Shirley Tuzroyluke
I am of Tlingit and Nisga’a heritage. I was born and grew up in Juneau.
When I was young, our family was very close. Our childhood environment was filled with multitudes of cousins, aunts, uncles and Elders. Our neighborhood church was a focal point for many community gatherings and spiritual reflection. Our neighborhood was predominantly Tlingit, with others that lived harmoniously in our midst.
When I was young, the city of Juneau decided to create an outer drive that ran right through our neighborhood, which necessitated that all of the families move. This was a very disruptive time in our lives, as we all moved to different parts of Juneau. Our community church closed and the sense of community was disrupted. This contributed to stresses in all families, including ours.
When we moved across town, our house burned down, and my Grandmother took us in – Mom and seven children. Grandma was in her 70s at that time, and held onto spiritual beliefs from our Tlingit heritage and from the Presbyterian Church. Because she didn’t believe in taking handouts, she supported us with her skin sewing. It was too expensive to heat the house 24 hours a day, so she turned the oil stove went off when we went to sleep. She awoke before everyone and turned on the stove, so by the time she woke us up, the house was warm and our hot oatmeal was waiting for us. She sewed all day and into the night, first at the kitchen table, and then in her small wooden rocking chair in the living room.
Grandma was very sparing in her words, but as my sister Patty says, “We always knew what she meant.” Grandma’s unconditional dedication to family and community comes back in our visions of who we are as adults. My younger brother, Larry McNeil, dedicated a picture to my Grandmother, called “Grandma, we who are your children, 2002.” Larry now teaches photography at Boise State. In honor of Grandma, Mary Brown Betts, we take forward your caring, your hard work and your heart.
