Indigenous to the coastal areas and archipelagos of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Ainu have been facing Russian and Japanese colonialisms for over two centuries. In this essay and its two associated poems, Kanako Uzawa describes the ongoing political and cultural efforts to assert Ainu self-determination rights, in particular in Hokkaido.
A Story That Was Never Being Told ///
Releasing anger of the past helps us to move forward in our life journey
We dance and sing for this moment to be together
The togetherness reminds us who we are
Joy of dance
Tundra of music that runs through our body
Our moment together
Voices from the past that echoes within ourselves
Clinging on our back, trying to get back to a present time and life
Breath that comes back to a body
Rusted and cold bones filled with the smell of blood
A last drop of the blood sings to our heart
Clinging to each other
Finally, warm blood running through a body
Searching for the joy of life, which we once had and lost
Getting life back isn’t easy
Trying to remember how it was to breathe, laugh, and cry
My present life seems different from how I remember
Throughout the late 19th to 20th centuries, Ainu people were targeted as a fascinating research object within a Japanese academic landscape influenced by Western frameworks of race and Social Darwinism. Much academic colonialism was done to the Ainu in Hokkaido during this length of time by Japanese scientists. Today, collections of Ainu remains are still housed in Japanese universities.