KAREN:  So are there some communities that have conflict with their health aides in terms of respect? 

RITA:  I think so.  Back then when I first became a health aide when I used to come in for training, they would put us up in Nanuq apartments, and there was some health aides that would come and all they would do is, you know, every night they would go downtown and come home intoxicated, and it was so disrespectful. 

And it just seemed, you know, when you come in for training under Norton Sound, or under your corporation's time and money, you should, you know, treat it as so, as business for your -- for your corporation.  And I just -- I didn't think that was very respectful on their part. 

KAREN:  Uh-hum. 

RITA:  And I think that's one thing I learned from Willa and Irene, some of the older health aides that came into Nome with training.  And they did real good at training, passed all their CMEs, and it's the same way in our community. 

If you have, like, a city council, if you have a mayor who is respectful, you know, not a drunk staggering through town, people are going to respect you.  And it's the same way with health aides.  And every community I think is different.

KAREN:  It seems like it would be much harder to do your job as a health aide if you did not have the respect of your -- and trust of your community.

RITA:  Uh-hum.  Yeah.  It was a trust that you have to build. 

And the biggest part, too, of that or important thing is that you're related to almost all the people in the village.  And if they know you as being a person that they can believe and trust, then they will come and see you. 
So that's one thing I really appreciate working with the elder health aides.  Not all of them were that way but most of them were. 

And those two ladies, they are my -- my mentors.  I was very thankful for Willa.  She taught me all the basic things, and she said that when she learned, she learned all this from my mother. 

And in thinking back, my mother learned all that stuff from her mother, Lucy.  Lucy was the first midwife who -- when the nurses came summertime on the big boat, they would give TB medicine.  So they asked -- and Lucy did a lot of volunteer work. 

Then when she got tired of doing that or wanted to stop doing it, they asked my mom to do it and she did.  And a lot of it was volunteer, they didn't get paid.  I remember for a short time they were getting paid from ANB.  I'm not sure if it's the ANB that is here in Nome. 

KAREN:  What is ANB?

RITA:  Alaska Native Brotherhood. 

KAREN:  Okay.  That's what I thought. 

RITA:  Yeah.  And they saw patients out of their home or in-home visits. 
And I remember my mom getting a check in the mail for 92 something dollars and she was really happy.  She said we got our check today.  And she would go to the store to cash it so she could give the other half to Willa.  And you know, that's 40 something dollars.  That was a lot of money back then. 

And I think they liked what they were doing.  And just the pride of knowing, you know, how they -- they didn't realize all the stuff that they were doing was not recognized, not getting paid, and they were doing what they knew best.  Having compassion and caring and just knowing that they were related to most of the people.