Della Keats

Della Keats (Putyuk) was an Inupiaq healer and midwife who grew up and came of age in the Northwest Arctic region of Alaska during the first half of the 20th century. Further inland from the coast, the region she inhabited is in the drainage areas of the Noatak, Kobuk, and Selawik Rivers as well as Sisualik. Her life in this region coincided with rapid changes as other peoples voyaged and then settled in alongside indigenous societies. Over the latter half of the 19th century, increased contact helped to spread disease; local people acquired firearms and alcohol; and some inhabitants abandoned their traditional territories by the turn of the century. Missions and schools were established in 1905-1915. During this time, families alternated between school and subsistence seasons. It was not until after the 1930s that Inupiat settled more permanently into villages. This was a time of rapid shifts, and Della Keats and her family lived a traditional subsistence lifestyle while gradually incorporating new materials and entering into trade with a cash economy. She was a tribal member of one of the ten communities in the Kotzebue region, Nautaaq (Noatak).

Growing up in a time of rapid cultural transformations, Della Keats witnessed the use of traditional materials and tools, and at the same time observed the increasing use of new materials and tools acquired through trade and adapted to hunting, fishing, housing, and travel. She lived in a sod house as well as a log house and spent time in tents during hunting and fishing season. She wore skin clothes and cotton under clothes. Her mother sewed with a machine discarded by the school, and Della continued to sew with it in adult life. Her bedding was caribou skins but also grass mats on wooden beds in the log house. Her father made a stove and pipe out of kerosene cans. The use of seal gut and sinew was being replaced by twine. Twine was used for fishing and ptarmigan nets, but Della knew about willow bark nets from her mother. Her father hunted with a rifle, but he knew and taught her brother to make and to hunt with a bow and arrow. They made kayaks (qayaq) and skin boats (qayagiaq) out of animals and wood. Paddles were made of caribou shoulder and a willow handle. Seal oil lamps were being replaced by kerosene lamps. And as she grew older, she began to use an inboard motor in a boat. had not been able to hunt successfully, so Della Keats' family shared their food and helped the party to survive.

Adult Life and Healing Work

Della Keats' autobiography skips from her early years, 1907-1918, to her adult life, 1930s-1940s. The anatomical nomenclature of the Inupiat language suggests that members of the culture shared a similar interest. Father Oleksa's brief portrait claims that she started healing people when she was 16, The healing hands of the Inupiat people like Della Keats was not unique but characteristic of other Alaska Native groups. Massage and cold and heat helped with diagnosis and treatment of a range of ailments—liver, stomach, constipation, sprains, dislocations, fractures—and could also be used to turn babies in utero or move an umbilical cord

Awards and honors

In 1983, Della Keats was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in Health Sciences , by the University of Alaska Anchorage. In 2009, Della Keats was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame . According to the award biography, as written by Gabriela Riquelme, Keats "used three tools to heal her patients: her hands, her head, and her heart. Her hands were her main tools. Her sense of touch was highly developed and just by touching Keats could diagnose troubles and pains. She would prescribe home remedies made from herbs and plants from the tundra, or perform massages or exercises on her patients. She would give advice and suggest certain practical activities for her patients and their families to do to stay healthy. Keats believed the more people were involved with their own bodies, the higher the chances were they could heal themselves and take control of their own health. Keats encouraged her patients to take an interest in healing themselves through a positive and personal approach." Della Keats has an entry in the National Library of Medicine, which is sponsored by the National Institute of Health.

Maniilaq Health Center The Maniilaq Health Center (the hospital based in Kotzebue that services the Northwest Arctic region) relies on the example of Della and other tribal healers to service the people of the region. While most of the doctors who work there undergo formal medical education, they still have a tribal doctor program where traditional healers can treat people and provide apprenticeships.

Della Keats Health Sciences Curriculum Both a summer bridge program and a summer research program are named in honor of Della Keats for her long-standing commitment to the health of Native peoples and all people in Alaska.

Della Keats Health Sciences Summer Program Part of the UAA WWAMI School of Medical Education, the summer program is a bridge program that serves high school students from rural areas who are planning to pursue medical and health care careers in college. Della Keats Summer Research Program The summer research program is a continuation from the previous summer. In a six-week program, students are paired with a mentor and guided through an internship in which they design, carry out, and present on health-related research.

Della Keats Healing Hands Award The Della Keats Healing Hands Award is bestowed upon a tribal healer or health care provider and announced at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives that convenes in October each year.

2019: Dorcus Rock 2017: Ethel Lund 2015: Dr. Nora Nagaruk Aiyuu 1999: Betty Geraldine Nelson