Mary Tellefson

Two Canes on the Tundra Mary Tellefson

In an Alaskan Yupik village, a blind 12-year-old, Apu, relies on his older cousin to guide him around the village. When a special teacher flies in to teach him how to use a cane, Apu is teased by the other kids and gets angry.



Hearing about Apu's struggles at school, Grandfather sets up a ceremony in which Apu's extended family tell stories of ancestors bravely navigating the Alaskan wilderness using tools for survival. Apu's resistance to using a cane fades as he recognizes Grandfather's support cane and his own mobility cane as tools for independence, similar to the role of ancestral tools for survival in a harsh wilderness.