She said, "When I was a little girl, I didn't know about Alzheimer's, cancer, or diabetes." She said, "Well it's our birds that fly out to the lower 48 and eat contaminated food that develops lumps in their bodies and bring back these things to Alaska." 

Edith Morgan from Aniak noted, "When I was at the Norton Sound meeting, they asked the ANHB to have their epidemiology center come up here and check out the cancer concern - Anne Lanier has been looking at getting a register of cancers. The information is really limited, so she is asking to come to regions."

Herman Toolie of Savoonga said, "Most of our elders are concerned about the health of the people and the island. The questions they have is what is causing this. These things they say they are happening never use to happen. The most important concern that one elder had was the world that we live in. People all over this world are ruining our world. They think that they are wounding the earth. Such as bombing and testing bombs. They dig so many feet into the ground and then they blow it up. They think they are wounding the earth. Wounds that can never grow again or grow plants. They are concerned. They say it is getting old and when this world is ruined where are their children and our children their grandchildren and great grandchildren going to go? That is the most important concern that the people on the island have."

Delano Barr from Shishmaref noted, "We just have go guess about the sources of contaminants. My sister died a couple of months ago of cancer. I often wonder what caused it. Could it have been her Native food, the air she breathed, or the non-Native food she ate? It makes you wonder why cancer is getting more frequent, especially among our older people."

Jack Lorrigan from Sitka said, "It occurs to me how our bodies are from ancestors who had pretty pure food. When they went and gathered it they had exercise. Their lifestyles have changed, and we have higher cancers. We have starches that we never had before, vices such as alcohol and smoking, salt. When you overload your body with alien things, you get sick, your body can't clean itself."

"200 years ago, there are gravemarkers for people 90+ years old. People who lived on shellfish, deer, berries. Today we have canned goods, McDonald's. Our bodies don't recognize the new chemicals and the body stores it as fat. So many things are different. Children's teeth are coming in crooked because they are on a sugar diet."

"Studies in the north show that there are contaminants, but they conclude that it's still more healthy to eat these Native foods than it is to eat store bought foods. Maintaining the health and keeping vigilance over our natural foods, fighting the state from taking our foods because they can't tax subsistence. As a people from Metlakatla to Barrow, we have to keep our lifeways."

Jacob Nash of Chevak said, "This time we all know that we are human and we all know that there are animals around us and that these animals are thriving around us. There are different animals that we see. Even the salmon look different. So our time is changing. So now we've begun to notice changes, and we try to do something. Sometimes we like to think about going back into history and go back to this day and age. But we can't go back to it. We are evolving from one generation to another and our way of life is changing. The information that was handed down from long ago is changing just as the weather will change and the land will change. At this time we can think about all the things that have evolved. So it would be better to accept that things change. But it is a mystery and should be accepted by those of us who see. I'd like to see us address those things that we'd like to see changed. One of the important things is to help prevent disease. We know that we can't do things by ourselves. And if we don't have money we go to our friends. We are like these people with the ANSC - we are trying to make an effort."

Here are several contacts for help on human health concerns:

03/31/2003