Dorothy M. Jones

Jones, Dorothy. Tatiana. Fairbanks: Vanessapress, 2001.

Tatiana is an Aleut woman clinging to her ancestral truths in spite the while man's emergence and the prevalence of modern medicine, technology and unfamiliar customs. This is first apparent when her husband needs surgery after a burst appendix. She is grateful for modern healthcare saving his life but is somewhat disappointed when the old remedies of her culture couldn't do the same. This sociological shift is even more evident in the upbringing of her children. Her daughter's mouth is washed out with soap for not speaking English in class; her son, home from a higher education school in Oregon, is bored with the tiny town life that used to thrill him. The divide even affects Tatiana personally when her aacha (friend with whom she has a special bond) Katya is baptized by the missionaries, marries a white man and is ruined by him. It is this relationship that is interlaced throughout Tatiana's present day life. It is one of Tatiana's deepest sorrows. But, nothing drives home the differences between Tatiana's old way of life and the modern more than World War II. Evacuated to a southern Alaskan village Tatiana's entire way of life is disrupted and turned upside down.… (mais)