Sealaska Heritage Institute: Ḵaajaaḵwtí Dr. Sobolef Documentary | Sealaska Heritage

It seems that the world sees you as wonderful people, wonderful dancers.

He had a role in fighting for our Alaska Native land rights with the Alaska Native land claims. He knew it was important and it was a Tlingit value to really take the time to think about what you're going to say, and I've lived my life as close to that as I can. He was the bridge between Native people and non-Native people. He definitely made an impact on generations of people. I also got married by Dr. Soboleff.

He married my parents. And I think the records show that he married about 400 people. One of the greatest gifts we can give people, I think, is our time. And so he really spent time communicating. He stood across the street and watched them tear his church down, which is very sad.

Ripple effect. You're at that beach and you throw a rock in the water and you see the waves sprinkle out. And that, I would say, was his impact on the state. The people of Alaska were wonderful people. They were strong enough, they were able enough, they had strong willpower, they had a strong spirit, and they survived through the ages.

And we are here today as descendants of the people of Alaska. Hi, my Tlingit name is Tuka Naax. I'm Raven of the Tlingit AD and from the Dawg Salmon House. My English name is Sebastian Nelson, and I'm a 5th grader in Mrs. Wright's class at Auke Bay Elementary School in Dzántsekeheenee, Orduno, Alaska. These are my classmates, and back in the fall, we knew Walter Sobolev Day was coming up and wanted to learn more.

November 14th is Walter Sobolev Day. In the state of Alaska. Ms. Wright is our teacher. She's taught for 23 years and is thoughtful, kind, and is always teaching us new things. And there aren't a lot of resources to help teachers teach about Walter Sobolev Day.

We brainstormed about how to learn about this great person, and then she suggested we ask Scott Burton, a Juneau-based filmmaker, to help us make a short documentary. She made another film with Mr. Scott a couple years ago about the wonderful Tlingit teacher Kawooda Sane, Daniel Brown, and said it was a great learning experience. And so this documentary is available to help people all across Alaska understand why we have Walter Sobolev Day. We had a lot to learn, research to do, and questions to ask. We started practicing with cameras and how to respectfully interview people.

Um, what would be your dream job for you if you would be able to have it? I really want to be a vet, and I want to stay in Juneau because—.

Khunay Lance Twitchell and his daughter Kaax Kayce Kayanatwitchell taught us his Tlingit name and clan among other lessons.

Kanjobti taught us a lot.

And I think about this: Everything is alive.

So we have to give everything kindness, and love. And we love it.

No matter where you're from, give each other kindness, and help each other out.

It doesn't matter where the other people are from.

If you help them, we will grow strong.

That's what Kajakhti taught us. Yéish naaxatiin. He was of the Raven moiety. Tlii neidi. He was Tlii neidi.

Ha'aan k'akitan. And he was from Ha'aan k'akitan. Tsehk hundid kadeesh takweyawatlax. He was 102 years old. Napa ha napuku.

When he left us. Whoa! Aan k'leeneidi or Tsiig hit or dog salmon. The same clan and house as Káadjokte. He often talked about how we had to take care of the old person we were going to become.

He'd been talking about old age for years. Káadjokte was like a grandfather to Káadjoohein Jaelene Kookesh. And I often take that to heart, and I think many should. You know, there are a lot of things you can do to yourself mentally, physically, emotionally that are not good for your body and for your mind and soul. I personally take care of myself.

I exercise regularly. I have chosen not to drink alcohol, not to do drugs. I only drink water and coffee. I eat well because we're going to be old someday, and if we don't take care of the body that we have, We won't grow old very well, I guess. So I always kind of have that in the back of my mind.

Grandpa Walter said, "Take care of the old person you're going to become." He told the story of a couple of mice. Living to be 102 and all of his accomplishments took perseverance. Family friend Jim Walter taught us that Kajuksa often told stories with messages. That fell into a bucket of milk. Milk.

