Alaska Magazine [Outdoor] Sep 2018 by Morris Media Network

A WARMER NORTH HARNESSING CHANGE IVORY CARVING The Magazine of Life on the Last Frontier

Caribou People A PHOTO ESSAY

Unalaska Port of Dutch Harbor

Sam Zmolek

Jennifer Rogge

Christopher Johnson

Sam Zmolek

Heart of the Aleutians

Adventure & Discovery • Birder’s Paradise • Hiking & Exploring Phenomenal Wildlife • Bountiful Fishing

907-581-2612 | www.unalaska.org

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10.18 V OLUME 84, NUMBER 8

FEATURES

Photo Essay: Caribou People The importance of the Porcupine herd to the Gwich’in people Text by Charlie Swaney and Peter Mather Photos by Peter Mather

Alaska Native Heritage Center

Tsimshian dancer Rebecca Gue sits at Village Point, part of the Metlakatla coast where founders arrived from British Columbia by canoe in 1887. Gue is wearing a killer whale fin headdress carved by her uncle Wayne Hewson in 2013. Gue, who wore the fin during the Miss Indian World competition, says the headdress is part of her family crest. Her drum was made and designed by her fiancé, Kristopher Hedin. It’s made of elk hide and features a design that reflects a connection between her late mother, Mary Hewson Gue, and great grandfather Wesley John Hewson. STEVE QUINN

A walking tour of 10,000 years By Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan

A Warmer North Alaska Natives bear brunt of climate change in the Arctic By Alexander Deedy

QUOTED

“Teachers, children, elders, and communities all across Alaska are realizing just in time what there is to be gained in renewing something that is becoming lost.”

DEPARTMENTS

~ HARNESSING CHANGE JAYME DITTMAR P. 50

10.18 24

The Cache 22 Molly of Denali Children’s show follows Alaskan girl’s adventures 22 Never Alone Gaming brings Alaska Native culture to the world 24 Telling Stories Remembering a Yup’ik culture bearer

Discover In the Wake of Skin Boats

32 Rambles

Rough Adventures on the Lost Coast

34 Sportsman Casting Call

38 Try This

Alaska State Museum

ALASKA PENINSULA

40 Out There

Fashion Comes to Alaska

44 Gear

Warm Clothing

PLUS: 6 My View North 10 Feast 12 Alaska Exposed 18 On the Edge 46 Natural Alaska 48 History 50 Community 79 Interview 80 This Alaskan Life

On the Cover: Stephen “Qacung” Blanchett of the band Pamyua wears a ruff made of polar bear fur. Pamyua (pronounced bum’ yo-ah) is a Yup’ik Inuit word meaning “encore” or “do it again.” To hear samples of the group’s “tribal funk” style, visit pamyua.com. ~Photo by Loren Holmes/lorenholmes.com

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

KETCHIKAN

(TOP LEFT) COURTESY HOOD MUSEUM OF ART, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE; (TOP RIGHT) KATIE BASILE/COURTESY KYUK (BOTTOM) HALL ANDERSON

26 The Unknown Titanic of the West Coast Centennial of the Princess Sophia wreck

30 Sense of Place

Most of the land on Amaknak and Unalaska islands in the Aleutians is owned by the Ounalashka Corporation, formed in 1973 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

A Successful Experiment

LASKA BRAGS OF ITS MANY UNIQUE ASPECTS—THE

highest mountain on the continent, the largest bears, more than half the world’s glaciers, site of the only World War II battle that was fought on American soil, and geographic extremes. But another unique feature of the state that many don’t know about was a pivotal deal between its Native tribes and the federal government. After Alaska became a state in 1959, land disputes continued to smolder between federal and state governments and indigenous groups. Two distinct events accelerated the glacial pace of negotiations: the massive 1964 earthquake, and the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope in 1968. Recovery efforts after the earthquake drew federal attention to the poor living conditions of many Alaska Natives, prompting proposals that sought a way for tribes to become economically stable. The Alaska Federation of Natives worked closely with government representatives to find a legal path, but land claims issues still stymied the process. When industry struck oil beneath the Arctic tundra in ’68 and proposed an 800-mile pipeline to carry crude to the Port of Valdez for shipping, their ambitious plan hit a wall: The route would need to cross disputed lands. Suddenly, the oil companies and state government had an incentive to expedite a solution agreeable to all. Lt. Governor Byron Mallott, a Tlingit who was at that time new to politics, remembers attending a meeting of the Association of Village Council Presidents in Bethel and observing Yup’ik elders identify their traditional lands with pencil and chalk on large sheets of butcher paper hung around the room. The purpose was to keep those lands viable for future generations; elders also expressed a desire to provide modern education for Native children while keeping their cultures intact. Such particulars were hashed out at many similar gatherings across the state and in Washington, D.C., as stakeholders jockeyed for position. In the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA,

