From the Editor
This issue is the most passionate one I’ve had to share yet. There are plenty of poems, some research papers about climate change, subsistence and religion, and there are old stories. Emily Ivanoff Brown collected traditional stories and shared a book about them so I included a story about the legend of the aurora borealis. You know, the one about the northern lights chopping your head off and playing football with it? Yea, it’s on page 28. Stephen D. Bolen wrote a fiction short story based in Selawik that you can find on page 42. Then Paałuk writes a poem about our ability to save our language on page 33. I also collaborated with Tusaayaksat, the magazine based in Inuvik, NWT Canada, and did a story swap. You’ll see their article about Arctic cruiseships on page 22. I’ve been enjoying the submissions from all the contributors. Their courage to express themselves continues to motivate me to keep creating this space for them to do so. Everyone has a story that deserves to be told and storytelling is an important aspect of our culture. Thank you so much to those of you who agreed to share your work with us. It’s amazing what happens when a creative outlet like this is created. I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season. Taikuulapiaq. Thank you very much for reading The Qargi Zine.
. M. Jacqui Igluguq Lambert .
Photo by Kim Bebout
Contributors Kim Bebout Tim Argetsinger Tiffany Creed Elizabeth Ahkivgak Crystal Worl Denali Whiting Jerica Aamodt Erica Khan Elaine Anselmi Michael Wanzenried Stephen D. Bolen Saima Chase Paałuk Joy Huntington Teressa Baldwin Tenna Judkins Lydia Agnus Elizabeth Ferguson Jake Wells
Photo by Kim Bebout
On The Cover Illustration by Jacqui Lambert The qargi (kah-dah-gee) was traditionally the community gathering house. The Qargi Zine is a gathering place for Rural Alaskan artwork, photography, and stories. Mission: to instill the knowledge and pride of the Native culture in today’s generation. E-mail Subscription: mjacquilambert@gmail.com
Contents
04 Inupiaq: A Surviving Language 05 Atautchikun Sivutmun 09 People Like Us Playlist 10 #KotzebueThroughInstagram 12 Little Pink House 18 Puzzled Inupiaq 22 Breaking the Ice 25 The Great Vally of Fire 28 Legend of the Aurora Borealis 30 Arctic Circle Chickens 36 NRC’s Responsibility to Tribes 38 Presbyterian History and Influence in Barrow, Alaska 42 My Brother’s Village This project is supported in part by a grant from the Alska Humanities Forum and the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Qargi Zine do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
46 Subsistence Way of Life 48 Atmospheric Gases and the Electromagnetic Radiation
Iñupiaq: A Surviving Language Potluck Phrases Nikiatchuat Phrase Book
We will bless the food before we begin.
Agaayyutilavut niqiksrautivut niġigaluaqata. Thank you Lord for giving us food to eat. Amen.
Quyaġiptiġiñ Agaayyuun niqiksraqaqtilluqaptigut. Amen. Who are serving the Elders?
Kisut niqiksrinñiaqpatigiŋ utuqqanaat? What food would you like me to get you?
Sumik niqiksriññaqyaqpigiñ? Would you like some tea?
Saiyutuġukpich? I would like some more soup.
Imiġauraqtulaaġuktuŋa. Do you have any fish recipes?
Recipe-qaqpich iqaluŋnik? How would you like the caribou cooked?
Qanuq igatquviuŋ tuttu?
ATAUTCHIKUN SIVUTMUN By Aqukkasuk Tim Argetsinger
Iñuich qiñiġaat umiaqpak kiviruaq Umiaqpak kaviqsaaŋuruq Umiaqpak qatiqtaaŋuruq Umiaqpak uquaqtaaŋuruq Iñuich qiñiġaat tupiq ikiruaq Tupiq kaviqsaaŋuruq Tupiq qatiqtaaŋuruq Tupiq uquaqtaaŋuruq Iñuich naalaktuaġaat saglutupiaġataq uumiksriłiġmik quliaqtuaqtuaq Saglutupiaġataq kaviqsaaŋuruq Saglutupiaġataq qatiqtaaŋuruq Saglutupiaġataq uquaqtaaŋuruq Iñuich iqsinġitchut Iñuich atautchimuktut Iñuich piqpakkutigun sivutmuuniaqtut
FORWARD TOGETHER By Aqukkasuk Tim Argetsinger
The people are watching the ship sink The ship is red The ship is white The ship is blue The people are watching the house burn The house is red The house is white The house is blue The people are listening to the liar preach hatred The liar is red The liar is white The liar is blue The people are not afraid The people are assembling The people will persevere through love
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LITTLE
PINK HOUSE by Elizabeth Ahkivgak
You grew me tough You grew me afraid You grew me shame You grew me paranoid You grew me tired You grew me hungry You grew me resentful You grew me habits You grew me angry You grew me out You grew me away But I don’t live there anymore
You grew me strong You grew me resilient You grew me defiant You grew me creative You grew me faith You grew me silent You grew me steady You grew me humble You grew me modest You grew me compassion You grew me gratitude But I don’t live there anymore
Now I’m grown and I look back and see how you grew me more.
Now I’m grown and I look back and see how you grew me more; more than I wanted, more than I asked for.
The next four pages show art by Crystal Worl www.crystalworl.com IG: @crystalworl Shop for art gifts at Crystal's shop:
www.trickstercompany.com
Crystal is Tlingit Athabascan from Raven moiety, Sockeye Clan, from the Raven House. She is a child of a Thunderbird and from the Chilkat region in Southeast Alaska. From her mother’s side, she is Deg Hit’an Athabascan from Fairbanks Alaska. Crystal holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Studio Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Crystal’s work was recently been honored by Joe and Jill Biden in Washington D.C. and featured in the Art in Embassies internationally. In May of 2016 she will be exhibiting six paintings at the Orenda International Art Gallery in Paris, France. Crystal works with kiln-cast glass, printmaking, painting, and silversmithing. She
recently began working with fish skin, seal gut-skin, and furs. Crystal studies traditional Tlingit formline design and Athabascan beadwork patterns. She experiments applying her designs within mixed media and performance. She practices the recreation and modernization of her Clan’s stories and Raven stories from home. Her work explores the relationships and bonds between her people, the land, and the animals. Today Crystal lives in Juneau as co-owner of Trickster Company with her brother Rico. Trickster Company promotes innovative indigenous design focused on the Northwest Coast art and exploration of themes and issues in Native culture. Artist statement: Through the practice of
creation, I exist between both traditional and modern worlds. My creative process is constantly transforming and thus a new experience unfolds during each production. I am Tlingit and Athabascan from Juneau and Fairbanks, Alaska. The stories I share in my art are about Raven. The forms I focus on are based on traditional Tlingit design that are often intertwined with Athabascan beadwork design. I practice the recreation and modernization of Tlingit and Athabascan designs. My creative process is a means to bridge my experiences between two worlds, the traditional world and the modern world. I create art to share ancestral knowledge of creation and life and pass on traditional values to the new generations while leaving space for fresh interpretation.
Puzzled To describe the land is to describe myself. What makes a landscape sacred? It is the very essence that allows my spirit to be sacred. The history of my ancestors and the story of our future is written in code throughout our ecosystem. This complex network composes my physical self, and is the binding factor to my wellbeing as an Inupiaq – as a person of this earth. In many instances I have found myself trying to explain and understand the entirety of what my culture means especially when people ask about subsistence, regalia, values, or language. You cannot explain one aspect fully without mentioning the others, the small pieces that contribute to the large. Our culture is like a puzzle, as cliché as that sounds. In viewing one piece alone you are disregarding the whole picture. And the glue that binds this puzzle together is our land. I have trained my mind to view things as holistically as possible because of this. It is almost insulting to single one aspect out. Not all of our “pieces” have to be shared with
everyone else, but we need to understand that in showing how these pieces fit, we will better protect our land, which will protect our spirit. When some people think of “Eski-
display case showing a pair of maklaks, which were labeled “Boots.” The rest of the placard described, “Reindeer, seal skin, leather, felt. Inupiat, Nome area. Ca. 1925, Seppala Collection.” This is what someone
Our culture is like a puzzle, as cliché as that sounds. In viewing one piece alone you are disregarding the whole picture.
mos,” they often picture what they have seen on TV. Where would you go to learn about “Eskimos” if you knew nothing about us? A museum, probably. Which museums might have the most thorough information? I don’t know about you, but I’d guess a museum in Alaska. Recently, I took a trip to the museum curious about what I would find. I walked over to the Northern section and stopped at a
unfamiliar with our culture would see in an effort to learn about who we are. Although technically the information was correct, there was so much more that I wanted to know and that could be said about this single pair of boots. To describe these maklaks is to describe myself. Which puzzle pieces interlock? Let’s see. The maklaks had a “hard bottom” made of sealskin. To make these, you have to have a successful hunt. After separating the meat and blubber from the hide and set aside to be prepared in various ways for food, you work on the skin to tan
Iñupiaq
it. Once it is tanned, it is crimped and shaped, and then you can sew the reindeer to it to create the leggings. The string was made of sinew. I imagined a beautiful Inupiaq woman carefully stitching the materials together with patience and purpose. I thought about the family structure at the time these were made. Was it her husband who harvested these pieces? Was the meat being frozen, stored, or maybe dried into paniqtak to be taken out as a snack for the hunters on their next harvest. I wondered if maybe her daughter or niece might have helped with the sewing. Likely someone was with the seamstress during this time, observing every stitch and motion in detail during the process, engraining these steps in her mind. I thought of my own
grandmother, Dora Wilson, making maklaks each year so that her whole family could stay warm. I wanted to share my thoughts with those coming to the museum to learn about our history. To learn about these boots. To see the whole picture. In order for our culture to survive, we need to have a healthy environment. The seals that we depend on for food and use for sewing have to be healthy. In order for the seals to be healthy, they need a healthy environment, the right temperatures, low disturbances in the ocean from outside sources, and lots of
As for the pieces of the puzzle, I hope they stay vibrant and we don’t lose any under the couch. food for them to eat. The same is true for caribou. They need lots of food and access to this food. They need a healthy migration pattern with limited outside disturbances.