So they are trapped in this bucket, they cannot get out and they do not know what to do. They are sort of paddling to keep afloat and keep their heads up and one of them, one of the two mice finally gave up and sunk into the the milk and drowned. The other one kept paddling away, paddling away, trying to get to the top, and eventually the milk, because it was being paddled, churned, turned into butter, they say, the story tells, and it got hard, and then the mouse could hop out. I think he told that story as just an example of how, you know, we shouldn't give up even when we seem like— it seems like we're in impossible circumstances. But there's one lesson that I always, you know, take and remember from him.

Dr. Rosita Worl's Tlingit names are Ediklaasak and Kahani. She's president of Sealaska Heritage Institute, an organization Káadjok Tse helped create. We interviewed her in the Shukuhit, or ancestors' house, in the Walter Sobolev Building.

When somebody, you know, says something negative about you or has a conflict with you, he would say don't respond to them. He said especially if it's an irrational you know, criticism. Constructive criticism, he said, respond to that and try to give, you know, good answers. But if they're critical comments, they're irrational, he said don't respond to him or to them because he would say it would give them credibility. Another great experience at the Walter Soboleff Building was being able to go down to the archives and see Kajaqteh's beloved naxhéin, or Chilkat robe.

We'd seen the blanket in pictures, heard about it in stories, and Káadjak Té's daughter, Janet, told us about it. His Chilkat robe, I would have loved to have brought it to show you, but it's very, very delicate because it's over 100 years old. It's stored at Sealaska Heritage Institute. What, what better place to have it because it's it's temperature controlled and bug-free and is preserving it wonderfully. It was woven by a lady by the name of Jennie Klinot, and she was from the Haines and Klukwan area.

And it was a gift to my grandmother, my father's mother, for making a pair of moccasins. My grandmother on my dad's mom used to make the leather moccasins with the fur and the beading on it. And she made a pair of moccasins for Jennie, and that was Jennie's thank you. She had woven that Chilkat blanket and given it to my grandma, who subsequently gave it to my father. The Walter Soboleff Building is beautiful and adorned with art, a great tribute to Qaajokte'.

Kahani, Dr. Rosita Worl's story about not responding to irrational criticism reminded us of another story from G'nuuk Anthony Molot. The stories I've heard about, you know, asking to rent a house in Juneau and someone said no I don't rent to natives. And he just shook their hand and said, "Sorry to bother you." He knew that getting angry wouldn't help anybody in that situation. And if he had gotten angry, then the other person would have gotten angry back. But instead, he knew, if I show respect and honor for myself, then I get respect and honor back from others.

Another great resource downtown in Dzantikahini Wujino is the State Library, Archives, and Museum. Archivists Leah and John helped us find all kinds of research on Kajuakhtse.

We also found this video of Káadjakhtse with advice for us, our teachers, and parents. I would say to the students, if you as a student feel you're not doing well in school, speak to your father and mother. Or if they're not at home or if they're not working with you, speak to a friend and the friend may go with you to the teacher to explain some of your problems. There's always somebody willing to help you. There's always somebody willing to help you and talk to the teacher.

And once the teacher understands The teacher will come to your rescue, and that's the way it should be. Made a huge impact on Alaska in a time when there was a lot of racism. In addition to prep, setup, interviews, and research, we also reviewed our footage. Native or non-native?

I think that should be self-rated.

Káadjok Tsi practiced what he preached. And his church was a big part of his life. Although it was called the Native Church, after it was established, white neighbors in the neighborhood asked Dr. Soboleff, "Well, can we join your church?" So he asked the Native congregation, and they said, "Why not?" So it became an integrated church. It was really like my family neighborhood church. Most of the people on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th streets went there, and it was a Native church.

It was established in 1942, and Walter was the first and only minister, Dr. Soboleff. And we had potluck dinners every month. The whole church came bringing their favorite casseroles or desserts. And we had Sunday school there. My mother was a Sunday school teacher and the church treasurer.

And as a teenager, on Sunday afternoons, we went and met with The teenagers in our neighborhood went and met with Dr. Sobleff and just had a kind of a discussion. He wanted to see how we were doing. We had prayers and we roasted hot dogs.

At the time that it closed, it was the USA Presbytery closed it. It wasn't the wish of the congregation. But that church had more baptisms, more marriages, more new members than the white Presbyterian church. And Dr. Soboleff had just ordered 14 new pews. And then all of a sudden, it was just abruptly closed.