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

aboriginal land use controversies were dissolved and state and federal governments agreed to convey 44 million acres (including surface and subsurface rights) to newly formed regional Native economic development corporations and pay them $963 million. Today’s 13 Alaska Native regional corporations and more than 200 village corporations create jobs for Alaskans, cultural sustainability, political clout, and shareholder dividends. Many have formed nonprofits that provide shareholders with everything from medical services to student scholarships. For-profit Native-owned businesses are eligible to apply for federal 8(a) contracts, giving them additional access to economic opportunities. Whereas Native Americans in the Lower 48 have tribes and reservations, and many rely on casinos for income, Alaska Natives, because of ANCSA, thrive by using the corporate business model. The economic footprint of Native regional and village corporations spans the globe. For example, Cook Inlet Region, Inc., or CIRI, owns businesses specializing in energy development, oilfield and construction services, real estate, technology services, and government contracting. One of CIRI’s subsidiaries provides air and missile defense support to the U.S. Department of Defense. Its real estate branch owns a busy Anchorage mall called Tikahtnu Commons (the Dena’ina Athabaskan name for Cook Inlet is Tikahtnu, meaning “big water river” or Nuti, meaning “saltwater”). CIRI has wind energy projects in Alaska, Wyoming, Texas, and Nebraska. Other corporations are just as diverse. ANCSA is not without its detractors, but as it evolves into a working model for modern times, most would say it has been a resounding success. Susan Sommer Editor editor@alaskamagazine.com

COURTESY SUSAN SOMMER

How ANCSA launched contemporary Native self-determination

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What traditional Alaska Native foods would you try or have you eaten?

This month at

alaskamagazine.com Log on and explore life on the Last Frontier.

The Magazine of Life on the Last Frontier

Moose bone marrow with salt, spread on crackers, is buttery, grainy, and delicious.

GROUP PUBLISHER

I tried muktuk in Kaktovik. It’s been ages since I tried akutaq as a young kid and didn’t like it. I’d like to give it another go now that I have adult taste buds.

Give us your best shot!

Share your best photos with us on Facebook and tag us on Instagram for a chance to be featured on our social media or here. Mike Klosterman photographed the brown bear above at Anan Bay in Southeast. Neil Bennette sent us the shot below of the sun setting at Chelatna Lake, west of Talkeetna.

John Lunn

EDITOR

Susan Sommer

SENIOR EDITOR

Michelle Theall

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Melissa Bradley

ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT EDITOR GEAR EDITOR

Steven Merritt Alexander Deedy

When I visited the Inupiat Heritage Center in Utqiagvik, the woman at the front desk was eating lunch; she asked if I’d like to try muktuk. I chewed, and chewed, and smiled, and spoke to her for the next hour about her life before finally wandering into the beautiful museum.

Bjorn Dihle

I’m always craving smoked Yukon king Nick Jans salmon. Boiled moose nose is exactly Susan Dunsmore what you’d expect—an oily Seth Fields chunk that chews with a rubber-like consistency in parts, Karen Fralick gelatinous in others. Flavor, not so bad. Stink walrus flipper is David L. Ranta where I drew the line. When they opened that Ziploc bag Mickey Kibler that had been fermenting on the roof in the sun for weeks, a Donald Horton number of the Noatak elders at Emma Porter’s birthday party waved their hands and shouted, ALASKA ADVERTISING SALES “Akaaaa—it stinks!”

I’ll stick with salmon, smoked and dried inches CONTRIBUTING EDITOR from where it was pulled HUMOR COLUMNIST out of the river. One of each DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER please…I’ll try anything DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING SERVICES twice. SPECIAL PROJECTS I’d have to go with muktuk. Not PRODUCT MANAGER interested in stinkhead or DIRECTOR OF MANUFACTURING fermented beaver tail.