If our environment is unhealthy, our resources become stressed and unhealthy. If our resources are unhealthy, we are unhealthy. Physically, mentally, spiritually. It is the foundation behind the phrase “living a subsistence lifestyle.” This is what I mean when I say “to describe the land is to describe myself.” As for the pieces of the puzzle, I hope they stay vibrant and we don’t lose any under the couch.
By Denali Quyanna Qapvik Whiting
Photos by Jerica Niayuq Aamodt of UtqiaÄĄvik, Alaska
Erica Purruq Khan is of Inupiaq decent and also of Pakistani decent. She was born and raised in Utqiagvik, Alaska and is currently attending the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Erica has always found gratification in drawing ever since she was a child. Her drawings illustrates life in diverse cultures, mainly in Alaskan Native and Native American cultures. Erica hopes to portray ethnic values and cultural identity in her illustrations. Her desire is to show the world the beauty that was instilled in us from our ancestors.
BREAKING THE ICE In collaboration with
Ulukhaktok greets three times its population as luxury cruise ship makes port Words by Elaine Anselmi (@elaineanselmi on Twitter) Photos by Jackie Challis and Jerri Thrasher After mixing the flour, baking powder, milk and eggs it takes a half hour to an hour for the bannock to be ready to fry. “It depends how it feels,” says Bessie Inuktalik. “If it feels soft, I give it half an hour, let them mingle - get to know each other. If it’s hard when you’re trying to punch it, that’s when you know it needs more than a half an hour.” The day before the luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity made port in Ulukhaktok, Bessie spent eight hours in her kitchen. Today, she’ll serve up bannock to its 1,000 passengers - at least those who come to shore. “We all need bannock. It’s part of our daily food,” she says. “Back then we didn’t have very much, but we always had bannock.” Some Northern communities are used to towering luxury cruise liners making port and unloading flocks of foreign, culture-shocked and often well-off travellers ready to scoop up local crafts and take in whatever unique experience they can in their short visit. Ulukhaktok isn’t one of them. The community of just over 400 on the western coast of Victoria Island is accustom to smaller expedition ships coming through, usually 200 to 250
passengers at a time. And there’s certainly an industry of hunters, scientists and social scientists who make regular stops in the community for their own reasons. All of this adds up to a certain amount of tourism, but not a whole lot. “We’re happy to have visitors,” Bessie says. “We make them feel welcome, so they say, ‘Oh look, that’s the best community. Let’s go back there,’ and it helps our community too. I always enjoy having people come. Even if you just came off the plane, we’re still happy to see you. It’s passed down to us, eh? Treat people the way you want to be treated. Treat them nice and everybody’s good to you.” With the arrival of the Crystal Serenity, the community greeted three times its population. The ship, endowed with six restaurants, a spa and fitness centre, movie theatre and casino carved its way through the Arctic Ocean, and arguably a path for many ships after it. Arriving at the mouth of Queens Bay on August 26, the Serenity spent a night anchored in the turquoise waters of the Arctic Ocean as Canadian customs agents cleared each passenger - carrying passports from China, Germany and across the United States. A handful
of Canadians were also among the crowd, dressed in bright red parkas doled out to each passenger on board - a perk of the steep ticket prices that ranged from $20,000 to $120,000. The next morning, the troops came to shore. The red jackets filtered out of black zodiacs, carrying up to 20 people at a time and making runs back and forth from the shore to the ship, populating the community with between 100 and 200 new faces every two hours. Any more than that, it was thought, would overwhelm the community. The media coverage around the ship’s arrival in Ulukhaktok, as well as some of its other stops along the 32-day journey, including Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, was far from glowing. Headlines ranged from ‘Do you live here all year?’ Nunavut community invaded by largest cruise ship in Arctic history, to A new Titanic? US and Canada prepare for the worst as luxury Arctic cruise sets sail. An opinion piece that originally ran in the online current affairs magazine Slate, and rerun as an audio essay by the CBC, went so far as to exclaim The worst people in the world are on a luxury mega-cruise through the Northwest
Passage. The risks of the venture were certainly there: the potentially devastating impact on the marine environment should there be a disaster, and the challenge posed to emergency response by the remote conditions and scale of the vessel. Community members, however, were more balanced in their opinions. In fact, the sentiment in town - had a few more media outlets sought it out - painted a very different picture. “It’s very exciting to show how we live here. Every two or three days, two times or three times a week we get airplanes and stuff like that … but there’s no other means of going in and out of the community,” says Susie Malgokak. “And see how the young and old, they are all together, planning on performing for the people? That is so good.” This isn’t to say the risks are out of mind. In fact, the impact of the changing sea ice that is allowing the ships passage is arguably felt more by the people of these coastal communities than anyone else. And as these waters open up, the ice thinning and clearing from the passage - that for so long locked out this sort of major-scale tourism - it’s not likely to end here. Crystal Cruises are betting on the Arctic. In July, the company that operates the Serenity announced they had on order three 1,000-tonne polar ice-class cruise ships. According to the news release, each ship has the capacity for 1,000 passengers and as many crewmembers. The first of the fleet is expected in 2018. By the numbers, it’s easy to see value in the burgeoning industry: early assessments suggest the community received upwards of
$50,000 in arts & crafts sales alone over the 11-hour period that Crystal Serenity passengers jetted to the pebbled shore of Queens Bay. In addition, community members were subsidized for their roles in the experience - from acting as guides throughout the community, to keeping watch on Three Hills for any wildlife as groups of visitors navigated the dirt and gravel trail of the community’s lookout, to baking bannock to welcome the guests on shore. And in the end, the value needs to outweigh the risk. “There are concerns, and we’re not saying there aren’t concerns, but right now, the story is people have been engaged, there’s an opportunity for an economic impact, there’s an opportunity for a very positive social impact,” says Anne Kokko, tourism development officer for the Beaufort Delta. “People want this and if it changes, we’ll address that.” The costs of a rise in this sort of tourism are recognized not only by southern media, but Northerners as well. But the fact is, as these waters open, so do opportunities. Seeing both the benefit and the risk, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation is looking at developing regulations, similar to what’s been proposed in Nunavut, around cruise ship tourism and traffic. In the eastern Arctic, marine tourism has quadrupled over the past decade, seeing not only more ships, but larger ones with more passengers. A
report on this new strategy was tabled in June, with the new regulations coming soon. Given the increased marine traffic along the Arctic Coast within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, the Inuvialuit Community Economic Development Office, through the IRC is putting in similar legwork and looking at a Cruise Tourism Management Strategy. “The intent of this strategy would be to mitigate potential negative impacts of the industry on our land, water, wildlife and communities, but more significantly to ensure maximization of economic and social benefits for Inuvialuit beneficiaries and communities,” says Jackie Challis, project coordinator with ICEDO. The role of a steering committee for the strategy is currently being defined and, once established, this group will make plans for consultations on the strategy. Requiring voices from all six Inuvialuit communities among others with a stake or interest in this growing industry, the strategy could take up to two years to come together. But these efforts, though grand, are seemingly necessary. Crystal Cruises is already selling tickets for its 2017 voyage through the Northwest Passage - the Ulukhaktok stop included. The usual expedition cruises of up to 250 people continue to pass through communities on the Western Arctic shores - a few were set to make stops on Victoria Island in the weeks after Crystal Serenity’s arrival. But like the Serenity, as sea ice - the proverbial gates to the Northwest Passage - recedes, big ships with even bigger impacts are likely to cruise on in.
Mismeasure flower petals crumbly at the edge under lamp light I wept when I couldn’t find anywhere safer than between two covers what else might happen when a broken down story only responds yes and no
By Michael Wanzenried
The Great Valley of Fire By Stephen D. Bolen
The great valley of fire burns bright before me, I'm mobbing down the New Sew. "Tell the homies I'm in heaven and they ain't got hoods", Then 1Train–every word beside the railroad, Zero percent contained, and I'm flying, I'm feeling cold, I feel dizzy, my eyes water as I run up the creek, up to the mountain, And a lake no one comes from. My pace jolts back and forth, forward on, To witness standing atop the view to view a river of flames rolling like hillsides, Precious land burnt down to this night–pitch black,–but here— The Great Valley of Fire Burns Bright Before Me, As I thought– it is alive, I'm amongst it's heartbeat, Fire, black smoke, fire, black smoke, Choppers, copters, shots of water, this is the wild fire This is chaos, the heat hits the chest, the face, The sight roars, Gomorrah didn't burn so rapidly, Acres, like lighting a trail of gasoline, Like a glass of milk knocked over, or my hands on my knees beholding— Like a prospector when explosion's dust settles, like the kid throwing rocks running away, Like a shatter, as its consuming—me and I know: It's a power demanding respect, A cigarette I lit, black smoke I hit, in my lip it sits, as I approach such disaster, The wilderness was strong,—the flame–wild fire stronger, I meet the Great Valley of Fire, for I name her so,—she smells the skunk I hit, The stomped-out psychosis,–my grin, In aww at the top of a hill in the pitch black night did a fire burn hot, the fire burns bright, I stand —Now in front of a valley turned ash in gusting winds that blow, in to me— And chunks that come out, I'm crying for it devastates, awareness heightens, The wall of flame I arise to: It's so beautiful, so upset, So beautiful, I burn too— Needing to be warm— For so cold, so very cold for so long, Needing to be in the heat, that moment, down to ashes skeletons beware, I tell the ignited to burn even slower than I could gaze hazy– mountain top, I wheeze, in love with butterflies, And must I cry to the blanketed flames, forest, there.
