LIVING LIFE

         Host Christian Stettler, a clinical professor of social work for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and host of “The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling” Podcast had the privilege of engaging in a profound conversation with Ilarion Merculieff, a revered Unangan Elder known for his dedication to advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental stewardship. 

The critical social worker podcast episode I listened to was episode 42, titled, Heart Wisdom and Talking Circles: A Dialogue with Ilarion Merculief.

The Critical Social Worker podcast reveals unique stories and diverse perspectives to promote critical dialogue, empathy and understanding for all listeners. With storytelling based on social work values, we try to change ourselves and the world one story at a time.

The guest host of this episode is Ilarion Merculief who grew up on St. Paul Island, which is located in Alaska on the southern edge of the Bering – Chukchi platform. Ilarion speaks about his very traditional upbringing in his Unangan community, and he also speaks on how his Unangan education has played a huge role in his worldview and approach to living life. The way that Ilarion spoke of his childhood is what stood out to me the most because it was so interesting to learn about his personal experience which was so very different from my own. I was hanging on every word because it was so apparent that growing up in a spiritual community had shaped him to be the person he is today and the things that are unique to his upbringing are aspects of life that I think would benefit many children.

Something that specifically stood out to me was how he was speaking about being present and how that was taught to him, in his community there was a sense of ‘never planning’ which had the purpose of being a real human being and living present in the moment and in the heart which heavily connects to the main topic of conversation of the podcast episode, that being heart wisdom. It is clear to me that this framework of being present, especially being taught at a young age, creates said heart wisdom.

It creates such a strong connection to self that it aids in creating an unbreakable amount of self-trust, which is a lesson most people learn through trial and error in life and those lessons often happen later in life once people start reflecting on their actions. A really interesting example of this that Ilarion spoke on was the story of how when he was about nine years old, he stole twenty dollars from his grandfather, and he notes that at the time, that was a sizeable amount of money for the people in his tribe. Yet, he stole the money to buy a toy plane that he wanted and once he stole the money he realized that his aunt had watched him do it. She approached him once they had stepped outside of the house so it was just them two and asked him where he acquired that twenty dollars from, Ilarion was honest and told her that he had taken it from his grandfather and instead of scolding him and telling him he had done something bad his aunt asked him what he should do with the money, and he responded with give it back. This was such an interesting example to me because not only did she not immediately jump to discipline him but rather she allowed him to make the right decision on his own without fear of punishment. Most children are not taught right from wrong in this manner but would rather be met with a lecture scolding or in some cases harsh discipline.

 It is very clear through this story that he told that heart wisdom is taught and instilled in this community starting at a very young age which allowed him to develop a deep trust in himself and with his community which I find to be very beautiful.

Link to the Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcO4VyxqhucLinks to an external site.