Becoming a Real Human Being

Ilarion Merculieff is the President of the Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways. He was raised in a traditional manner on the Pribiloff Islands in the Bering Sea, where his people have been living for 10,000 years. The Unangan culture created the most densely populated linear shoreline in North America, and travelled to the tip of South America in their single and double-hulled kayaks. Ilarion's traditional name, Kuuyux, means an arm extending out to the world. He brings ancient Indigenous ways of Knowing into modern times. He is the Convener of Wisdom Weavers of the World, a collective of 13 indigenous elders from cultures around the globe that met in Kauai in 2017 to prepare a message for humanity and continue to work to share the messages of Indigenous people globally. He is the author of Wisdom Keeper: One Man's Journey to Honor the Untold History of the Unangan People.