Alaska magazine, 301 Arctic Slope Ave., Suite 300, Anchorage, Alaska 99518 melissa.bradley@alaskamagazine.com

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A publication of Morris Communications Company, LLC 735 Broad St., Augusta, GA 30901 PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION

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Morris Communications Company, LLC CHAIRMAN William S. Morris III PRESIDENT AND CEO William S. Morris IV

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A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Alaska, ISSN 0002-4562, is published monthly except for combined July/August and December/January issues by MCC Magazines, LLC, a division of Morris Communications Company, LLC. Editorial and Advertising Offices: 301 Arctic Slope Ave., Suite 300, Anchorage, Alaska 99518. Not responsible for the return of unsolicited submissions. Known office of publication: 735 Broad St., Augusta, Ga. 30901. U.S. subscription rates: $24 for one year; $46 for two years. Canada and Mexico add $20 per year (U.S. Funds only). Outside North America add $40 per year (U.S. Funds only). Our trademarks registered in the U.S. Patent Office and in Canada: “Alaska,” “Alaska Sportsman,” “Life on the Last Frontier,” “From Ketchikan to Barrow,” “End of the Trail,” “The Guide Post,” “Main Trails & Bypaths,” “Alaska-Yukon Magazine.” Periodicals postage paid at Augusta, Ga., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alaska, PO Box 433237, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9616. In Canada, periodicals postage paid at Winnipeg, Manitoba; second-class registration number 9771, GST No. 125701896. Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 279730. © 2018 Alaska magazine. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Volume 84, Number 8.

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Akutaq, or Eskimo ice cream, is a dessert typically made with berries, fat, and sugar.

Blueberries are popular in akutaq.

Akutaq Alaska-style dessert BY ANNA SATTLER

Editor’s Note: We featured Anna Sattler and her show, Anna’s Alaska: Off the Eaten Path, in our September issue. Here, she shares her knowledge of and a recipe for a popular traditional Yup’ik dish.

also known as Eskimo ice cream, is a common food in western Alaska from the Yup’iks, consisting of whipped fat and berries, with optional additions such as fish and sugar. The word comes from Yup’ik and means “something mixed.” Yup’ik is the second most commonly spoken language in the state, with some words well known—quyana (thank you), camai (a Yup’ik greeting), and akutaq are the best examples. Traditionally, akutaq was a mixture of berries and fat—seal fat, caribou fat, and the like. It was a treat for special occasions. I’ve grown up using a combination of Crisco, potato flakes, and sugar but nowadays you will find recipes mixing berries with Cool Whip, yogurt, and/or coconut oil for a healthier version of the dessert. There are also more savory versions that use fish, meat, or fresh greens from the beach. Like any recipe, there are many variations, but this one is tried and true and always a fan favorite at big gatherings or intimate family dinners. Akutaq can get a bad rap because of the use of Crisco, but if you like cake and frosting, you are basically eating the same thing. My recipe uses just enough fat to bind the berries so they shine as the highlight of the dish.

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Any kind of berry can be used in akutaq. The dessert, once mixed, can also be frozen for enjoying later.

Anna Sattler’s Akutaq

Whip the following in a stand mixer (or use the heat of your hands) for 20 minutes: 1/2 c Crisco 1/8 c hot water 1/4 c dehydrated potato flakes 3/4 c to 1 c of sugar Mix the above until the sugar

dissolves. Then add and mix in a gallon of fresh salmonberries, blueberries, blackberries, or cranberries.

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) COURTESY SUSAN SOMMER, ANNA SATTLER, (INSET) COURTESY BEACON MEDIA + MARKETING

KUTAQ OR AGUTAQ (PRONOUNCED AH-GOO-DUCK),

Where do you read Alaska? My New Zealand boat mate Simon holds a beautiful GT (Giant Trevally) while Jess—our host while fishing in Salani, Samoa—smiles. I’m looking at Alaska magazine and reading the fly-fishing article, to see if during my upcoming return trip to Bristol Bay, GTs are on the list of fish! Of course, I’m just kidding and I’m looking forward to revisiting Alaska soon for salmon, halibut, ling cod, rock fish, etc. etc. etc! Bill Dalton Interlaken, New Jersey I traveled over 3,000 miles from San Diego to Guam, “Where America’s Day Begins,” for work this past April. This was a working vacation. After work each day I explored the island beaches and snorkeled in a beautiful protected bay called “Gab Gab,” and when the day was over, I came back to my hotel room to discover Alaska all over again amid the amazing pages of my Alaska magazine. After 14 years of experiencing many adventures in Alaska—The Last Frontier—I’ve headed to warmer climates in San Diego, but my heart will always be in Alaska! Alaska magazine cools me down as I read it this summer in Texas. It brings back so many memories of the three years my husband, Jim, and I lived in Anchorage in the mid 1950s. He worked as an Anchorage police officer and I managed our apartment building which was one of the few skyscrapers there—at 12th and L (now the Inlet Tower). When my daughter and her husband took an Alaskan cruise a few years ago, they went to the Inlet Tower and got to see our old apartment, where she had lived as a baby over 50 years before. I’m so glad the building is still recognizable on the outside today. I love keeping up with Alaska through your publication; so much has changed but so many beautiful spots have stayed the same. Mary Ellen Boren Clifton, Texas