Legend of the Aurora Borealis Tales of Ticasuk: Eskimo legends and stories Collected and written by Emily Ivanoff Brown Published by University of Alaska Press
Photo by Elizabeth Ferguson
The Inupiaq Eskimos call the aurora borealis “kiguruyat” (spirits who gnaw with their teeth). These hissing spirits of the sky, according to Eskimo interpretation, play a football game. The participants wear colorful costumes of many hues. The hissing spirits have the power to entice and hypnotize those who watch their games to the point where they purposely draw their viewers upward into their midst. Legends, as well as many folktales, were composed primarily as media for teaching moral philosophy. This oral literature was also used to teach discipline, and for recreational purposes and to teach people how to cope with problems endangering their health and survival. This particular legend is an example. It tells a story that could be applied to any disobedient children.
the kiguruyat play football. The reason the ball doesn’t fall down to us is because the spirits have powerful magic streets they walk on. The last wanderer was so attracted by the beautiful colors that he forgot to go home.” “And what happened to him?” asked his brother. “The leaders of the team may have directed one of his men to grab the onlooker. The spirit came down noiselessly, bit the boy’s hood, and lifted him bodily by his teeth and brought him up to his group.” “Poor boy, did he cry?” The younger brother asked. “No! He did not have time to cry because the leader of the team chewed his head off with his sharp fangs. And you know as well as I do, a boy’s neck is as frail as this twig,” he said at the same moment he broke a twig in two. “Do you think the kiguruyat are using his head for a Late one evening, a boy invited his younger broth- football?” er to watch the kiguruyat play football. He led his brother “Yes,” answered Qweexoxok. farther away from their igloo and they both sat down in the “We should go home now, Qweexoxok, before they shadow of a willow. “You must not whistle or talk loudly, snatch us away, too,” suggested his younger brother with Tusuk. If you do, they’ll come down to us very quickly and fear. they might life us upward,” he warned his brother. “Let’s wait until the kiguruyat run farther away. “OK, now tell me the story,” Tusuk answered impa- Here, hold my hand tightly.” His brother extended his right tiently. hand and gave his final directions, “Hang on to my hand This is the story he told: while we run for safety.” One wintry night, many years ago, while two boys Both watched for a chance to escape. were playing outdoors late at night, they heard hissing “Now! Run! Cover your mouth and breathe into sounds above their heads. Suddenly they saw a flash of your parka under your chin.” many colors, which blinded their eyes. Kiguruyat ap Just as they reached the skin-covered umiak, which proached them unexpectedly. The older brother felt respon- was turned upside down on tripods, the kiguruyat came sible for the safety of his brother so he gave him hurried flying overhead. Fortunately the boys hid under the overdirections, “Cover your face with your hood quickly! Now, turned boat. lie flat on the snow like this.” They squatted down, huddled together. After the He showed him how by pressing his hooded face hissing sounds had subsided somewhat, the boys ran as fast against the soft snow, and the boys huddled side by side as they could to their igloo entrance to escape from another until the kiguruyat’s assault had vanished. They sat up very attack of the kiguruyat. slowly and crawled to a nearby willow, which had been “Qweexoxok, if you were not with me the kiguruyat covered partially by a snowdrift. They noticed then that the would have taken me away. I will protect my baby brother kiguruyat had moved further away in the sky. The younger from now on. I am glad I have a big brother to take care of brother asked, “What kind of ball are they kicking around me.” up there? And why doesn’t it fall to the ground?” The moral of the story is: If you can’t get a small boy “They are using a child’s head, the head of a once to obey, his older brother or parent may scare the disobedidisobedient boy who had wandered off, possibly to watch ence out of him.
Arctic Circle Chickens a continued story from the last issue by Saima Chase
So, after taking the plunge and ordering chicks from Triple D Farm in Palmer we now had the task of building something for these said chicks to live in. Lucky for us the chicks come tiny, super tiny, but not lucky for us, they grow really fast. The minimum order to ship to the bush Alaska was 16. I picked breeds with small combs and hearty breeds that were proven layers in cold climates. Having small combs helps in the possibility of frostbite, and losing the chicken altogether. So I ordered some Easter Eggers, a mixed breed that lays green eggs and has a small comb. Rhode Island Reds, a cold weather hearty breed and proven egg layers. Black Sex Links, these are bred to be sexed at hatch, the roo’s are one color and the pullets are another to keep the possibility of accidentally getting a roo lower, they are also very hearty and good producers. Red Sex Links, same with the BSL’s they are sexed at hatch by the color they are when they hatch, they’re also very good producers of eggs. Back then the order form was a paper, you wrote what you wanted and paid via check. Yeah, it wasn’t THAT long ago but it was a small family farm so they had old school ways of taking orders and payment. I didn’t mind,
I knew my checkbook was going to come in handy for something! So I ordered them, send the envelope on its way via snail mail and crossed my fingers that they would have all the chicks I wanted at the same time. Next thing was to start to find materials for a coop. Good thing for me, my boyfriend and I had purchased a bunch of 2X4’s for a different project, I just had to find the plywood. I saw the new museum going up and they had these huge crates for the beautiful windows. Good thing for me that the foreman was living across the street from me at the time, I walked over and asked him if I could have a couple crates. He said yes, take them! So we did. That became the outside of the coop. I turned to my cousin Calvin who has built homes from the ground up to help me and John build the coop. He showed us what we needed to get, insulation, vapor barrier and some roofing material and a window. I knew I wasn’t going to be renting the house we were living in forever so I asked my parents if we could build the coop by their house, they agreed. We moved the materials over to the house and kind of stared at the pile of lumber with no clue what to do. Good thing Calvin
came over on a Saturday and framed the whole coop in one day. Him and John also put the outer shell and vapor barrier on, and the roof. We found an old scrap window that my dad had gotten at a government auction and it was perfect for the coop. All that was left to do was to insulate and close the interior walls. (The wood on the left side of the picture wasn’t for the coop, they were building a house next door) In the meantime my package of day old chicks arrived via USPS. It was the funniest package I’ve ever gotten at the post office, a box of peeping chicks. They were SO cute and so fluffy! I set up a heat lamp in my living room and they lived in there for a week or two, until their wing feathers grew and covered most of their body. Then they got moved into the back kunnichuck for what seemed like forever, when the coop was finally finished. 16 chicks, sharing a small space, in 2 giant totes.
“In the meantime my package of day old chicks arrived via USPS. It was the funniest package I’ve ever gotten at the post office, a box of peeping chicks.”
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Our language. We know how to save it. The only question is Will we? In Hawaii They’ve done it. In New Zealand They’ve done it. The Navajo have showed us the way The Mohwak The Ojibwe And more. They’ve used families They’ve used protest They’ve used radio and TV and books They’ve used schools. They’ve done it. They’re doing it. But here Here we haven’t. It takes learners People like us. It takes community. And it takes schools. Yes, schools. The schools destroyed it, we know. But now, to bring it back, We must use the same. Everyone else has. It’s the only way. Our language. Iñupiatun. We know how to save it. The only question is Will we? -Paałuk
My daughters’ DNA Is wild Yukon River kings their eyes sparkle with the warm Manley Hot Springs They laugh with a melody From their Great-grandmother’s song
Their Beauty is a reflection of where they are from
Poems by Joy Huntington
Yukon River Dreams Yukon River Dreams Salmon skin To sew the seams Muddy islands Where seagulls play Water washing The past away Raven soars to bring the sun Winter blankets Come undone Fish nets sparkle With promise of food City worries Come unglued Grandmother’s hands Come to life Campfire stories Begin to ignite Salmon strips dry On wooden racks Camp was cleared With the blade of an axe The sun never sets And nobody sleeps Yukon River dreams Flow wide and deep
’ C R
N
S E IB
R T TO
“Young Inupiaq people are told to obtain a college education and come back to our region and give back to our people. But to what jobs?”
B I NS
O P S
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I sat there silent. My heart was pounding so fast that I thought it would pound its way outside of my body. It was really the first time I encountered subtle racism and I found myself at Akima LLC, a NANA subsidiary. “You are a Native shareholder? Wow, I guess I expected something different.” At first I mumbled but quickly responded by saying, “What did you expect?” I can tell he was stunned that I asked, “I didn’t think you would speak English very well and show up in one of those shirt things with the big pockets.” He laughed it off. I was eighteen years old when I left Alaska for a college and had the opportunity to intern in Charlotte, North Carolina. There were only three shareholders in a gigantic office space that was sparsely filled. It was my understanding that the then CEO of Akima LLC, moved offices to a larger space in which Akima could not fill. As the summer flew by, I would enter the office knowing that the employees did not understand the people that they were employed
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by. And further, the Inupiaq people were so disconnected from the everyday works of the NANA Regional Corporation. Native Corporations were started in order to develop Native communities economically while staying true to our traditional wellbeing. Today Native Corporations are so large that most of their employment is outside of their own respective regions, some even having subsidiaries in all fifty states. This is a problem when 32% of our region is unemployed and people working to economically develop the region have little knowledge of the people who are shareholders (NCAI, Alaska Regional Profile 15). I believe the discrepancy lies further than our leadership with in NANA. There is currently a loss of institutional knowledge of why Native Corporations were started. Through recent actions I have come to believe that the NANA Regional Corporation has regressed in working towards economically developing our region and the wellbeing of Inupiaq people.
