Post-POTUS, Alaskans should remember pulling together despite differences

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Dillingham showed up beautifully. They spruced up the town and hung a "No Pebble" banner everywhere possible. Even a salmon was happy to see him and spawned all sorts of "Don't Cry Over Spilled Milt" jokes. The president seemed happy yuraq-ing (Yup'ik dancing) with the children and sat with them and smiled for pictures.

He told them he was proud of them several times. "We're so happy to be here, and young people here especially I'm very proud of you. Keep up your traditions, even as you go out into the big world and learn and bring back the knowledge that's going to build this community."

That isn't something that has been said often enough to Alaska Native children, or any children for that matter.

Estelle Thomson describes herself as "a poor Native kid from the village." She was particularly touched by his visit. "For Native youth, whose graduation rates from college and even high school are abysmal, teen pregnancy and suicide rates are disproportionately high, this single statement can fuel the success of so many kids. If they can just remember that feeling. ... Some of those kids will realize they have no limits because the president of the United States said he believed in them. Some of them are our next generation of leaders who will remember the kindness of a man who came across the country to see them. Some of them will see that brown people (like them) can be very successful if they work hard."

I hope her words travel fast to God's ears. If Obama's visit saves one child from taking their life it was worth the trip. She noted, "He touched on something extremely important to Us (as Native People). Not only in celebrating who we are and retaining Our Culture ... but in the belief we should use our knowledge and experience to help Our People."

One of my favorite writers, Don Rearden said, "No president has ever shown this level of respect for Alaska's Real People."

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