Merculieff - Wisdom Keeper: one mans journey to honor the untold history of the Unangan people

These stories are the work of more than twenty years of writing. I did not feel that they were ready to be told until now. I have many people I wish to thank. Most of all, I wish to thank the Unangan people of Saint Paul and Saint George Island. Without their help I could not have written this book. They were the people who inspired me to be who I am through their patience, fortitude, courage, love, ingenuity, humor, sharing, caring, unselfishness, humanity, humility, and persistence through trials and tribulations that would challenge the strongest of human spirit.

I wish to thank my ancestors for teaching me what it is to be a real human being. Their spirituality and ingenious technologies feed me to this day. Their intelligence as real human beings allowed us to survive and thrive under the harsh conditions of the Bering Sea. The fact that we are here today is a testament to them. Despite genocide, internment, and slavery that we experienced during the last 250 years, we are still living in our ancestral territories.

I also wish to especially give credit to Sergie Savorof, my Kuuyux, who gave me his name at age four; my parents John and Stefanida Merculieff, who gave me love and the liberty to explore who I was without interference; my Aachaa, Nick Stepetin, who showed me how to be a good hunter and a real human being; my aunt Sophie Stepetin, whose life wisdom lives with me today; my papa, Paul Merculieff, who shared his life with me openly and inspired me with his humility; Mike Zacharof, who shared his love for our people through his work; Howard Luke who taught me how to speak from my heart instead of my head; and my uncle Iliodor (Eddie) Merculieff, who inspired me to work for and with my people.

Of course, the list would not be complete without thanking all the Elders and spiritual leaders from the different traditions who shared their ways with me openly, including the Zulu, Indigenous peoples of Australia, Mapuche, Kechua/Ayamarra, Maori, the Maya, Tarahumara of northwestern Mexico, the Inca, Hopi, Sioux, Haundenasaunee (Iroquois), the Stoney Elders of Alberta, the Yupik, Tlingit, Unangan, the Dene of Alaska, and the Inupiat.

I wish to thank all my friends who helped me over the years by reading chapters in this book and giving me feedback and suggesting edits. I especially wish to thank Libby Roderick and Sumner MacleishLibby for her undying belief over the years that these stories need to be written and published and for her role in unwrapping the traumas I suffered, and Sumner for her patience and persistence in helping to edit my manuscript before sending it to the publisher. And I wish to thank my faithful friends for sticking by me through my life, including George and Patrick Pletnikoff, Jenny Norris, Sharon (Shay) Sloan, Salila, and Susanne Swibold, and Helen Corbett for exposing me to spiritual experiences in my adult life. I also thank my siblings, Rinna, Eva, Thomas, and Eliah for their unconditional love and for what they taught me.

And finally, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the Kalliopeia Foundation. Without their support this work could not have been done.