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Mary H. Demientieff was interviewed on April 25, 2003 at her apartment in Bethel by her daughter, Carol Atkins, Debbie Turner from the Holy Cross Tribal Council, and Karen Brewster from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program. Mary had recently moved from Holy Cross to be near her family in Bethel and to be closer to better health care facilities. Mary is originally from Nulato, but was sent to the Holy Cross Mission when she was a young girl because her father died and her mother was not able to care for her. Mary talks about life at the Mission, the importance of religion in her life, and the other valuable lessons and life skills she learned there. She talks about marrying her husband, Joe Demientieff and raising a large family together. Mary continues to subsistence fish and hunt on the Yukon River and life at fish camp with her children and grandchildren is one of her greatest pleasures. Mary also enjoys playing music. During part of the interview, she demonstrated her talents by singing and playing the guitar and keyboard. At the end of the interview, Mary describes photographs from her collection that she felt represented her life. She and Carol had selected some snapshots from her photo albums before the interview, and others were framed and hanging on the walls of her home. The photographs add another layer to understanding Mary's life and the history of Holy Cross. |