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It’s with great pleasure that I introduce readers to Joseph Ruak. Joseph is Repagu’nu’worh and was born and raised on the island of Saipan, the setting of Nancy Bo Flood’s debut YA novel, WARRIORS IN THE CROSSFIRE. His father’s family came from the outer islands of Chuuk and settled on Saipan during a time when few people lived on the island.
DW: You’ve known Nancy Bo Flood for many years. Can you talk a little about how your paths first crossed, your long-term friendship, and your feelings about a person like Nancy – who is not from the island – writing a book about such a significant piece of Saipan’s history?
JR:I met Nancy through a mutual friend, who used to teach at the Northern Marianas College (NMC), where Nancy used to teach also. My friend told me that Nancy writes books, collects legends, myths and folklores. My friend encouraged me to meet Nancy regarding the idea of getting the Talabwogh Men Stick dances recorded on a written format and/or video format. You have to remember that, like many cultures, the Carolinian culture was passed down through the generations through its oral histories.
My father and I had been brainstorming ideas on how to save our traditional chants and dances when this rare opportunity presented itself. We discussed it and decided that the best chance our chants and dances would have of being saved was to work with Nancy.
After my father and I met and worked with Nancy on our first project together, I felt like Nancy was sent by our ancestors to look for my father and me, so that we might work together to save our dances. I have since adopted Nancy to be my Nina or Godmother. Anyone who has the patience and takes the time to see another world view is an exceptional human being.
DW: You were born and raised on Saipan and grew up some
20 years after the events chronicled in WARRIORS. Unlike many, myself included, whose parents lived through WW II but experienced it far from the battlefield, your father, Felipe I. Ruak (to whom WARRIORS is dedicated), and many family members actually lived in the middle of the battlefield.
With so many reminders all over the island – memorials, bunkers, tanks, and artillery – did you ever ask your parents about their experiences during the war? 4 Comments on Warriors in the Crossfire, Part 2, last added: 4/16/2010
Thanks for a fascinating interview. I loved it.
I enjoyed both days and both interviews.
I talk with Nancy about how she accurately portrays culture in her book here:
http://sarahblakejohnson.blogspot.com/2010/04/warriors-in-crossfire.html
Thanks, Sarah. I’ll add your link!
Dianne what a wonderful interview! As someone who often approaches the whole issue of insider and outsider cultural narratives with great wariness, I found myself touched and humbled by Joseph Ruak’s words. I think in the quest for accuracy, we are sometimes diverted by facts and their presentation from the true heart of story. Ruak reminds us of this and I’m grateful to Nancy for her good work, and to you for bringing us this view of that work.
Thanks, Uma. I very much enjoyed preparing for this interview and am doubly pleased that you found it useful as a small window into the story *behind* the book.