Book report A Voice in the wind, by Francine Rivers

I started this book in August and it took me a long time to get into it but once I did i was really into it. The setting is around the Roman era, the time when they crucified Christians. There really wasn't one main character but 3 or 4; their names were Marcus, Atretes, Julia, and the main main character was Hadassah. Hadassah grew up in Israel and her father was a devoted Christian. He wasn't afraid to die and one day he was tested. He was teaching in Jerusalem when Romans came and raided the city. Instead of running away like the others he stood his ground and was killed. I think he was Hadassahs hero. 

   

The beginning of the book Hadassahs mother was really ill and died just before the Romans came and destroyed their country. Minutes after she died Romans came through their village and killed everyone. When they went to Hadassahs house they killed her brother but she saved her and her little sister by laying on top her sister and daring the soldier to kill her with her eyes. After staring at her for a while he decided to take her as a slave. When she got up she discovered her little sister wasn't breathing to well. Later that day her little sister died and she was sent to Rome where she was sold as a slave. For 5 years she served Julia as her personal maid. 

Atretes was a Germanian prince who was captured during battle against the Romans. He was sold as a slave to become a gladiator. In his 5 to 6 years of battling he killed more than 100 men in the arena. For a year he served Julia as her lover. There he met Hadassah and she told him of her god and all the stories she knew. Julia's friend Calabah fed her lies, lies that made her jealous, and made Julia do something that I, myself hated. The ending surprised me and made me realize something i never would have thought of. I love this book, even though it did get a little gory (not that much, but too much for me). 

~Maxine Frankson

At Washington D.C. for the Close-Up Program

          My name is Bradford Johnson and I was one of the five students from Alaska to go with the Close-Up Program down to the U.S. capital. The Close-Up Program was invited to go to the National Indian Education Association down in Washington D.C. for a week.    We were one of the many representatives across the span of the United States.  Groups that attended ranged from Alaska to Florida. There were also many different tribes of the Indian Race. Cherokee, Cheyenne, and many other native americans attended this organized event.

          During that week, we were able to go and see the senators Lisa Murkowski and Don Young. We met Lisa and her assistant in a tiny Board Room on the 3rd floor of the Hart Senate Building. There were many asked questions about the education in the city and in the village. One of the problems was the heating fuel for the schools. Many of the schools have not enough teachers that are willing to stay in the village to teach to the little kids. Another topic was about hiring stable teachers from the money that they are being to paid for education.

          We also had a chance of visiting the different memorials such as: the Lincoln Memorial, the War Memorial, the Washington Monument, and Smithsonian Museum. One of the mistakes in the museum that I saw was the Eskimo information. The pictured building was suppose to have a fire place in the middle of the building. The fire place was used as an entrance and exit only during the winter, while the other door like the everyday door u use, was used in the summer. 

It is said that the Smithsonian Museum was designed by the different tribes and groups of the Native Race. From the Inupiaqs to the indians in Florida, the representatives have gathered to design a museum like no other in the country. It has an awkward design to it. One side of the building looks like its an upside down stairway while the other side of it has almost a straight upward wall.

          

           

Yuuyaraq: The way of the Human Beings

Harold Napoleon the author of Yuuyaraq: The way of the Human Being tells about the tradition of Alaskan Yupik people. The hardship they endure with keeping their tradition alive, because of the Russians who colonize them. Having to set aside their way of living through generations, and with much history lost that it caused the Yupik people to undergo depression. Also with deaths from plague, and suicides of the yupik people. That with no council to help them grieve over the lost of tradition, and death of loved ones. The Yupik`s turn to alcohol to suppress there feeling of depression. Many other tribes were going through the same problems. With this issue it only create another bigger issue at hand the abuse of alcohol with Native and Indian Americans. I think the Author hit some of the cause of alcoholism in Natives and Indians Americans, but not much of the causes of today issues with alcoholism.


Juleesa Caldwell

Emmonak Fuel Crisis

I think that he is just viewing the Emmonak council view and not all the other village crisis problems. Because the village near there,not close, but near there has higher cost for the gas and food than the village that posted the article Emmonak fuel crisis on the Alaska Daily News.

by Bradford Johnson