"They took my sealskin cap, Mom." Those were the first words my son spoke to me after his high school graduation ceremony.
With great pride in our Inupiaq culture, my oldest son wore our sealskin graduation cap to his West Anchorage High School graduation ceremony. He had convinced me last year to sew the cap for my own graduation from the Master's in Rural Development program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, reminding me that all my kids and future grandkids could wear it for their graduations, beginning with him this year - something my other children enthusiastically agreed with.