“Cathy from Alaska” Spence San Diego, California We love to take our Alaska magazine when we visit Deale Island, Maryland. The magazine reminds of us our trip to Alaska in 2016. We took a cruise and land tour and it was definitely one of the most beautiful trips we have ever been on. We are looking forward to going back in the near future. Can’t wait! Andy and Sue Kane Pasadena, Maryland We took our Alaska magazine on a trip to Samoa. A few years back I went to Soldotna for the first time to fish the Kenai River and fell in love day one. Since then I took my wife and she fell in love as well. So, two years ago we decided to buy a cabin there and rebuild it. We love Alaska, our little slice of heaven, and hope to live there full time someday. Jake & Hailey Gurr Lehi, Utah

Connect with us! Send us pictures of where you read Alaska and submit letters to the editor at editor@alaskamagazine.com. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

ALASKA EXPOSED Web of Technology

Christian “Cikigaq” Tom takes a break from untangling a drift net to make a phone call while helping his older brother Tom Tom fish for salmon on the Kinia River near Chefornak. LOREN HOLMES /

lorenholmes.com

OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

ALASKA EXPOSED Tribal Treasure

The Huna Tribal House in Glacier Bay National Park features a stylized raven (left) and eagle, representing the two halves, or moieties, of Tlingit culture in southeast Alaska. Focal length: 116 mm Shutter speed: 1/250 sec Aperture: f/6.3 ISO: 250 EMILY MOUNT/

emilymountphotography.com

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

OCTOBER A L A S K A

ALASKA EXPOSED Original Trampoline A person throws candy to the crowd during the blanket toss at Nalukataq, Utqiagvik’s annual spring whale harvest festival. Focal length: 16 mm Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec Aperture: f/14 ISO: 200 PATRICK J. ENDRES/

alaskaphotographics.com

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M 0CTOBER 2018

OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Everything For Free

AIN SPATTERED OUT OF A LOW SKY. MY FRIEND PETER

and I had paddled 30 miles on the Noatak River that August evening and planned to make another 20 before we camped. We were approaching the end of a 750-mile float and portage trip spanning the western Brooks Range and were running on fumes—exhausted, nearly out of food, and soaked through our worn raingear. The bluffs of the Lower Noatak Canyon loomed before us. We rounded a bend, and there was a light on a high bank, a tent frame cabin, and a young female voice in the half-dark. “Stop and warm up,” she called. We didn’t need to be asked twice—we tied off our canoe and staggered up the trail. Our eyes blurred at the sudden warmth and brightness inside. A Coleman lantern hung from a rafter; a woodstove with a hissing kettle on

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

BY NICK JANS

it crackled in a corner of the cozy, cluttered space. Our hostess turned out to be an Inupiaq girl in her late teens, babysitting her younger brother. Her parents had boated to Kotzebue and left her in charge. “There’s fresh trout soup on the stove,” she said. “We just check net tonight.” She ladled out bowlfuls—more stew than soup, brimming with macaroni and canned vegetables and chunks of lake trout, then brought out a box of Sailor Boy hardtack, butter, and jam. We ate like the starving guys we were, and she offered us more. Then she opened a can of peaches—a sweet luxury in bush Alaska—and heated water for tea, accompanied by more crackers and conversation. Who were we? Where had we come from, and where were we going? As our gear steamed dry, we answered and asked questions of our own. Throughout our stay,

NICK JANS

Boundless generosity in the Arctic

Roxy Greist and Hannah Mendenhall of Ambler make dinner for guests in a remote camp.

