Sheshalik, at first sight, is too big tobelieve--all the tents, the skin tents of our people, stretching out along theedge of the beach and reaching up inland for as far as the eye can see.Overflowing with the sounds of happiness--the kind of happiness that only comesof many, many people, all coming together as one.

This is my first impression of theSheshalik trade fair, that all the people of the world must be here. Everyonein the entire world, all here at Sheshalik, preparing to trade.

People have indeed come from many distant places, each group bringing the specialties of its own region. We ourselves have sealskin pokes full of seal oil, and split walrus skins for boat-making,because our women are the most skillful at preparing these. We also have coilsand coils of sealskin rope, strong enough to pull a whale. The rope our menmake is always in high demand by those from other regions. We will trade these island things for stone from the People-of-the-Land,soapstone and jade from the mountains up inland, the kind used for lamps, sealoil lamps.

Aaluk will of course need a lamp of her own, now that she has become a woman. A pretty new lamp carved of jade, perhaps, or a smooth one of polished soapstone. A lamp to heat her own home, when she leaves ours for the home of her husband, whoever he may be. But not me. I have no use for a lamp, just yet. Nor for a husband.

I've been eying the Siberian reindeer skins, for the length of our trip together--white as snow and supple as water, piledhigh in the Siberians' boats. I am wanting a new parka, a pretty new parka ofSiberian reindeer, soft and light and easy to run in. I would have it with a dark wolverine ruff and leather trim dyed red with willow bark, the way the inland people make it. I hope Papa will trade one of our seal oil pokes for enough skins for a new parka for me.

It doesn't take long to unpack our gear and soon our tent is snug as home with

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Excerpted from Blessing's Bead by Debby Dahl Edwardson
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