Esther Martinez, nonagenarian Tewa linguist, 2008 honor

For more on the remarkable Ms Martinez see the earlier post

• Nonagenarian American Indian linguist

  http://theelderlies.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/american-indian-linguist/

Esther Martinez: ‘A way to honor her spirit’ Historical roadside marker celebrates Tewa linguist and renowned storyteller
11/8/2008 – 11/9/08
OHKAY OWINGEH — New Mexico honored Ohkay Owingeh storyteller and Tewa linguist Esther Martinez Blue Water (P’oe Tsáwä) on Saturday by unveiling a new roadside marker at the pueblo north of Española.

…

“It is an honor to have a marker that recognizes her contributions to her pueblo and to others,” said Martinez, speaking to the large crowd gathered at the site along N.M. 68. “She was a person steadfast to the end.”

The wooden marker is the second of 55 that will be installed around the state in recognition of influential New Mexico women. .. The marker program was conceived by three women — Pat French, Beverly Duran and Alexis Girard. They created the New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative and lobbied the Legislature to fund the project.

“As we drove around the state, we realized all the historic markers up and down the road were all for men,” French said Saturday as she waited for the cutting of a silver ribbon around Martinez’s marker. “This is to create a better balance.”

…

Martinez, born in 1912, was known as an exceptional storyteller. Her family said she could use almost anything as the source of a good yarn, even everyday events. “My mother’s stories had such life and character,” daughter Josephine Binford said with a chuckle. “You could see what she described. When she spoke, it was like she cast a spell.”

… Martinez received many national honors for her work in preserving the language and stories of her people. She taught Tewa in the Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo) schools for years and created a Tewa dictionary. She traveled widely to share stories with non-Pueblo people. She received the Teacher of the Year award from the National Council of American Indians in 1997 and a year later was given the Governor’s Award for Excellence.

In 2006, Martinez was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Site Search Tags: Tewa, Martinez, Ohkay+Owingeh, nonagenarian, Espanola, New+Mexico, grandchildren, linguist, San+Juan+Pueblo

Otto Friend, nonagenarian

The Delta Discovery is one of our regional newspapers. Many of the articles may also be read on-line. Unfortunately, there isn’t a photo of Mr. Friend.

10-15-08
by Jodi Friend, student Kuskokwim Campus

My paternal grandfather Otto Friend has lived in the native village of Kwigillingok, a costal village located on the Southwestern Region of Alaska, nearly all his life.

When my grandfather was a young boy, most of the Yup’ik people in the village lived on the left side of the Kwigillingok River, while only a few lived on the right side.

…what are my grandfather’s personality, favorite foods, and hobbies?
My grandfather is mean, grumpy, strict, selfish, and forgetful at times, but he is also humorous, caring, and loving. His nickname is “Apiin” (similar to grandfather) and “Dad.”

Otto loves to eat blackberry “akutaq” (Eskimo ice cream), beluga whale blubber, dried salmon, white fish, bird soup, and loves drinking Red Rose tea with his elder friends.

His hobbies include watching Kung Fu movies, taking naps, snow machine riding, checking the Kwigillingok River, playing with his grandchildren, working on seal skin, carving wood, and taking steam baths.

… After serving in the Alaskan Territorial Guard (ATG), his sight has not been the same. My paternal aunts and uncles told me that Otto, little by little, stopped going subsistence hunting because of his affected vision. Although he has this problem, it does not keep him from being in charge of how the gathered and hunted food is prepared or stored for the winter.

Right now, he’s 90-years-old and he still walks and takes a steam bath in the “maqivik” (steam house or sauna) just about every night…. In conclusion, Otto is a lot of fun to be around. I admire and respect him because he has been through so much in his life and because he has a lot of experience when it comes to subsistence living. He is also a very good grandfather, not just to me, but to my other relatives as well. [...]

• http://deltadiscovery.com/speakyourmind/speakyourmind.html

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Site Search Tags: nonagenarian, Yup’ik, grandfather, grandchildren

Gladys Jung, nonagenarian, 1917-2008

I was sad to hear the recent news about Gladys Jung, Gladys Jung passes away Tue, September 30, 2008, APRN.org She was an early school teacher and the first Alaska Native (Yup’ik) school teacher in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. Late in life she was known as the “Iqmik Lady” for her public service announcements about the hazards of tobacco use.

Gladys had been active on the Senior Advisory Board to the Eddie Hoffman Senior Center in Bethel. Her Archive for the ‘nonagenarian’ Category biography and poster is posted earlier here–

• Gladys Jung nonagenarian

revised 2008-10-26
2008 Alaska Federation of Natives Elder of the Year, Gladys Hall Jung, Bethel http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/568008.html

[revised 2008-11-10] The Tundra Drums has two good stories about Ms Jung–
Gladys Jung named Elder of the Year, By Alex DeMarban, October 30, 2008 http://thetundradrums.com/news/show/3679

Sunny side of Jung http://thetundradrums.com/news/show/3802

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Site Search Tags: Bethel, EHSC, nonagenarian, school+teacher, Yup’ik, SAB, APRN.org, KYUK, revised

Nonagenarian MySpacer, Kirk Douglas

Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times, click to view original

By Tina Daunt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, April 4, 2008

AS F. Scott Fitzgerald once famously said, there are no second acts in American life. But Kirk Douglas, at age 91, has not only found a second act but now is writing a third in, of all places, cyberspace.
…

“Someone once told me, ‘Be ashamed to die before doing something for humanity,’ ” said Douglas, relaxing on one of the plush couches in his Beverly Hills home, with its gardens and courtyards, colorful paintings by Marc Chagall — a personal friend — and two beloved large dogs wandering in and out. “As you get older, you must think more of other people. You must strive to help other people. Who needs the most help but the young?

“What kind of world are we leaving them?”

It’s a question to which Douglas returns over and over on his website and in his new book, “Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning,” which was recently released as an audio book read by “Seinfeld’s” Jason Alexander.
[...]

MySpace page is
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=171170276

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Site Search Tags: nonagenarian, elderblogger, MySpace, audiobook, Tolstoy’s+Bicyclist, accessibility

Nonagenarian greatgrand to Alaska teacher

Katherine Fink of Green Bay. Click picture to read more

A retired regional supervisor for AAA, Katie never backed away from a challenge. Learning to downhill ski at age 58 and looking rather like a Mountie in her orange jacket, she quickly gave up the bunny slope for the ‘big ones’. After retiring, she took computer classes so she would be able to be of help in the office at Trinity Lutheran Church. A gifted seamstress and tailor she also became an accomplished and prize-winning porcelain doll maker after retiring.

http://victoriasjourneys.blogspot.com/2008/03/katherine-fink.html from Kasigluk