PRESENTATION OUTLINE
SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL ON THE OUTSIDE
WITH BLACK HAIR, BROWN EYES AND DARK SKIN
SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL ON THE INSIDE
WITH A WARM HEART BEATING
WAS MADE OF YELLOW PAINTED WOODEN SLATS
IT SAT JUST ON THE EDGE OF THE PACK ICE
ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
ROSE SLIGHTLY THROUGH THE CENTER OF IT'S RIDGE.
SWIRLED INTO THE NIGHT SKY.
IN THE WINTER ARCTIC COLD.
SHE LOOKED OUT OVER THE CHUKCHI SEA.
MOVED SLOWLY WITH THE TIDES,
AND WHALES SANG TO EACH OTHER
IN THE DARKNESS OF THE WATER.
SHE SIGHED AT THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL.
IN A PLACE THAT HADN'T BEEN SEEN BY MANY PEOPLE,
SHE HADN'T BEEN SEEN BY MANY PEOPLE, EITHER.
THE IÑUIT PEOPLE KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING
THAT EVERY SNOWFLAKE THAT FALLS FROM THE SKY
NO TWO SNOWFLAKES ARE ALIKE.
THE CRYSTALS THAT FORM TOGETHER
TO THE CONDITIONS AROUND THEM
A CLOUD MOVING BETWEEN THE SUN AND THE EARTH
THE HEARTBEAT OF A WHALE VIBRATING THROUGH THE WATERS OF THE CHUKCHI SEA
CAN CHANGE THEM INTO SOMETHING NEW.
TAKI'S MOTHER AND FATHER KNEW IN THE BEGINNING
THAT SHE WAS LIKE A SNOWFLAKE,
THAT WHEN SHE WAS FORMING
DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF HER LIFE,
AS SHE WAS BUNDLED IN WARM BLANKETS
THAT HER FATHER HAD HEARD
IT HAPPENED WHEN HE WAS JUST A BOY,
NEAR THE EDGE OF THE SEA.
HE WAS HUNTING WHALES WITH HIS FATHER.
AA HE STOOD SILENTLY BY THE SEA,
ROSE TO BREATHE IN THE CRISP, COLD AIR.
WAS A SOURCE OF SUBSISTENCE
AND THE SYMBOL OF IÑUIT CULTURE
AS HER FATHER RAISED THE HARPOON
HE PRAYED AN OLD IÑUIT PRAYER
TAUGHT TO HIM BY HIS GRANDMOTHER.
"I THINK OVER AGAIN MY SMALL ADVENTURES
MY FEARS, THOSE SMALL ONES THAT SEEMED SO BIG
FOR ALL THE VITAL THINGS I HAD TO GET AND REACH
AND YET THERE IS ONLY ONE GREAT THING,
TO LIVE TO SEE THE GREAT DAY THAT DAWNS
AND THE LIGHT THAT FILLS THE WORLD."
HE PLUNGED THE HARPOON INTO THE WHALE.
TAKI'S FATHER WOULD REMEMBER THAT MOMENT
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
NORMALLY WHEN A BOWHEAD WHALE
IS STRUCK WITH THE SHARPENED IRON BARBS OF A HARPOON
IT DIVES TO THE DEPTHS OF THE ICY WATER
AND TRIES TO FLEE ACROSS THE SEA,
HOPING WITH ALL OF THE LIFE INSIDE OF IT
TO GET AWAY AND STAY ALIVE.
THIS WHALE, THOUGH, WAS NOT A NORMAL WHALE.
WHEN THEY ARE BORN INTO THE WORLD.
SHE SAT AT THE EDGE OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN,
LOOKING TO THE ICY, ROUGH HORIZON,
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
YOUR POOR FATHER IS A WIDOW.
HE NEEDS YOU TO HELP HIM.
HE NEEDS A SON-IN-LAW TO HELP HIM.
THEY DID NOT SAY THESE WORDS TO HER.
INSTEAD, THEY THOUGHT IN THEIR MINDS
AND WHISPERED AROUND THE TABLES,
HER FATHER DOES EVERYTHING FOR HER.
WHY IS SHE SUCH A BURDEN TO HER FATHER?"
SHE THOUGHT AND WAITED...