All my life I have wished on every star, birthday cake candle, eye lash and 11:11 to one day know my dad. A few years back I found my father on MySpace and started a relationship with him over the phone and the internet. I had always been curious as to what he looked like and how he acted but I think I was really after the discovery of my genealogical roots. Where did I come from and what people came before me and set the path to my existence?
After a few days of talking on the phone we knew the basic quirks that we shared like the fact that we both like having nice things and have expensive taste and both grew up without a father. Finding these things out was comforting but so surface level. I was excited that I could find out about the other half that created me but I craved more. Finally my father started to tell me about my great grandfather which excited me because my great grandfather on my mothers side is my hero and I thought that maybe I could have two heroes!
Slowly I started to learn that my great grandfather (my dad’s grandfather) was an Eskimo Indian in a tribe in Alaska! He was an adventurous, loving and giving man who went above and beyond for his community. He won a medal in the Eskimo Indian World Olympics, hunted, fished, volunteered and won several awards for giving back to the Eskimo community. Finding all of this out made me feel like I was part of this magical tribe that is in tune with the earth and has love and respect for the land. I suppose I built up quite a few fairytale fantasies in my head but I couldn’t help but feel in my soul that the my great grandfather and the Eskimos are apart of my soul. I grew more confident about being a strong woman that is adventurous and giving. My great grandfather passed away in 1999 but he is my other hero and I feel blessed to be a part of his genealogical tree.
Learning about my Eskimo heritage has inspired me to visit the tribe in Alaska and get to know my genealogical roots even more. I feel like people have these instincts inside of them but sometimes they are out of sync with them because they aren’t sure where they come from. Researching your genealogical history can lead to a greater understanding of one self and greater self confidence. That’s just a few things that I have taken out of this experience and can’t wait to grow even more through genealogy research!