That night, almost four decades ago, served as my introduction to the openarmed generosity that defines Inupiaq culture at its best. our young hostess remained gracious and remarkably relaxed, as if big, grubby strangers from afar stopped in every night. I tried to imagine being her. We might as well have been Martians and could have been sociopaths. How could she not be nervous? We turned down an invitation to unroll our sleeping bags and stay the night. She waved as we cast off and continued downstream, as warmed by kindness as by the stove, and the meal that fueled our bodies. I wish I could remember her name, but what I do recall matters far more. That night, almost four decades ago, served as my introduction to the open-armed generosity that defines Inupiaq culture at its best. In the years since, I can’t count the times I was just stopping by someone’s home or camp to return a tool, pass along a message, chat, or whatever, and ended up being invited in to share a meal. The bare minimum one can expect is being offered a hot drink, usually with a snack on the side. I’ve left from many unannounced visits carrying a loaf of fresh-baked bread, a baggie of dry caribou meat, berries, a whole fresh fish, or maybe a chunk of moose. Understandable being so generous with friends or family; but a stranger, especially a traveler out in the country, is often met with the same largesse. Rolling out the welcome mat seems almost a cultural reflex. I recall old Zach and Doris Hugo of Anaktuvuk Pass gathering their longtime friend, Clarence Wood, and I (his naluaqmiu sidekick whom they’d never met) into their home, after we had broken trail 275 wilderness miles by snowmobile from our village of Ambler. With a wide-mouthed smile, Zach announced, “Come in, welcome! Coffee, cracker, can fruit, caribou meat, anymuch, all for free!” Due to a roaring Arctic blizzard, our stay lengthened. But despite Ben Franklin’s adage that both fish and visitors begin to smell after three days, there was never the least sense that we’d worn out our royal welcome. Of course one can find soul-warming generosity in cultures worldwide, rural or urban. But there’s something more going on with the Inupiat. Consider that the written set of core cultural values known as Inupiat Ilitqusiat (literally, The Real People— That Which Makes Us What We Are) names 16 traits. And number three is “Sharing.” There is no further elaboration beyond that single word, and its placement so high up the list seems self-evident. Why this emphasis? No one can say for sure, but here’s my take. The roots of Inupiaq generosity may lie in the harsh Arctic climate, the vast landscape, and the semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer culture that evolved there. Food came from the land, and small groups moved from one location to another, hoping to time their arrival to that of the next food source, itself transient or migratory. In times of plenty, the Inupiat feasted. When a resource failed, entire camps sometimes starved. Stories

Molly Brown of Ambler pauses to offer Nick Jans coffee, and a fish to take home.

of hardships echo in oral histories, passed across generations. Sharing the land’s bounty with others—expanded these days to include goods from the outside world—stands as an affirmative act, celebrating not only a time of plenty and one’s own fortune; but as a passion play, helping others survive. Inupiaq generosity extends beyond food, sometimes to astounding lengths. Twenty-some years ago, I was driving a new skiff from Kotzebue to Ambler—a 200-mile trip. Scarcely a dozen miles out, my old 15-horse outboard (which I’d flown down with, in order to move the skiff upriver) blew a bearing in the middle of Hotham Inlet. I was in big trouble, drifting out to sea. Bung Nelson, a local whom I’d never met, saw my plight and went far out of his way to rescue me and tow my rig miles to his brother Augie’s camp. Augie Nelson, whom I also had never met, didn’t just offer food and shelter; he loaned me a spanking new 40-horse motor he’d just bought and had yet to install on his own boat. “Just send it back to Kotzebue when you get home,” he said. He had no idea whether I was honest, or how well I could drive; and he knew that with the river so low, I was bound to knock a few dings in his prop and maybe worse. Yet he trusted me with a motor worth several thousand bucks—equipment his own life would depend on. How do you repay that, I wondered as I drove in that ever-lit summer evening up the Kobuk, watching the land scroll past. Truth is, I’m still working on it—and will be the rest of my time. If I’ve learned anything from my Inupiaq neighbors, it’s that we’re all in this together. Nick Jans is a longtime contributing editor to Alaska and author of the award-winning memoir The Giant’s Hand, available from nickjans.com. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Cache The

10.18

“The Cache” is written and compiled by Assistant Editor Alexander Deedy.

Salmon Riches

Subsistence-caught king salmon dries on a rack near the Kuskokwim River in the village of Akiak. KEVIN G. SMITH/ AlaskaStock

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Molly of Denali

MOLLY OF DENALI

Children’s show follows Alaskan girl’s adventures

KIDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WILL BE ABLE TO FOLLOW the adventures of Molly Mabray, a 10-year-old Alaska Native, and her life in the fictional community of Qyah, Alaska, starting next year. The animated adventure comedy is the first nationally distributed children’s series to star an Alaska Native character, according to producers. A creative producer for the show is also Alaska Native and showrunners are hiring Alaskan scriptwriters and voice talent to create the episodes.

NEVER ALONE

Gaming brings Alaska Native culture to the world

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Nuna and Fox

nity,” says E-Line’s co-founder and president Alan Gershenfeld. “That permeated everything we worked on.” Never Alone was a risky venture for CITC, but it debuted to critical and commercial success. In its first 18 months on the market, the game was downloaded more than three million times. “Carrying our stories though a video game can be a commercial success, but also be one that really honors the people it was made with,” says Amy Fredeen, the chief financial officer for CITC and the game’s lead cultural ambassador. After the game’s success, CITC and E-Line Media partnered to work on more projects. They paired game makers with ocean experts for Beyond Blue, which is scheduled for release in 2019.