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My first concern addresses the actions that our corporation chose to do this year. Many NANA shareholders who have worked for the corporation for a number of years were laid off with no explanation to our shareholders. Several of these individuals hold college degrees or are currently working towards a degree. My own family was directly impacted by this decision. Soon after finding out that NANA did this I researched the subsidiaries and job openings to get a better understanding of why they would let go of valuable employees. Where else are they downsizing? Are subsidiaries downsizing too? Currently there are nearly seven hundred jobs available on the NANA Regional Corporation website, and only eight of those are in the NANA region. Sadly, of those eight jobs within the region five of them are either janitorial positions or food service workers. Now, these aren’t bad jobs because they can provide a stable income for a family with in the region. What is concerning though is the number of jobs being posted outside the region that we so badly need in the region. For instance, there are currently ten dental assistant jobs, all of which are not in the state of Alaska. Young Inupiaq people are told to
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obtain a college education and come back to our region and give back to our people. But to what jobs? NANA made a promise to invest in our people, yet there are no jobs for shareholders to advance their career and NANA now has a track record for terminating shareholders. This action shows that our own Native Corporation does not feel it is important to hire our own people who have overcome the many obstacles to graduate from a university and want to reinvest in their own people. We are losing probably one of the most valuable resources by letting go a Native shareholder who knows the region and has obtained a higher education to invest in our region. The resource of traditional knowledge is lost when we choose to outsource jobs and let go of Inupiaq people. Similarly, when NANA found out that there was a potential market to mine zinc, the leadership at the time, made a goal that 100% of the mine would be employed by Native Shareholders. Since then, the number of Native shareholders who are employed by Red Dog mine has remained stagnant. Some would even say that it has fallen in recent years due to the jobs being outsourced to out of state, non-native individuals who do not remain in the NANA region. This has been stated time and time again by shareholders at Red Dog. To me this is a clear example
“When 18% of native families within the NANA region remain below the poverty line, we as shareholders need to ask where our jobs are going” that the best interest for the Inupiaq people has been stepped over. This is an issue that stems beyond eligible workers and people with a clean record to qualify for working at our mining site. I believe firmly that this should be addressed by creating a pathway for shareholders to receive these jobs. When 18% of native families within the NANA region remain below the poverty line we as shareholders need to ask where our jobs are going (NCAI, Alaska Regional Profile 15). I have only scratched the surface of the rising concerns that many shareholders have questioned the past few months. Many shareholders recently called for an emergency shareholder meeting with no response from the corporation. Others are expressing their concerns through social media. This is a growing problem that will only get bigger if NANA does not realize that they have a responsibility to our tribe.
Presbyterian History and Influence in Barrow, Alaska By Qaġġuna (Tennessee D. Judkins)
It is always a bittersweet thought knowing my lineage and foundational ties that I have to the community of Barrow, Alaska. I am a fourth generation Brower and come from Teresa Anne Brower. My grandparents were Harry Brower, Sr. and Annie Hopson Brower. My great-grandparents were Charles D. Brower and Asiaŋŋataq. Charles D. Brower was one of the first white settlers in Barrow and came from Europe on a voyage to conduct commercial whaling in which he ran into the community of Barrow along the way and ended up marrying and bearing children there, building and managing a trading post, and later on being buried in the Brower Cemetery. I say it is bittersweet because I think back on the influences of the white people and the role they played in all of our North Slope communities, some being more horrific than others, but on the flip-side of things, I think about the fact that without him, I would not be here. My grandfather would
not have learned all of the smart, they tried to fix without doing their different religions to all regions of efficient, and advanced things that research about these people or even Alaska. Through my experiences he learned from his father and later getting to know who they were; and visits throughout the State, I on passed down to my mother and all they wanted was to make them always wondered why there were her siblings, my aunts and uncles, English and Westernized. “The different religions more prominent who then taught me. Although, my likely reason was the difference by region. After learning about the great-grandfather had an impact in substantive orientation and reasons why that was true, it made many years before the missionary perception between Christians complete sense. Jackson ensured and religious impacts, I am still a and traditional Iñupiat was…a that there were pastors, reverends, firm believer that he himself did serious obstacle of conversion. and missionaries disseminated more good for the community It was, indeed, a problem for the throughout the State. Some of of Barrow and my family, more Presbyterians. Missionaries from the regional influences consisted specifically. I don’t think this religion disparaged animist of Baptists taking over the Cook Sheldon he can essentially be beliefs as superstitions… Inlet and Kodiak Island area, the Jackson was pooled with “the rest it was impossible for Episcopalians covered the Yukon “concerned about the of them.” Iñupiat to become River as well as Canadian influences, hundreds of immortal souls As a child, I was Christian without Methodists took over the Aleutians, in Alaska who have never so never attracted abandoning or even Moravians were assigned the much as heard that there was to the concept modifying their Kuskokwim area, Congregationalists a Savior…They are savages of religion and traditional world took Prince of Wales, and the (who) have not had civilizing, never really view.” (Pustola) Quakers got the Kotzebue area as educational or religious understood it. I What started this well as a mining area near Juneau. It advances.” (Filiatreau) don’t know if it was impactful moment in is said that St. Lawrence Island and because I didn’t grow our people’s history was the northern Arctic Coast were two up with a heavy religious the influence of Sheldon Jackson. regions that no one else wanted it in upbringing or if it was because Sheldon Jackson made his way to which the Presbyterians added it to of all of the negative influences I Alaska in 1877 after establishing their area. (Filitreau) had learned about the churches several other churches and missions Another influential name in Barrow, Alaska, specifically the throughout other parts of the in the Presbyterian influence As Utqiaġvik Presbyterian Church. United States. He was also in Alaska was Samuel a child, I was As a young adult, I had learned a huge influence in the Hall Young. He never attracted to the more in depth, the history about Bureau of Education was known as Alaskan Natives and how churches in Alaska. In an concept of religion and never the “Father were life changing in many ways, article written by really understood it. I don’t know of Alaska both negatively and positively. The John Filiatreau if it was because I didn’t grow up Missions.” unfamiliar people appearing in a about the (Filitreau) with a heavy religious upbringing or community who had subsisted for Highlights of Along with his if it was because of all of the negative centuries prior, who thought they The History mission work, influences I had learned about the he was also were superior to native people just of Utqiaġvik churches in Barrow, Alaska, because of the fact that they didn’t Presbyterian a writer and specifically the Utqiaġvik share the same skin color, facial Church, Sheldon throughout his features, language, or even dietary Jackson was journeys he wrote Presbyterian Church. habits, tried to implement change “concerned about the several transcriptions. because of these differences. These hundreds of immortal souls He was one of the people differences were the only deciding in Alaska who have never so much that I believe was not a positive factor that made them better, as heard that there was a Savior… influence in our history. He wrote superior, and on a mission to strip They are savages (who) have not letters to the Mission Board stating: them of their language, culture had civilizing, educational or “When I learned of the inadequacy and knowledge of our people. They religious advances.” (Filiatreau) of these languages to express identified a “problem” in which Jackson assigned missionaries of Christian thought…that the task of
making an English-speaking race they had many reverends come Reverend Mary Ann Warden, who of these natives was much easier and go, some more positive and now lives in Kaktovik, Alaska, and than the task of making a civilized better than others, some completely Reverend Roy Nageak who lives and Christian language out in Barrow still. Something that I But, against native people or society of the Tlingit, Haida, other than their own. found through my research about as much as and Tsimshian; that In addition to the Reverend Mary Ann Warden people see religion, we should let the religious influences really resonated in me in the sense missionaries, boarding old tongues with these white men and that our people learned how to their superstition schools, and assimilation as women played in meld their cultural and spiritual negative impacts, I see them and sin die – the community of beliefs with Christianity. Mary as both positive and negative. the sooner the Barrow, they also Ann was known for her basic Our people took all of the influenced them in better – and principles of mission-in-reverse knowledge in and used it different ways, like replace these and the adaptation of culture and languages with that building hospitals, fire faith. She states in an excerpt from to their advantage. of Christian civilization stations, judicial courts, and Indigenous Perspectives of North and compel the natives in all more; again, another unfamiliar America: a Collection of Studies, our schools to talk English and structure, format, and influence “Our challenge today is to find ways English only.” (Filitreau) For this to the local people of Barrow. In to express our Christianity images, human-being, faithful in God, 1921, the first hospital in Barrow symbols, and stories that express and a confirmed Christian to pass was built by one of the Presbyterian our own cultural reality. Sometimes judgment on people and cultures pastors and his wife: Dr. Henry people try to separate me from my he had known little to nothing Greist and Mrs. Mollie Ward Greist. Christianity or from my Iñupiat about said a lot more about his They saw the need of medical heritage. I tell them I cannot be humility and level of education. care because it was lacking in the separated; I am both Christian and The first Presbyterian influence in daily lives of these Iñupiat people, Iñupiat. I am an Iñupiat Christian.” It is Barrow was in the late-1800’s when but I believe without (Sepsi, Nagy, Vassanyi, remarkable to M. Leander Stevenson arrived as the introduction of Kenyeres) the first missionary. “Stevenson’s new diseases and me, that centuries later, It is remarkable to priorities apparently were teaching, viruses from we still see and experience me, that centuries medical care, and missionary these people later, we still see the impacts of religion and work, in that order.” (Pustola) who migrated and experience missionary influences. Although Through several years of trial to Barrow, the impacts our people have persevered through and error, the inability to convert there would of religion these situations and turned the Iñupiaq people, and limited not have been and missionresources, the Presbyteries finally nearly as many them into positive, spiritual ary influences. made headway in conducting a deaths from influences, the methods of Although our church service. The first church disease. In the early introduction will never people have perseservice was held with a small 1900’s, there were vered through these be forgotten. group of less than 20 people on more than 200 people situations and turned Easter Sunday in 1899. Before the that died from influenza after the them into positive, spiritual influchurch was built in Barrow, there whaling ships arrived in Barrow. ences, the methods of introduction were influences in the surrounding (Filitreau) will never be forgotten. It taught North Slope villages as well with Through the Presbyterian our people how to read and write the attempt to implement the conversion and teachings in in English as well as in Iñupiaq. It religion and convert the people. Barrow, they successfully trained also allowed our people to translate In the 1920’s, the Presbyterian’s several local people to become the Bible from English to Iñupiaq. constructed the parsonage and reverends. Some of those people These two things in themselves manse with the help of the local included, but was not limited are moments in our history that native people. Throughout the to Percy Ipalook, Andrew we have been able to pass on to start of the Presbyterian influence, Akootchook, and more recently generations to come in the format
of not only the positivity religion now plays in our daily lives, but advanced educational teachings as well. Without the negative influences that impacted our history, we would not have been able to fight for our moral and human rights, our rights to our land and resources, our rights to life in general. Our people were sent to boarding schools to learn the western way of life; they came back and were able to live with the Iñupiaq culture ingrained in them, and much stronger people than could have ever been perceived. Although, we can generally get a sense of our future, we never know what will really happen. But, as much as people see religion, missionaries, boarding schools, and assimilation as negative impacts, I see them as both positive and negative. Our people took all of the knowledge in and used it to their advantage. We are one of the wealthiest regions in the state not only because of the resources we have been provided by the land, but because our people stood their ground and used everything they learned through these hardships to retain what was theirs to begin with: the land, the culture, and the language. And through all of that, I see nothing but growth; growth through the past, present and future. Today, I currently live in Barrow, Alaska, and see first-hand as a member of the Presbyterian Church, how it plays such a positive and vital role in the community
now. For that church to have been built, maintained, and run for less than 100 years says that it is still a young thought and memory in the history of that community. I have conversations with some of my aunts and uncles about the church, and they tell me stories about how they remember my aaka (grandmother) dragging them to church as young children, bible in hand, to attend the service every Sunday. They tell me stories about how every holiday was spent at the church and how the entire church would be filled with community members who were there not only to celebrate God, but also to celebrate their hunting and cultural successes as a community. It brings me comfort knowing that regardless of the negative impacts missionaries and religion first played in our communities, there are positive thoughts and memories of the Presbyterian Church from its conception up until present day.
