I believe that in order to know what each of our responsibilities to our tribe are, each of us must find out our purpose. We must know where we come from- heritage, and the opportunities our land provides us. As Inupiaq people we must give each other hope and education to carry on as a region.

I believe this starts out with our education system. I attended elementary in a number of schools Kiana, Ambler, Palmer but mostly Kotzebue. I also attended middle school in Kotzebue but attended Mt. Edgecumbe High School afterwards.

Throughout my education I have learned and seen many great things, but I feel one factor was missed and I would like to see our communities address this. That is teaching our children their responsibility to our tribe. Our schools teach the history of the Civil Rights with Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. They teach our children about the national heroes our country looks up to. This is important. This is important but it does not teach that they can be heroes too.

Who are the people making a difference in our community- for our future? We should be teaching our future leaders how to become leaders by highlighting local community members. How the parents that are doing all they can to make the life of their children better are heroes.