(TOP) COURTESY WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION (BOTTOM) COURTESY E-LINE MEDIA

THE COOK INLET TRIBAL COUNCIL, an organization that provides social services primarily to Alaska Natives in the Cook Inlet region of southcentral Alaska, has embraced a new avenue for connecting with young Alaska Natives: video games. Together with the game development company E-Line Media, the council released a video game in 2014 that was based on an Inupiaq story. The game, titled Never Alone, pairs a young girl named Nuna with a fox, who together must stop a never-ending blizzard and restore balance to the Arctic. As players progress and overcome obstacles, they unlock video vignettes that share interviews about various aspects of Inupiaq culture. Through the entire development process, E-Line game makers consulted Alaska Natives for every decision, including choosing a boy or girl protagonist and what animal to pick as the companion. “Our north star was a game we made not about the Alaska Native community or the Inupiat community, but with the commu-

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THE MYSTERY OF THE FIRE TREES TELLING STORIES Remembering a Yup’ik culture bearer OF SOUTHEAST Active started working ALASKA at KYUK in the 1970s,

John Active

SOME ANCIENT RED CEDARS IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA curiously have burned, hollowed interiors, and in her book The Mystery of the Fire Trees of Southeast Alaska, author Mary Henrikson explores their many possible uses by Alaska Natives. A lifelong Alaskan, Henrikson writes that she never gave the trees much thought until a friend told her that Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people used them to store fire. That sparked questions for the author, who takes readers along on her journey of discovery and artistic exploration. She concludes that the trees were likely navigational aids, shelters for shaman work, cooking areas, and potentially more. A quick and easy read with lots of accompanying art and photos, Henrikson’s book is a good way to start your mind turning about the possibilities of Alaska’s past.

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

translating news stories from English to Yup’ik. consummate storyteller and Yup’ik culture bearer. “He was one of the greatest translators of English to Yup’ik, Yup’ik to English to try and tie cultures together,” says Bev Hoffman, who grew up alongside Active. Many of the stories Active shared were tales he heard from his grandparents growing up. “The fact that he had all this knowledge and he worked in media made everyone’s lives so much richer,” Dewitt says.

>> To honor Active, the Bethel Community Services Foundation started a scholarship that awards funds to students studying journalism, indigenous languages, multimedia, or communications.

KATIE BASILE/COURTESY KYUK

A journey of discovery

WHEN JOHN ACTIVE’S VOICE WAS ON THE RADIO, everyone listened. His voice meant something important was about to be shared, says Michelle DeWitt, executive director of the Bethel Community Services Foundation. Active, a Yup’ik storyteller, journalist, translator, and longtime KYUK radio personality, died in June at the age of 69. “Everybody who ever turned on the radio, or continues to turn on the radio—because his voice is still on the air—is familiar with John Active’s voice,” DeWitt says. “He touched the lives of virtually everybody in the [Yukon-Kuskokwim] Delta.” Active started working at KYUK in the 1970s, translating news stories from English to Yup’ik. He worked off and on for the station, eventually becoming a

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THE UNKNOWN TITANIC OF THE WEST COAST

Centennial of the wreck

Stuart Towarak sets a new record.

The Princess Sophia

Sophia, but the captain deemed the seas too rough for a safe evacuation, and he thought the passengers and crew were safe on their perch. For 40 hours, the Sophia sat in battering winds, grinding across the reef and making a bad situation dire. The captain sent an S.O.S. by telegram, pleading for help. “Taking water and foundering, for God’s sake come and save us.” But the boats couldn’t make it back in the storm, the Sophia sank, and everyone on board perished.

REACHING RECORD HEIGHTS STUART TOWARAK, 24 YEARS OLD, set a new record in the one-foot high kick at the Arctic Winter Games last March when he kicked a ball hanging 115 inches off the ground. That’s just shy of the 117-inch record at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics and just five inches shy of the rim on a basketball hoop. Here’s how he did it. STEP 1: Train. Towarak was an alternate for the team headed to the Arctic Winter Games in Canada, but when another athlete broke his ankle a month before the competition, Towarak got a call. He spent the month on leg workouts, core workouts, and plyometrics. He was working as an assistant elementary school teacher at the time, and during lunch breaks he would take a quick bite before heading to the gymnasium, hanging a ball over the rim, and

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

The official number of passengers and crew on board the Sophia remains unknown, but at least 353 people lost their lives, according to the National Park Service. The tragedy remains one of the worst shipwrecks on the west coast of North America, but it occurred just a few weeks before the end of WWI and during the Spanish influenza outbreak. The other world news dominated headlines, which led the Sophia to be dubbed “the unknown Titanic of the West Coast.”

practicing kicks. STEP 2: Focus. One of Towarak’s mentors used to pull him aside after missing a kick and remind him to aim for the top of the ball and kick right in the middle. His previous record was 114 inches, so when the ball was set to 115, Towarak went back to the basics. “I think it was all timing for me, just when to go and when I felt it was right. I was going off of adrenaline,” he says. “I could feel my body really tingling from all the adrenaline and I was really trying to stay focused and what I was thinking in my head was aim for the top of the ball and try to kick right in the middle.” STEP 3: Celebrate. “When I kicked it, I guess I had enough hang time to come back down and I was already screaming and celebrating when I landed,” Towarak says. “I was so pumped up.”

