Rita Pitka Blumenstein (July 11, 1933 – August 6, 2021) or more commonly known as Grandmother Rita to the yupik community was the first traditional medicine certified doctor in Alaska and was a member of the international council of 13 indigenous mothers which is a group of spiritual elders, medicine woman and wisdom keepers which was founded in 2004.
While watching the Grandmother Rita video the first sentence stuck with me “when you are in the hole, look in the hole to begin your healing journey”. I think a lot of people when they are placed into a “hole” they tend to give up or think the walls are to tall to now climb out but you should try another perspective while you are in the whole because it can now lead you another direction where maybe you will no longer find yourself in a hole but can now use your past to find yourself. She talks about we are not our past or present but we are our future in what we are becoming everything we have done does not affect us negatively.
Christine Ryan
I had to watch the video twice. The “Look in the hole”, had me viewing my past a little differently. How we can learn where we come from, how that begins, and what it will take to move forward and to heal.
Jillian Bowman
Grandmother Rita’s story is really moving. I first learned of her by watching her video at the NASW conference, the encouragement and connectivity she shows in her video captures who she was an elder in her community and what that meant. I think it’s hard when you are in a hole to look at anything beyond how to get out an it is something I definitely need to practice with. It reminds me of the saying “sometimes the greatest opportunities come from closed doors.”
Deandra Nicholai
As a Yup’ik person from the same region as Grandmother Rita, we share the same beliefs and ways of life. In the Yup’ik communities around our region, we believe there is a way out of the “hole”. It is often said by Yup’ik Elders, “mulngakluten yuukina,” which means to live and act cautiously and gently. Our parents and grandparents teach us at a young age to forgive our past and be gentle with our present, also just as Grandmother Rita said in the video.