Former Foster Child Shines at Native Oratory Competition

We tend to give more weight to stories told by adoptees or former foster children, if you haven’t noticed. This gem shows the bravery of Shannon Alexie, a 20-year-old Alaska Christian College student of Yupik descent who participated in the Alaska Native Oratory Society competition.

“The Alaska Native took her turn in the oratory category, imparting her firsthand account of the ravages of alcohol addiction and child abuse on the human soul.

“Many of the Alaskan Native youth are forced into foster care because of an unsafe environment,” Alexie said. “I am one of these children. I am a child to an alcoholic mother. I am a victim of child abuse caused by an alcohol addiction. I know all too well the pain and destruction behind a bottle of alcohol — and it’s behind every bottle. I know the chaos and rampage of a drunk person, and I know to stay clear.”

Alexie was placed into foster care the summer before her freshman year of high school. She came to Soldotna and attended Skyview and Soldotna high schools before returning to Mountain Village, her home, to finish her education.

“It is an unnecessary pain, an unwanted hurt,” Alexie said, fighting a wave of emotion as she struggled to continue. “Something that is covered up, hidden or masked. Nobody wants to admit they are a victim of child abuse; that the only attention they get from their parents is when they’re beating them.”
After her speech, Alexie commented on sharing her story with such unrestrained, naked honesty in front of a crowd of about two dozen.

“If it hurt me, then it definitely hurt a lot of other people,” she said of alcohol addiction. “I feel like it should be shared and it shouldn’t be kept a secret, because there is hope out there.”

Students shine at Native oratory competition
[NECN 4/14/11]

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