(TOP) COURTESY ALASKA STATE LIBRARY, JOHN GRAINGER PHOTO COLLECTION, ASL-P255-79-79 (BOTTOM) COURTESY TUSAAYAKSAT MAGAZINE

ON OCTOBER 23, 1918, the Princess Sophia departed Skagway at 10:10 p.m., three hours behind schedule. The steamer carried passengers south from Alaska and soldiers on their way to join World War I. The ship soon encountered heavy snow, fog, high winds, and rough seas. About four hours after leaving port, the Sophia ran aground on Vanderbilt Reef, a large, submerged rock that sits just below the surface of the Lynn Canal. The initial collision caused limited damage, and as the ship sat grounded, boats from nearby ports were sent out to provide assistance. The boats circled the

An athlete competes in the bench reach at the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics.

RONN MURRAY/COURTESY WEIO

TEST YOUR METTLE

Try out these traditional Alaskan games at home EACH YEAR, ATHLETES FROM ACROSS Alaska gather for the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, which pits competitors against each other in tests of strength, endurance, flexibility, and pain tolerance traditionally used to gauge survival and hunting aptitude. Here’s how to try some of the games at home and discover if you could have survived Alaska’s wilds.

BENCH REACH Objective: Distance How to play: Kneel on a bench, have someone hold your lower legs, then lean forward and place a small object on the ground. Raise yourself back to the original kneeling position. Whoever places the object farthest without pushing or tossing it wins.

ESKIMO STICK PULL Objective: Pull the stick away from your opponent How to play: Opponents sit facing each other with their feet pressing together and knees slightly bent. Players grip a stick in the middle, above their toes, and pull. Whoever tugs the stick from their opponent’s grip or pulls their opponent over is declared winner.

Note: WEIO athletes clench their hands in fists and rest their knuckles on the floor. At home you can rest your palms on the ground.

KNEEL JUMP Objective: Jump farthest How to play: Kneel on the ground with the top of your feet flat to the floor. From this position, thrust your body forward and up, to a standing position. Whoever jumps farthest and remains balanced and standing wins. Distance is measured from the heel to the starting line.

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Objective: To hop farthest How to play: Hold yourself in a push-up position, with elbows bent and only hands and toes touching the floor. From a designated starting point, hop forward repeatedly. Whoever hops the farthest without touching anything other than their hands and toes to the floor is the winner. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A OCTOBER

23 27

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10.18

E XPE RIE NC E T HE L A ST F RO N T IE R

In Training

Charlie Elavgak heads out with older relatives to harvest bowhead whales in the Beaufort Sea. HERMAN AHSOAK

SENSE OF PLACE

In the Wake of Skin Boats

Alutiiq three-hatch kayak model, mid-19th century.

Paddling through the waters of an Alutiiq tradition

ITH HER ENGINES CUT, STELLER IDLES IN BEAR

Cove, a crook in the coastline of Kenai Fjords National Park, while we unload our sea kayaks from the stern. Where the high tide meets hemlock and spruce, not a foot of level ground is left. We don’t know what the green wall conceals, but the shore early explorers called rock-bound and stern shows its welcoming face on this summer day. Initially the newcomers thought they had found a virgin world. When slim boats sewn from animal skins crowded their ships, they quickly realized that these inlets had been home to people for thousands of years. The Pacific Eskimos today known as Alutiit called themselves Sugpiat—“real people”—though Russian fur hunters and traders considered them to be subhuman. Despite their disdain, the colonizers admired the Natives’ “leather canoes” for their speed, safety, and elasticity. A smooth three-hour ride delivers our group—two instructors and six Outward Bound students—here in Aialik Bay. The following day, after breakfast, with the weather holding, we get down to basics: kayak anatomy, paddle strokes, and the muchdreaded wet exit and reentry. The training of Alutiiq kayakers began at the young age of 14. Elders encouraged neophytes to harden their bodies by taking dips in the ocean at dawn. Pull-ups on their sod-homes’ rafters padded shoulders and forearms with muscle. Games of skill improved their hand-eye coordination. On calm days, boys traveled into the bays to catch fish or kill birds with throw-darts. Capsized in gales, they Eskimo-rolled,