Through apology comes forgiveness; through forgiveness comes healing; through healing comes love.
Follow-up: I wrote this paper this past summer for a course I had to complete as a degree requirement for my Bachelor’s Degree program at Alaska Pacific University. I am scheduled to complete my degree in May 2017 and am more than excited. Through all of my research, readings, and course assignments, I always try to focus on things that are most applicable to me. As I was writing this paper, I could feel the energy of our ancestors flowing through me, knowing that what I was reading and writing
had a purpose. I had turned in my paper on a Saturday and attended church the next day for Sunday service. The following week, Pastor Reid, the current pastor for the Presbyterian Church in Barrow, attended the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) Annual Meeting. I thought it was a little odd seeing him at the meeting, but once he got up to make his request to the people, I completely understood his purpose for being there. He had asked the people of the Arctic Slope region for their permission to allow the Presbytery to come to Barrow and apologize to the people for all the hurt, burdens, and negative impacts the church may have place on our people. I was quite shocked that this was happening just days after I had done my research and written my paper; I knew that the energy I was feeling while I was writing had meaning and purpose. I was very humbled by this request and was very thankful to see my elders around me accept it. In addition to this, I recently attended the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Fairbanks, Alaska. I noticed on the agenda: “Presbyterian Church Apology to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.” I thought to myself, that they are genuinely trying to make a mend with all the people that suffered from the negative historical influences that came from their church. Some may say that it’s too late, but I say that it is better late than never. I truly believe that this will aide in the healing of our people from the historical trauma that lingers throughout their lives today. Through apology comes forgiveness; through forgiveness comes healing; through healing comes love.
My Brother’s Village by Stephen D. Bolen
Our lives were meshed together by the blood we share and these faces we wear. My name is Tuvrak Julius Manigol, but everyone calls me “Tuvi”. I had an identical twin brother named Tuuqpauq Ignatius Sauzrouluq who went by “Tuq”. Our mother was May Sauzrouluq; she died from consumption when we were four years old and we don’t know who our father is. Apparently he was a white man, which makes us “half-breeds”; half Inupiaq Eskimo and half Italian or French, I don’t know. My brother and I were adopted and raised by two white teachers who came from Michigan in the early 90’s: Theodore and Joan Manigol. Tuq went to live with our uncle Jack Sauzrouluq when we were sixteen and dropped out of the Davis-Ramoth School. He didn’t get along with our parents all that well. Mom taught High School Biology at the Davis-Ramoth School and Dad taught both High School and Elementary English. Tuq and I were always really close, the only differences in our appearances were: the giant scar on Tuq’s brow/eyelid/cheek and the fact that he was always quite a bit darker-skinned than I. Tuq changed his last name back to our Mother’s when he was fourteen; he couldn’t stand having a “white” last name. We are from The Native Village of Selawik, Alaska. The day of my brother’s death was long, beautiful, and horrifying. We were eighteen and I was graduating as the valedictorian
that month from Davis-Ramoth School. It was a Saturday and I had woken up to Tuq jumping on me dressed in his hunting parka and riding gear. My parents had always welcomed Tuq into the house despite their several past quarrels. To them he was still their son and to me: my best friend. We were headed out hunting that day, so the early wakeup call was necessary. As Tuq wrestled me off my bed I nearly gagged from the stench of R&R Whiskey that clung to his clothes and escaped from behind his crooked grin and white tongue. He got off me and jokingly said, “Rise and shine white-boy!” As I got dressed, Tuq wandered out of my room to his old one and waited. I knew Tuq regretted moving out. I knew he would look around at my stacks of books and the many basketball trophies in envy, I knew he would listen to the proper English I spoke and the large vocabulary I would use and feel inadequate. I knew my brother would be subjected to love whenever he came over, leaving him with nothing but pure regret. He and our Uncle Jack lived in an old one bedroom house next to the Rotman’s grocery store across the west river channel on the island. The house was our mother May’s, but now it’s Tuq and Jack’s headquarters for their petty marijuana/crack-cocaine business. Dad had cooked us breakfast downstairs after letting Tuq in, so we ate once all my gear was packed. I remember how Tuq would always call dad “Theo” whenever he was over, but for some
strange reason as we were about to take off on our sno-go’s (snowmobiles) that morning Tuq shook his hand and said, “thanks Dad.” I didn’t ask Tuq why, I just let it be. My parents and I lived on “the mainland”, which is really just swamp-land, tundra, and lakes. It’s the west side of the Selawik where the village school, houses, apartment complexes, land-fill/dumpsite, wind-turbines, and airstrip are located. There is one gravel road in Selawik that goes from the Davis-Ramoth School to the Al Adams Barge Landing; the rest of the village is covered with boardwalks. Tuq and I had to ride up and over the “Rainbow Bridge” because the ice in the west channel had begun breaking-up already. The bridge is so tall and arched, so steep that there are sno-go tracks bolted to bridge floor in two long strips that travel its entire length so people have traction when riding over it. It’s also completely fenced on the sides and top so people won’t jump to their deaths or hang themselves anymore. Once over the Rainbow, we rode down the boardwalk to “McCoy’s”, which was mostly a hardware store, but they ran a small deli as well. We bought some food and drinks, oil, spark-plugs, shells (bullets), and some Copenhagen fine-cut for our trip. Tuq stole his spark-plugs which were BR10EYA’s because they’re expensive and that’s the only kind his Pro-X Polaris 800 ran on, the BR9ES’s I bought are pretty common and cheap; he just smiled at me as they fell into his
jacket. After pretty Carrie McCoy rang me up and said bye to Tuq, we raced over to Uncle Jack’s along the wide thawing boardwalks to grab a few things. Uncle Jack had been passed-out on the couch when we arrived; which was a good thing because he would’ve gave me an awkward handshake, said “Sup Tuvi-Master”, and repeatedly ask me how “Joanie” was doing. I took a seat on my mother May’s old wooden sewing chair and observed each discouraging way this wood-panel walled house had fallen apart while Tuq grabbed a couple bags of “dro”, a gram or two of crack, and his .3006 Remington rifle. One more stop would be necessary before we were able to finally get this trip underway. Tuq and I had left the island; we rode over the eastern channel of the Selawik River on “Flat Bridge”. Not much is on “The East Side” other than maybe a dozen houses; two of which that were very interesting. One of the two was a house owned by Jim McCoy: years ago, a DC-6 airplane had crash-landed on the east side; old Jim made good use of the remaining fuselage by building and attaching a house to it. The other odd home belonged to Richie Puuni; and most of his small tornapart one-story house was floored with padding; by padding I mean spring-mattresses. Richie was in his late twenties and runs a very illegal village fight-club: teens and young adults gathered a few nights each week at Richie’s and make bets on whoever was fighting that particular night. There were also a lot of drugs and alcohol that came through that house; which was the reason we were stopping by. As we pulled up to Richie’s he was
waiting in his kunisuq (front shed leading to the front door) smoking a cigarette. Tuq walked in yelling “Suvaat”, which meant “what’s up”, and gave Richie some cool handshake you’d probably see in a movie shown on BET. Baggies and cash were exchanged while I sat outside on my Ski-Doo MXZ 600 and threw in a dip of chew. After Tuq was done dealing, we both fired up our rigs and took off. We stayed on the east side of the river as we raced out toward our Atatta’s (Grandfather’s) old cabin. It was always hard to keepup with Tuq, but this day, I wasn’t about to get “smoked”. He had barely beaten me to the trail leading to our Atatta’s place; where the tundra met the forest. We stopped there at the trail-head to let our machines cool and smoke a cigarette. It was about noon and very warm out as we sat there. We both got up, stood next to each other, and began to piss; making two “T’s” engraved side-by-side in the snow. Tuq chuckled and said “Brothers til’ death.” I laughed as well and flicked the stub of my cig at him agreeing: “Ya fuckin know it!” He pushed me over while I was trying to zip my jeans; like an asshole. We must have sat there forty-five minutes just bullshitting about the things going on in our lives. He filled me in on all the fucked up things that were happening back in the vill, how business was booming, how Uncle Jack was a lazy piece of shit, all the girls he was messing around with, and how he had actually been doing. We talked about where I was thinking of going to school, how things have been at both our homes, the girls I’ve messed around with, and how our lives could’ve been so much different if he hadn’t moved to
