The Unangan WayThe Unangan WayThe Unangan WayThe Unangan Way
  • THE BOOK
  • EVENTS
  • PRACTICES
  • COMING OUT OF SHUTDOWN PATHWAY
  • JOIN US
    • LIVE AND ONLINE COURSES
    • WELLNESS PROFESSIONALS - LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK
    • ORGANIZATIONS - LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK
    • OUR TRAINING ACADEMY FOR WELLNESS PROFESSIONALS
    • INDIVIDUALS- FIND A GUIDE TO WORK WITH
    • LICENSE OUR FILMS
  • SHOP
  • MY ACCOUNT
  • Login
  • HELP
0

The Unangan Way

The Unangan Way

A conversation with Ilarion 'Kuuyux' Merculieff

Our advisor Ilarion 'Kuuyux' Merculieff is an Unangan (Aleut) elder who was raised in a traditional manner on his ancestral island, St. Paul, part of the Pribiloff Islands, a 5 by 12 mile island hundreds of miles into the Bering Sea, that, when he was a boy, was home to 1.2 million Norther Fur Seals, 2.5 million sea birds, 1000 reindeer, and 450 Unangan people. He received his name, Kuuyux, at 4 years of age, from the last surviving Kuuyux in his tribe. He was mentored by an 'acha' in the Unangan traditional lifeways from the age of 5 until 13, during which time he says his mentor said less then 200 words to him. Kuuyux means an arm extending from the body: a translator of ancient wisdom into modern times. The Unangan people can trace their ancestry back more than 10,000 years. Their civilization created the most densely populated linear mile of shoreline in North America, in the middle of the Bering Sea. Unangan people did not traditionally wear shoes. Their anthropometric kayaks were so sophisticated that they traveled to the southernmost tip of South America.

When he reached 30 years old, Kuuyux spoke to the elders, and they decided he would move out into the world to share teachings. Since that time almost 40 years ago, he has been receiving, convening, and sharing the wisdom of indigenous elders around the world. He is the President of the Global Center for Indigenous Leadership & Lifeways, and the convener of Wisdom Weavers of the World, a network of 13 indigenous elders from all the directions who assembled in Kauai in 2017 to create a message for humanity. A film of that gathering is on this website, called Indigenous Voices.

In this conversation, originally recorded for the Global Resilience Summit, Gabriel and Ilarion talk about language, the relationship between ancestral awareness of the heart and modern neurophysiology (Gabriel introduced Ilarion and Dr. Stephen Porges into conversation), the indigenous perspective on the pandemic, and the quest to become a real human being.

NB: In the background video above, note the footwear of the man in the canoe.

Related Practices:

See Becoming a Real Human Being. See Indigenous Voices, see Traditional Hawa'iian Farming, see Responsibilities versus rights. See Toward Indigenous Models of Forest Stewardship. See Exiting the Language of Domination. See all kinds of Connecting to Nature practices, including Sit Spot, Touch the Ground, Watch the Sunrise.

Who taught us this?

Ilarion 'Kuuyux' Merculieff, author of Wisdom Keeper: One Man's Journey to Honor the Untold History of the Unangan People

Teach me how

Ready to learn more with Ilarion? Join us for his beautiful course, Becoming a Real Human Being with Ilarion Merculieff.

Who taught us this?

Ilarion 'Kuuyux' Merculieff, author of Wisdom Keeper: One Man's Journey to Honor the Untold History of the Unangan People

Teach me how

Ready to learn more with Ilarion? Join us for his beautiful course, Becoming a Real Human Being with Ilarion Merculieff.

Video: | Photography: | Licensed from Pexels.com, used with permission.

JOIN US

Directory of Practitioners (Guides)
For Wellness Practitioners
For Organizations
Communities of Practice
The Complete Film Series
Analog Apps
Training for Wellness Professionals
Apply to teach on the platform
Join Our Newsletter

The Restorative Practices Alliance is headquartered in Northern California and serves internationally. Our mission is to re-center safety and connection as the baseline of an ecological human multi-culture. We are a philanthropic ancestral neuro-technology cooperative and culture repair engine, powered by intellectual property licensed from Applied Mindfulness, Inc., and held in trust from other sources of wisdom.

ABOUT US

Global Council of Governance
Faculty, Advisors, & Affiliates
HQ
Glossary of Terms
Privacy Policy
Legal

GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS

San Francisco Bay Area, California

UNITED STATES LOCATIONS

Homer, Alaska

San Diego, California

Boulder, Colorado

Maui, Hawa'ii

Chicago, Illinois

St. Louis, Missouri

Sante Fe & Corrales, New Mexico

Stone Ridge, New York

Portland, Oregon

Seattle, Washington

INTERNATIONAL

Stroud, United Kingdom,

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Manila, Philippines

Bahia, Brasil

 

www.restorativepractices.com

CONTACT

tel: 1 844 REST PRA (737 8772)

support@restorativepractices.com

 

LOGIN

Remember me

    0