So cool; indigenous sports — How ripped ears are preserving a rare culture in Alaska:
Kakaruk says she imagines her ancestors playing the same games hundreds of years ago, watched by village elders assessing who to include in their next hunting party. Each event has its own story and background in that history.
"I have learned a lot more about my culture and the origins and background of the games. Each event has a specific meaning behind it. For example, the scissor broad jump was to tell if you could jump across the ice caps.
Miraz Jordan @chrislottorg I'd never heard of the games before but thought what they wrote in that article was really great. Here in Aotearoa there's an annual festival for Māori song and dance — getting bigger every year.
Anna Havron what has remained with me since that experience: it looks like a trampoline; but the material used with a trampoline is springy. The blankets are made of hide. They are not springy. You go up in the air because all the people holding that heavy blanket -- and of course holding the weight of the person on it -- work together to propel the person on the blanket in the air. It is an extraordinary feeling, and nothing like a trampoline. It is so communal. I felt immensely supported and loved. A strange thing to say; but that's how it felt.
Miraz Jordan @annahavron I'm glad you explained how it isn't like a trampoline as I'd imagined it was like that. What a remarkable experience! I can understand the feeling of being loved and supported — makes a lot of sense.