Jack’s. I suggested that we should get going once I noticed the look on Tuq’s face. It was the kind of look a person might get if they were to think about how wrong they have become: the eyebrows scrunch just a little, jaw sticks out barely, ears pulled back a bit, he bites his bottom lip gently with that forlorn look in eyes; he despises everything that is his life. Tuq took off right before I did; the trail’s only wide enough for one machine with the exception of a few spots where of course I had tried to pass him. Ripping through the dense forest: where trees were so close together each branch of every one over-lapped another’s; we kept our eyes out for the wolves we were after. We made it to the small shack we called “Atatta’s Camp” in good time and went in to build a fire in the ancient black woodstove. The absent windows had been boarded up for as long as we could remember, so I brought a bit of lamp-oil and lit the lantern we had always left there. I flung my pac off my back and onto the rotting dinner table, took my .308 Winchester rifle off my chest, then took off my parka. Tuq pretty much did the same, and then we cleaned our rifles a little and mounted our scopes on them; we kept our scopes in our pacs so they’d be safe and not become damaged or lost during the ride. We didn’t stay long at the cabin; as soon as we felt ready the both of us rode out to the hills behind our Atatta’s camp. We climbed up the tallest and clearest hill on foot and began to search. We peered through our scopes all around us for a couple hours trying to spot some game. Tuq scoped out a humongous bull moose a couple hundred yards away in a clearing,
but we weren’t trying to spend all day and night packing moose meat back to the cabin. We called it a day after not seeing a single sign of any wolves the three hours we were perched up there. We walked down to our rigs and headed back to camp. Once back, Tuq decided he was worn out and he had no intention of staying the night out there with me. So then I knew he just wanted to get back to Selawik to smoke weed with one of his girlfriends, so I said, “alright white-boy, lets fucken dip-out!” He laughed and quickly replied, “okay Tuvi-Master, tryda’ keep up this time.” I packed my things up quicker than he had, threw snow in the stove, turned out the lantern, started my rig, and got on the trail first. Tuq was right behind me and I wouldn’t let him come close to passing now that I was in the lead. Then suddenly, right as we neared the open tundra two gorgeous wolves jotted across the right of the trail to the left. The both of us sped up to them with our rifles cocked, locked, and ready to drop, but the large grey and black arctic-canines had already become a part of the eerie forest; there was no chance we’d find them. Tuq kept looking back at the tree-line as we drove slowly over the barren tundra, I’d only glance over at him in curiosity. Eventually we made it back to the eastside of Selawik where we just happened to run into Carrie McCoy again. She stopped us and with a frightened look upon her face, exclaimed: “TUQ! Somethings happening at your house!” My brother immediately took off across Flat Bridge, I was right behind him. We stopped abruptly about fifty yards down the boardwalk from Jack’s; over half the
village was outside yelling at the six State Troopers who had beaten and cuffed our Uncle Jack. I looked over at Tuq beside me; his eyes swelled up with tears, he looked back at me and in a shaky voice said, “Brother…I love you, but you gotta go home.” I stared at that young man who was a mirror image of myself as if he were a dream; I couldn’t move, I was paralyzed as I watched him take his rifle off of his chest. I sat completely still in silence as I watched Tuq shoot two of the State Troopers outside our mother May’s home. It was pandemonium; everyone scattered and ran as three of the State Troopers began firing back at Tuq who was already to the riverbank. Even though it was break-up, Tuq attempted to water-skip his snogo across the eastern channel with his rifle slung over his left shoulder. Almost to the shoreline; Tuq flew off his rig once he was shot in the lower-back and left thigh. He crawled over the passing pieces of ice and swam through the freezing water to shore, by which at that time the three Troopers were across Flat Bridge yelling at Tuq; telling him to drop his weapon. I ran, screaming my brother’s name. I had almost been across Flat Bridge when Tuq rolled to his side and took aim at the Troopers. Tuq fired one bullet which grazed a trooper’s arm before he was shot seven times in the chest, stomach, and neck. I left my rifle across the river; so the troopers didn’t stop me when I ran past them down to the shore. I dropped to Tuq and held him across my lap as I tried to find a pulse underneath all the blood. There wasn’t one, but his eyes were open and I swore he was looking to me. I grabbed Tuq’s rifle and threw it eleven or so feet away from
us so the Troopers wouldn’t shoot anymore; I could hear them yelling, but I wasn’t paying them any mind. Tuq lay in my arms lifeless as I told him, “Brother…I love too, its time you go home.” I noticed all I could hear was the river. I raised my head to find every single person in Selawik watching me as I cried and held my dead twin-brother. My parents waited for me across the channel. My brother’s body was taken from me after a short while, but I remained sitting there. People crowded around me and Tuq’s blood; they all were talking, but I couldn’t hear any of them. I stared at the passing pieces of ice in the water as I tried to comprehend the fact that Tuq was gone. Some friends of mine and some of Tuq’s got me up and took me home. I took off all my clothes and cleaned myself up. Afterwards, I moved everything I possessed into Tuq’s old room which had been the door next to mine. School was cancelled that Monday so everyone could attend Tuq’s funeral which was being held at the Friends Church on the island. The entire community had shown up: everyone from the mainland crossed over Rainbow Bridge pretty much at the same time; that old bridge shook so much I thought it was going to collapse. The service was nice: a lot of people knew my brother, many people cared about Tuq, even if he never believed it; they did. We buried Tuuqpauq Ignatius Sauzrouluq next to our mother May. The village moved on with their lives and I left as soon as I graduated. My brother may have strayed down the wrong path; he had made many mistakes, he had murdered, stolen, dealt, hurt; but he is my brother and I miss him.
a message from the president, Elizabeth Ferguson
When I was first invited to attend a youth council meeting in the winter of 2014 I was skeptical at first. What is this youth council all about? What are the goals? What is expected of me if I decide to join? I had a lot of questions and felt wary about going, but because I knew Teressa Baldwin and Jacqui Lambert to be inspiring, hard-working, and creative, I knew that I could expect this to be a mind-opening new experience for myself. Looking back now, I am thankful I went regardless of the questions I had. In 2014, Teressa and Jacqui worked tirelessly to create this youth council which is now the Qikiqtagruk Inupiaq Youth Council and has been fully established since August of 2015. Jacqui became the very first QIYC President and Teressa the first Vice President. They laid the foundation and two years later, QIYC is a successful self-governing group of youth and young adults in Kotzebue advocating for the youth of today and tomorrow. Since the time I first joined the youth council, I felt a responsibility to my fellow youth to encourage and lift each other up. QIYC
is a great way to spend time with other young people and learn about advocacy, local governance, and leadership. It isn’t all “business” either! I hold dear to a lot of our memories of hanging out and visiting after meetings, game nights, and late nights of brainstorming how to make this a successful youth council. I’ve created new friendships because of my involvement in QIYC. Today, I am proud to be a part of something that is much bigger than myself. QIYC challenges me to think outside the box. I have to keep in mind what has been done in the past for our youth and didn’t work out, what did work out, how can we improve and expand on existing programs and we use those ideas to create fun, engaging events. Very often in my day-to-day life, I will talk about QIYC and give updates to anyone who will listen. One day, I’d like to see youth of all ages looking forward to turning 15 just so they can join the youth council! I want the QIYC to be the collective voice of youth that our local decision makers turn to when addressing issues that pertain
to youth, culture, education, and wellness. I want QIYC to succeed and stay succeeding for years and years to come. When my nieces and nephew get to high school I would love to see them join the youth council. But, in order for QIYC to continue to be successful we need more involvement! We need more youth to join us and voice their ideas and concerns. We need support from the community and our elders. I know currently we are doing just fine as a small group and I believe in each of our council members, but if QIYC grew to have more council members and more participation and support the possibilities are endless! As small council we have established ourselves, we are financially stable, and we established a scholarship for graduating high schoolers. I get giddy thinking about all that can be accomplished once QIYC grows! I encourage any youth who are skeptical and have questions about our youth council to just stop by one meeting. Learn what we are about and ask questions. That is all it took for me and I am so glad I decided to join!
