Comments on the Session

Abstract

Introduction. With so many presentations coming from such a variety of perspectives, it seemed worthwhile to ask some knowledgeable people to listen to the presentations, respond to what they heard, and provide some summary comments. We were very lucky to find some excellent responders. We originally envisioned having three responders, but Mary Stachelrodt, a Yup’ik woman with considerable experience in healing, lost a close family member to death just before the meeting, and was unable to attend. Nevertheless, we were very lucky to have Max (Maxim) Dolchok and Brian Saylor, who served in this capacity. The first response was from Max Dolchok, former Executive Director of the Cook Inlet Native Association, based in Anchorage. He is well known in the Alaska Native community for his integrity and leadership. He also has a strong sense of the spiritual, and in responding to the presentations, he spoke not only from his mind, but also from his heart. WHA