LILLIAN:  And so... 

KAREN:  Now, after you retired as a health aide, did you continue -- did you continue to be involved in regional health care? 

LILLIAN:  Uh-hum (affirmative). 

KAREN:  How? 

LILLIAN:  Just -- just by them calling me up on CB and telling me how -- what's wrong with their child, what should I do.  Just go to the health aide and tell them, I think that's what's wrong with them, you know. 

KAREN:  So you weren't involved with the health board or health corporation? 

LILLIAN:  I -- no.  Huh-uh.  I wanted to be, but they had one, somebody on the health board that just didn't do much, but at that time, they just let it ride that way. 

And anyway, I -- I did go to some meetings.  As a health aide, we had -- we formed a health aide association, and we had meetings -- I had -- down the Kuskokwim area, we would have health aide meetings.  And there were a lot of health aides. 

And the -- the health aides from the Kuskokwim area were Yup'ik speaking.  They would have their meetings and they would be talking.  Our meeting -- we would have our meetings and they would be talking Yup'ik because they didn't know how to speak English too good, maybe. 

And I didn't mind.  I didn't understand half of what they said, but I didn't mind it.  It didn't bother me. 

And Clara Morgan and I -- Clara knew how to speak Yup'ik and I didn't.  And but I'd understand.  I wouldn't know how to respond to them, though, because I didn't learn the language.  And that -- we didn't have too much of a problem there. 

But then if we had meetings, nowadays they -- when we go to meetings in Bethel, they speak in Yup'ik, the majority of the people do.  And we have a translator and we have these headphones that we hear, it translates to us. 
KAREN:  So as a health aide in Holy Cross, you worked for the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation? 

LILLIAN:  Yes.  Yes.  And I got my training through the --

KAREN:  Through them? 

LILLIAN:  Through them. 

KAREN:  Okay. 

LILLIAN:  And there was a few times I went to Tanana Chiefs in Fairbanks.  And we had a health aide gathering there, too.  Because politically, we belonged to the Doyon region.  Medically, we belonged to YKHC because that's the closest hospital to us. 

Fairbanks is far away.  Their service unit couldn't train us because it was easier for us to go to Bethel.  We're closer than we -- so we belong to their unit. 
And when TCC had meetings and they -- they started gathering health aides together, I went up there to the meeting.  And up there it was -- most all of them could speak good English and they -- they spoke their language, too, you know. 

KAREN:  Uh-hum. 

LILLIAN:  And -- and at our meetings, they spoke English, but among themselves, they spoke their language. 

I didn't -- I didn't know or anybody had to translate for us.  But that was just more like, I don't know, just something that they wanted to see how -- what kind of training we had and what kind of training they were giving theirs, health aides. 

KAREN:  So Holy Cross -- Holy Cross, Shageluk, Grayling, Anvik, you're all YKHC.

LILLIAN:  Uh-hum (affirmative). 

KAREN:  For medical. 

LILLIAN:  Uh-hum (affirmative). 

KAREN:  And right on the boundary, I guess, of the two.  Yeah.

LILLIAN:  Uh-hum (affirmative).  And McGrath was with TCC. 

KAREN:  Uh-hum. 

LILLIAN:  And we had TCC meetings up there, I'd go up there to attend them if I was asked to. 

KAREN:  And what about Aniak?  That's --

LILLIAN:  Aniak? 

KAREN:  Is that YKHC? 

LILLIAN:  Aniak was with YK.  Uh-hum.  Uh-hum. 

(End of Tape 1.)