SUBSISTENCE
way of life written by Lydia Ivanoff
Alaska is home to many unique indigenous people; one of these groups of people is the Yupik Eskimos of Southwest Alaska. The Yupik people have easily thrived off the land for more than 2000 years, until the implementation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971. ANCSA put restrictions on the ability to subsist off the land and sea. When President Nixon signed ANCSA into law; it was the largest land claims settlement in the United States. ANCSA developed twelve Native regional corporations and then later a thirteenth for people residing out of Alaska. The regional corporations were developed for economic growth and to provide jobs in the villages. They were designed to help preserve the diverse Alaskan cultures. ANCSA created a paradox in which the belief system for Native corporations who are for-profit organizations is in conflict when representing a people who are conservative and rely off the land for traditional and
subsistence purposes (Huhndorf and Huhndorf 387). However, the conflict continues because those for-profit regulations enabled the Alaskan Natives to have a voice and power in political issues pertaining to their people. State and federal legislation is currently limiting Yupik subsistence hunting and fishing practices, thus hindering and threatening traditional cultural values, including Yupik dancing and the Yupik language. Since Russia claimed Alaska in 1799, Alaskan Natives were deprived of their resources from the fortune seekers. Those abusing Alaska’s natural resources threatened the traditional Yupik lifestyle (Huhndorf and Huhndorf 390). The Yupik people must continue to live off the land to maintain their subsistence-oriented culture; on the other hand, the creation of ANCSA extinguished hunting and fishing rights of the Alaskan Native people (Huhndorf and Huhndorf 385). The creation of the settlement act enabled the
Native corporations to institute a capitalist system that is adverse to Alaskan Native values. The thirteen corporations were developed to give infrastructure and to allow its communities to have jobs, I am grateful for those jobs especially in this western world. As an Alaska Native woman, I celebrate the fact that we have a voice in not only local, but also state and federal issues, and are able to address and advocate subsistence issues with language and dance. ANCSA also enabled Alaskan Natives to be the center of the growing economy, creating needed political power among tribal leaders and awareness of the troubles they faced. The Native corporations had to make critical decisions based on the not only the company, but also on the wellbeing and the survival of its people. The corporations’ decisions created jobs and educational foundations allowing the communities to have equal opportunities like the rest of the State. More than 30 years after the
ANSCA, Alaskan Natives are still fighting to keep their traditional subsistence way of life. It is important to continue to define and discuss ANILCA in order to continue sacred traditions for the next generation of Natives. Subsistence is a vital part of our people’s way of life, they will continue to hunt and gather weather the law permits them to or not. In Survival of Yupik, authors Arnold W. Reitze Jr., and Glenn L. Reitze wrote in 1975 the Yupik elders of Nightmute, Alaska, a rural village 100 miles West of Bethel, said: “If the law prohibits hunting of sea mammals at any time the people will listen to the hunger of their families and hunt even against the law” (2). Nearly 40 years later, this quote still rings true as the people near Bethel, Alaska face the hunger for king salmon. As mentioned in “Ways to Help and Ways to Hinder: Governance for Effective Adaptation to an Uncertain Climate,” the authors state, “Subsistence hunting plays a central role in the economic and environmental security and sustainability of communities in Alaska” (Loring et al. 74). An argument can be made that using modern day technology to hunt animals is not traditional to the Yupik people. In contrast, an Inupiaq man, Charlie Edwardsen Jr., comments that “the Eskimo has a new harpoon,” because of the opportunities that ANCSA created. Many Yupik people, especially those who live in rural Alaska, depend on the subsistence game they catch throughout the seasons. To them it is food security throughout the cold winter months ahead. With the high cost of living and little opportunity for wage income, subsistence is an essential and reliable part of their survival
(Barker ) Subsistence hunting and fishing is not only food security to the Alaskans it is also a social event that enables them to participate in cultural activities (Ikuta 56). Until changes are made with regulations, the Yupik will remain resilient to protect their way of life. The question still remains, why threaten a peoples’ culture that has prospered in not only conservatism, but also efficient use of their resources? These changes can also contribute to the loss of hunting and fishing skills developed and mastered over time, thus creating insufficient knowledge of the traditional Yupik value of subsistence. The parallel and harmony between subsistence and dance is easily seen while observing a Yupik Eskimo dance, or yuraq. Yuraq is my favorite form of story telling, it is an avenue for hunters, gatherers and subsistence food connoisseurs to express the importance of subsistence. One would question the relationship between the hunter, the animal, and the spirit in the animal. In dance, the Yupik people express their relationship with non-human beings (Ikuta 55). Eskimos who compose dance songs are often inspired by their interactions with sea mammals and birds and social interactions and spiritual relationships with non-human beings. Dancers need some knowledge of hunting in order to portray a scene, such as a hunter paddling a skin boat, shooting a gun, retrieving a seal…with their dance movements. (Ikuta 54) In other words, Yupik people dance to represent the animals that
portray the significance of subsistence in their culture. Subsistence is not only a means of food security; it is rather a way of life these people use to keep their culture from dying. Yuraq is used to combat these issues and to show the lawmakers and representatives of Alaskan Natives that subsistence is an intrinsic part of their existence. Subsistence and language are deeply integrated with each other in the Yupik culture. Currently, the Yupik language is the only Alaskan Native language that is growing. In 2010 it was named the second largest indigenous language spoken in the United States (US Census). Yupik is also one out of only two Alaskan languages that is not on the endangered language list (UNESCO). However, with people moving out of the villages, and having to grapple with the rapid social changes introduced upon its people, the language will eventually be lost. Further more, limiting subsistence hunting will deteriorate the language itself because the language is deeply connected to subsistence hunting. As stated in the article “Central Yupik and the Schools,” the Yupik people describe many of their hunting locations, weapons, animal names, and animal body parts exclusively in their native language (Jacobson). According to the Linguistics Society of America, a language could be lost within a generation; this is very true for some of the Yupik communities in Alaska. Twenty years ago all of the children spoke Yupik, so now its youngest speakers are around 20 years old. Limited subsistence hunting and fishing rights will
dramatically affect the new generation’s knowledge of their traditional language and hunting practices. Handicapping their ability to subsist will cause impairment to their people. Alaskan Natives are grateful for the opportunities provided by ANCSA, but they need a secure law and/or regulation stating that Alaskan Natives are able to subsist in order to continue their traditional way of life. My native corporation is a part of my identity and goes in line with my values as an Alaska Native woman in this western world. However we need to listen to the voices of our elders, hunters and children by being able to practice our subsistence way of life because the people depend on the food harvested and hunted throughout the year; it relieves families of the high cost of living in rural Alaska. Therefore, it is important to keep growing culture for diversity and to show appreciation to the first peoples of Alaska. Subsistence enables the Yupik people to learn more about their culture with language, dance, and traditions. Subsistence also helps sustain the culture because language, dance, and hunting and gathering are all closely integrated with each other. Allowing the Yupik to continue subsistence will prevent bicultural identity crisis, or the individual struggle between modern technologies and traditional values, among its people because they would know and understand the values of their traditional cultural practices. The value of subsistence is not found in the freezers of the Alaskan Native; it is rather found in their dances, stories, languages, and lives within the culture as a reminder to live a traditional way of life.
Atmospheric Gases and the Electromagnetic Radiation written by Jake Wells Introduction Jake is from Noorvik, Alaska. He has attended Ryan and Lathrop High Schools in Fairbanks, Susitna Valley High of Talkeetna, and the Alaska International Academy. Jake is a first generation college student in his family majoring in: Environment & Society with a minor in Alaska Native Studies. Jake wishes to continue studies on Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, and or Indigenous Knowledge studies through the University of Washington. Abstract The connective additive factor aside from other contributing variables towards the increasing global warming can be found in the physic interaction between the atmospheric greenhouse gases and the Sun’s electromagnetic thermal infrared spectrum. The similar correlation of the photon wavelengths of the thermal IR spectrum range and atmospheric greenhouse gases are synonymous that aids in the heat transfer from the solar thermal IR to the photon matters of the greenhouse gases. The IR spectral wavelengths are classified into near, thermal, and far wavelengths. The thermal IR is identified as the “smoking gun” or where the action is in terms of energizing the atmospheric gases strong rotation or vibrational bonds that are situated from 4.3 to 15 micron wavelengths. This effort reveals that carbon dioxide’s wavelength characteristics are in the thermal IR range of 4.3 microns. This wavelength range correlates to the thermal IR spectral range from 4 to 50 microns. This wavelength correlation allows the greenhouse gases matter to absorb the solar photon energy which cause the excitation of the atoms and molecules thus raising the temperature of the greenhouse gases matter.
All of Earth’s life and its energy and power are dependent upon the Sun’s electromagnetic radiation (photons) output. The Sun’s total electromagnetic radiation output is streamed in all directions into space. Dessler calculates that the Sun’s total energy output measures at 380 trillion trillion (3.8 x 1026) Watts of power (p. 48). The energy directed at the Earth, which is referred to as its solar constant (S) is measured to be 1,360 W/m2. The Earth’s solar constant, provides the Earth’s energy, sustaining its life and driving and motoring its “global heat engine” (Petty p. 4). As examples of the power of solar radiation on the Earth’s climate and weather systems, Seinfeld illustrates that in an effort to equalize its atmospheric temperatures, energy from the Sun powers hurricanes and provides storm fronts with the energies to sustain their meteorological forces (p. 4). At this point, it should be understood that not all of the sun’s radiation reaches this planet as some is reflected back into space or absorbed into the upper atmosphere. Electromagnetic radiation consisting of x-rays, extreme ultraviolet, and ultraviolet are absorbed or reflected by the upper stratosphere and the ionosphere layers of the atmosphere, while visible light and infrared radiation reaches the Earth’s surface. It also should be noted that galactic cosmic rays, auroral particles, and solar proton charged particles do not reach the Earth’s surface and are not factors or causes yet known to influence or contribute to global warming and the ensuing climatic changes (NASA). The objective of this effort is to summarize the interaction of atmospheric gases and electromagnetic radiation (mainly infrared radiation), and how this causes increasing temperatures on this planet.