And the congregation sort of was really upset. It was very, very hurtful and very humbling for him.

The Board of National Missions, which was— they were the people that ran the church, and they announced to him that they were going to close the church. Didn't particularly give a reason, and there wasn't much you could do. So if you could put yourself in his place, he stood across the street and watched them tear his church down, which is very sad. On his 95th birthday, he said to me, he said, "Just always remember that in life, doors are going to open and doors are going to close. But when those doors open, have the courage to walk through them." And so that was one of my favorite things that he shared with me.

So, and it's, and it was a very simple thing, but it was also really, really profound and changed the way I thought about how I do things. From that point on, he was an evangelist, which is a person that goes out into the communities and preaches the word of God. And he was on the Princeton Hall, which at the time was an evangelical vessel. Many of Kajakhtsis' sermons and interviews were also broadcast on the radio. And then later on I went and had lunch at the senior citizen center, and here I heard something very very interesting.

It is regarding respect. The older people were saying, we're concerned about respect in this village. People are not respecting like they used to. And thus it is that one of the values of Tlingit culture is respect.

Respect the elders, Respect parents. Respect property and the world of nature. Also respect yourself so that others may respect you. Dad wasn't home a lot when we were growing up, so my mom is the one that raised us most of the time. But when he would be home, We would be crawling all over him and he would be playing with us.

And there were certain things that you had to do and certain things that, that you weren't supposed to do because he was a well-respected man. And as his children, we were expected to be nice children. Not that, you know, we were perfect because nobody's perfect. Dad lived with us for about 10 years. And he traveled a lot.

He did not speak to you and tell you everywhere he was going. That was his work and his business. But he had a favorite group of toy animals: Elmo and Cookie Monster and Bert. So every time he'd leave, he would hide Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Bert in different locations in the house. And it was a challenge for Janet and I to find them.

He'd hide them under our pillows. He'd hide them in the closet. He'd hide them in the kitchen where if it was food we were going to be getting, you'd find it. Maybe it would take you 2 or 3 days to find it. He would laugh because when he'd get home, he'd say, "Where did you find them this time?" And we would just all laugh, but he loved doing that kind of stuff all of the time.

So he spent a lot of his free time writing correspondences or letters to other people. And as a matter of fact, now on— in November, the City Museum actually gives out free envelopes and mailers and encourages people on his birthday to write letters to their friends. I used to take approximately 6 letters to the post office every day. He wrote letters to people he met, and he always said things to them, letting them know he thought about them. He prayed for them and he loved them.

That was him. He just cared about everybody he met. In honor of Kajakhteh, we decided to write letters to people to express our gratitude.

It's now easy to understand why November 14th is is Dr. Walter Sobolev Day in Alaska. A lifetime of challenging work, all done with gentleness. And so think about what that looks like in your own life. Do you think of people in a good way? Are there people that you maybe don't feel fondly of that maybe if you treated them gently, they might treat you differently?

Or if you form an opinion, do you have all of the information you need? And are you helping shape a better world? And that's probably the influence that he had with the power of his gentleness. And remember Aung San Suu Kyi's metaphor about kajakta's ripples? You're at that beach and you throw a rock in the water and you see the waves sprinkle out.

That, I would say, was his impact on the state. They're still echoing through all of us. I would describe my grandfather's personality as funny and caring and very inclusive. No matter what your race is, you should be treated equally by everyone. I'm proud to be his grandson, and I consider myself lucky to have known him, and I miss him.

Lots of people pronounce it "Sobeloff," but it's actually pronounced "Sobel-eff" with an "e." So that's what I think everyone should know. The lesson that I learned from Walter Soboleff is that you should never hold a grudge. I never saw him ever raise his voice or get mad. He was— he had a very calming effect on everybody. I think it's just to give back to the community and take care of the old person you're going to become.

It graces our dining room table, so when we sit down, Walter's always there looking at us. Being kind and not being mean to other people. At the coffee shop, when, um, The waiter said, "Would you like some coffee?" The first one is $2 and the second one is free, and he said, "I'll have the second one." He called them pearls of wisdom.