Ilarion Merculieff remembers a prayer with his grandfather on the shore of the Bering Sea and moments they shared during his childhood. There, he learned how to be a real human being through the age-old way of the Unangan (Aleut) people: direct experience. He describes the relationship with his Aachaa or mentor that extended his understanding and Earth connection through observation rather than words. The way of the real human being is a proven pathway to living in long-term sustainable ways on our shared land.