Each morning, Russel is awakened by the sound of his father's coughing and the smell of diesel fuel. For Russel Susskit and the other Eskimos in this out-of-the-way village, every day is the same. Russel is suspicious and distrustful of things and people who come from Outside. The tobacco his father rolls into homemade cigarettes comes from Outside, as do the pictures of Jesus that decorate the walls of his home. Outside represents the white man and the white man's ways. When Russel tries to talk to his father and explain the feelings he is having, his father admits not knowing how to help his son and sends Russel to visit a village elder by the name of Oogruk. Oogruk knows the Old Ways — how the Eskimos lived before the white men came to the far north. Oogruk is a kind of shaman, or holy man. Oogruk is revered in the village as a wise, albeit eccentric, old man with important stories to tell and mysterious songs to sing. Russel is drawn to Oogruk and calls him "Grandfather" out of respect. Russel does not realize that his life and Oogruk's life are
Each morning, Russel is awakened by the sound of his father's coughing and the smell of diesel fuel. For Russel Susskit and the other Eskimos in this out-of-the-way village, every day is the same. Russel is suspicious and distrustful of things and people who come from Outside. The tobacco his father rolls into homemade cigarettes comes from Outside, as do the pictures of Jesus that decorate the walls of his home. Outside represents the white man and the white man's ways. When Russel tries to talk to his father and explain the feelings he is having, his father admits not knowing how to help his son and sends Russel to visit a village elder by the name of Oogruk. Oogruk knows the Old Ways — how the Eskimos lived before the white men came to the far north. Oogruk is a kind of shaman, or holy man. Oogruk is revered in the village as a wise, albeit eccentric, old man with important stories to tell and mysterious songs to sing. Russel is drawn to Oogruk and calls him "Grandfather" out of respect. Russel does not realize that his life and Oogruk's life are