Incoming solar radiation
and partial re-radiation back into Earth’s atmosphere, specifically, the infrared bands and their subsequent effect and interaction with Earth’s greenhouse gases (GHG’s) will help us to better understand why the planet is warming and altering the atmosphere’s energy balance, which is defined as the equilibrium of energiesin and energiesout. This thermal law obeys the first law of thermodynamics which states energy is conserved; basically meaning that when one object loses a photon, the photon transfers its same quantifying energy to another object, and thus the emitting object loses that same energy (Dessler pp. 42-43). Seinfeld adds that infrared is also radiated into the atmosphere from the Earth’s surface and is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which also act as heat insulators. As part of the positive feedback effect, he points out that a part of the radiation photons are re-radiated back to the Earth’s surface (p. 2). Comparing visible light to infrared radiation, Dessler specifies that visible radiation is not conductive to the atmosphere, but that infrared radiation (IR) is less transparent and is absorbed into the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Based on these facts, among many others, conclusive scientific knowledge is known that IR is the radiative factor that is influencing and causing the increase of temperatures and energies in the atmosphere. Dessler also states that the wavelength of the photons determines their physical properties (p. 37). Despite the narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum that visible radiation occupies, it consists of about half the Sun’s total power output. Petty points out that due to the transparency of the visible band which allows it to readily reach the Earth’s surface, he reveals that the atmosphere is heated primarily from below and secondly by atmospheric gases’ absorption of solar radiation (p. 63). To help understand
how the infrared photons factor towards the increasing climate changes, we need to know and understand the wavelength spectrums they occupy. First, the electromagnetic spectral scale lies under 0.1 micrometers or microns, to greater wavelengths beyond 300,000 microns. Within this path, the x-ray radiation wavelengths are less than 0.01 microns, with the ultraviolet wavelengths between 0.01 to 0.4 microns. The visible wavelength ranges from 0.4 to 0.8 microns, and the IR from 0.4 to 1000 (1mm). It is this photon range (0.4 to 1000 microns) that has the capabilities of entering through the atmosphere and striking the Earth’s surface. Again, it is the visible radiation that is “transparent” to gases’ in the atmosphere, allowing it to reach the Earth’s surface, while the IR spectrum has the physical wavelengths that allows them to interact with the gases in the atmosphere. From the 1mm range to 0.3 microns lies the microwave spectrum, and lastly are the radio waves that range from 0.3 microns and greater (Dessler pp. 36-37). Of importance, the shorter wavelengths are characterized as being faster and hotter (under 0.4 microns), these being the ultraviolet and the x-ray radiations. This range has the ability to burn and scorch objects that are exposed to them. It is of great and utmost importance to all life, fauna, flora and fungi (biota) that this range of the radiation spectrum is blocked or absorbed in the upper atmosphere of the planet. On the opposite scale of the radiation spectra are the longer wavelengths that are associated with the radio waves, and the microwave spectrum. This understanding of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum and their relationship or influence All of Earth’s life and
its energy and power are dependent upon the Sun’s electromagnetic radiation (photons) output. The Sun’s total electromagnetic radiation output is streamed in all directions into space. Dessler calculates that the Sun’s total energy output measures at 380 trillion trillion (3.8 x 1026) Watts of power (p. 48). The energy directed at the Earth, which is referred to as its solar constant (S) is measured to be 1,360 W/m2. The Earth’s solar constant, provides the Earth’s energy, sustaining its life and driving and motoring its “global heat engine” (Petty p. 4). As examples of the power of solar radiation on the Earth’s climate and weather systems, Seinfeld illustrates that in an effort to equalize its atmospheric temperatures, energy from the Sun powers hurricanes and provides storm fronts with the energies to sustain their meteorological forces (p. 4). At this point, it should be understood that not all of the sun’s radiation reaches this planet as some is reflected back into space or absorbed into the upper atmosphere. Electromagnetic radiation consisting of x-rays, extreme ultraviolet, and ultraviolet are absorbed or reflected by the upper stratosphere and the ionosphere layers of the atmosphere, while visible light and infrared radiation reaches the Earth’s surface. It also should be noted that galactic cosmic rays, auroral particles, and solar proton charged particles do not reach the Earth’s surface and are not factors or causes yet known to influence or contribute to global warming and the ensuing climatic changes (NASA). The objective of this effort is to summarize the interaction of atmospheric gases and electromagnetic radiation (mainly infrared radiation), and how this causes increasing temperatures on this planet. Incoming solar radiation and partial re-radiation back into Earth’s atmosphere, specifically, the infrared bands and their subsequent effect and interaction with Earth’s greenhouse gases (GHG’s) will help us to better
understand why the planet is warming and altering the atmosphere’s energy balance, which is defined as the equilibrium of energiesin and energiesout. This thermal law obeys the first law of thermodynamics which states energy is conserved; basically meaning that when one object loses a photon, the photon transfers its same quantifying energy to another object, and thus the emitting object loses that same energy (Dessler pp. 42-43). Seinfeld adds that infrared is also radiated into the atmosphere from the Earth’s surface and is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which also act as heat insulators. As part of the positive feedback effect, he points out that a part of the radiation photons are re-radiated back to the Earth’s surface (p. 2). Comparing visible light to infrared radiation, Dessler specifies that visible radiation is not conductive to the atmosphere, but that infrared radiation (IR) is less transparent and is absorbed into the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Based on these facts, among many others, conclusive scientific knowledge is known that IR is the radiative factor that is influencing and causing the increase of temperatures and energies in the atmosphere. Dessler also states that the wavelength of the photons determines their physical properties (p. 37). Despite the narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum that visible radiation occupies, it consists of about half the Sun’s total power output. Petty points out that due to the transparency of the visible band which allows it to readily reach the Earth’s surface, he reveals that the atmosphere is heated primarily from below and secondly by atmospheric gases’ absorption of solar radiation (p. 63). To help understand how the infrared photons factor towards the increasing climate changes, we need to know and understand the wavelength spectrums they occupy.
First, the electromagnetic spectral scale lies under 0.1 micrometers or microns, to greater wavelengths beyond 300,000 microns. Within this path, the x-ray radiation wavelengths are less than 0.01 microns, with the ultraviolet wavelengths between 0.01 to 0.4 microns. The visible wavelength ranges from 0.4 to 0.8 microns, and the IR from 0.4 to 1000 (1mm). It is this photon range (0.4 to 1000 microns) that has the capabilities of entering through the atmosphere and striking the Earth’s surface. Again, it is the visible radiation that is “transparent” to gases’ in the atmosphere, allowing it to reach the Earth’s surface, while the IR spectrum has the physical wavelengths that allows them to interact with the gases in the atmosphere. From the 1mm range to 0.3 microns lies the microwave spectrum, and lastly are the radio waves that range from 0.3 microns and greater (Dessler pp. 36-37). Of importance, the shorter wavelengths are characterized as being faster and hotter (under 0.4 microns), these being the ultraviolet and the x-ray radiations. This range has the ability to burn and scorch objects that are exposed to them. It is of great and utmost importance to all life, fauna, flora and fungi (biota) that this range of the radiation spectrum is blocked or absorbed in the upper atmosphere of the planet. On the opposite scale of the radiation spectra are the longer wavelengths that are associated with the radio waves, and the microwave spectrum. This understanding of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum and their relationship or influence on the Earth’s atmosphere helps us to narrow our focus on the specific spectral band that is responsible for interacting with the
greenhouse gases causing global temperatures to increase, and thus effectuating climate change forcings and subsequent affects to the Earth’s weather and climate. Petty specifically identifies the IR range that is absorbed by the greenhouse gases being emitted from Earth. Of this photon range and wavelengths, he explains that the IR range is composed of three ranges which are the near, thermal, and far wavelengths (p. 66). The visible range is composed of differing color bands, i.e., blue ranging at or about 0.4 microns, the yellow range situating about 0.6 microns, and the red color at or near 0.8 microns (p. 36). The green color spectrum lies between the blue and yellow range, and the orange situated between the yellow and red spectrum. The ultraviolet range sits below the blue color spectrum, and the infrared range above the red color spectrum, hence, their appropriate names within the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. The IR range is the “smoking gun,” the radiation range that is most responsible for contributing to the increasing climate temperatures of the atmosphere and the Earth. First, Petty relates that not all near-IR wavelengths are absorbed by particulate gases in the atmosphere. Nor are far-IR wavelengths significant factors in being absorbed into greenhouse gas particulates. He explicitly identifies the thermal IR band as “where the action is” in reference to being most absorptive into atmospheric gases (p. 66). Aside from the near and far IR bands situated within the IR spectrum, the thermal IR occupies the wavelength region from 4 to 50 microns. Petty references the near IR band (0.7 - 4 microns) as sort of a continuation of the visible spectra
being that it is nearer to the red color spectra of the visible wavelengths. He notes that the far IR situates between 50 to 1000 microns (1mm), and that this is the IR range that is least capable of performing energy transfers (p. 66). This summary helps us to put into perspective wherein the thermal radiation lies in respects to the electromagnetic spectrum range. As we have narrowed the wavelength to the thermal IR band, we begin to see its physical properties (photons) as having the chief characteristics of being the cause of effectuating the increasing of atmospheric thermal energies. This is not fully discounting that the other IR and visible bands, to some degree, have the capabilities of responding likewise and also contributing to the increasing temperatures and changing climates of the Earth. Petty also recognizes that the IR bands “most important absorbers are carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)” (p. 271). In correlation to the wavelength of the thermal IR range, CO2 gases are characterized as having strong rotation and vibrational bonds, which sit at the thermal range of 4.3 microns, with the strongest being located at the 15 micron wavelength (Petty p. 274). Again, I must reiterate that the thermal IR wavelength ranges from 4 to 50 microns. As we can see, the CO2 bond responses are within the thermal IR band. Like for like. Strength for strength. Pound for pound. The more anthropogenic caused CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere, the more this greenhouse gas responds to the photons of the thermal IR wavelengths, resulting in further amplifying the rotational and vibrational states of the CO2 molecule, and thus increasing the temperatures of the atmosphere of our planet.
This reaction is best described
by Iqbal that “when electromagnetic radiation impinges upon a particle, the particle acts like a new source of energy . . . the particle, therefore, becomes an energy sink within the field of the incident wave” (p. 124). Lindsey also recognizes that when matter absorbs photon energy, the results are the excitation of the atoms and molecules and the objects’ temperature is thus raised (p. 6). Though, and albeit, many other factors and causes and known theories exist and are referenced in the full discussion of climate change and atmospheric physics, this exercise focused on the radiation spectrum, specifically the thermal IR range that interacts with and is absorbed by the greenhouse gases, which in total effect, are causing the increasing temperatures and amplifying climate change on the Earth. The sensitivity of thermal radiation interaction with atmospheric greenhouse gases is supported by the leading world scientists studying this phenomenon (Hartman, et. al., p. 184). This is an affirmation that thermal (infrared) radiation does play a significant part in the heat changes of atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is an important factor in the study of global climate change. Keller reiterates that the increase of fossil fuel burning also correlates with the resulting increases of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and the physics is well established that suggests greenhouse gas warming is scientifically established (p. 644). It is hoped that climate scientist continue to work together to help better understand the climate physics, and in working with the policy and political actors to begin effectuating mitigation efforts to decrease the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.