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

kept dry by seal-gut parkas cinched to the cockpit. With only 12 days on this course, our students won’t master this advanced self-rescue technique. As is typical for this region, the day turns drizzly. We paddle 10 miles to Abra Cove. A student captain and two navigators lead, trying to keep the pod tight. Propelled by paddle cadences, the bows of our boats slice the dull-pewter surface. Our double-blade, slightly concave and offset or “feathered” paddles not only provide optimal transmission of muscle power to water; they also prevent one-sided exertion. Alutiiq boatmen used paddles with a single “spearhead” blade engineered for deft stabilizing maneuvers. Beyond mere means of propulsion, these served as a kind of sonar. Hunters clenched the grip between their teeth, with the paddle’s tip in the sea. They sensed game moving underwater through the wood’s vibration as if reading tracks in fresh snow. Fueled by bowls of hot oatmeal, we shove off again the next morning. Soon, brash ice signals Aialik’s alabaster face. We land near the glacier’s southwestern flank and build a rare fire below the tide line. The night promises to be cool. Half a forest of driftwood lies scattered about the moraine’s moonscape of grit like bones of some Brobdingnagian race. Local trees—though never driftwood—furnished the skeleton of a qayaq in an elegant welding of the land and sea’s bounties. Lighter than dugout canoes, such boats could be carried without much effort. Native artisan-craftsmen used hemlock for the frame, spruce for the stem, stern, and crosspieces. They knew

(THIS PAGE) COURTESY HOOD MUSEUM OF ART, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, GIFT OF CAPTAIN WORTHEN HALL AND POLLY D. LOVEWELL HALL (OPPOSITE PAGE) COURTESY ALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA

BY MICHAEL ENGELHARD

Alutiiq ceremonial paddles by Andrew Abyo.

their materials as well as they did the sea. Hemlock will crack or break easily; spruce is drier, and ribs from it can be bent after steaming. Besides tanning and sewing the sealskin covers, women gathered and split spruce roots, which sometimes replaced sinew as the frame’s lashings. Reverence for the kayak—because you entrust your life to it—connects us to the Alutiit on a deeper level. We adorn our polyurethane tubes with hand-painted names and stuffed-animal mascots, but they decorated their boats with ochre bands and seams tasseled with seal whiskers and dyed bits of wool. They strapped survival gear onto their decks—seal clubs, bailers, lances, harpoons, throwing-boards, darts, bows, and arrow-filled quivers—all within easy reach and as crucial as our bear spray, map cases, compasses, bilge pumps. While we enact our program’s traditions, the first people on this coast seek to revive some of theirs. Gregor Welpton, a Juneau shipwright and former commercial fisherman, apprenticed to the time-honored ways of building qayat. For Welpton, the

conception of a boat’s design, as well as its manufacture, are deeply spiritual and intuitive acts, ritualistic gestures pleasing the ancestors and the sea. People who have paddled such replicas comment not only on their comfort, but also on the boats’ translucence, the sensation of merging with their surroundings. Alutiiq elders who rode in a qayaq’s belly as children recall the light-and-shadow play on the hull, and waves lapping like taps on a hand drum. Welpton compares this perfect communion, this best solitude on Earth, to “slipping into the planet itself.” A creation myth tells of the first Alutiit falling from the sky, snug in their kayaks. We understand how they must have felt: travelers between worlds, freed from physical limitations. Michael Engelhard is the author of American Wild: Explorations from the Grand Canyon to the Arctic Ocean. Years after writing this story, he moved to Cordova, on Prince William Sound’s eastern side, and was able to launch sea-kayaks from his front porch.

LET FUTURE GENERATIONS KNOW THE DANGERS OF SECONDHAND SMOKE. Nathan, Age 54 Oglala Sioux Idaho

Secondhand smoke at work triggered Nathan’s severe asthma attacks and caused infections and lung damage. If you or someone you know wants free help to quit smoking, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. #CDCTips

OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

A section of the coast strewn with small rocks near Lituya Bay.

RAMBLES

Rough Adventures on the Lost Coast Isolated challenges beckon explorers

BY JACK McCLURE

The Lost Coast

The wildest coast in Alaska delivered a test that lived up to the hype from others who had traveled its rugged land. 32

Without protection, the area absorbs the full brunt of storms rolling in from the Pacific Ocean. As a result, the region remains largely unpopulated by humans, leaving bears, wolves, and bald eagles free to roam this area they call home. Toward the end of April 2017, my friend Trevor and I set off to walk the southern stretch of the coast, with the intention of walking with our pack rafts from Yakutak to Gustavus. Circumstances prevented us from reaching our intended destination, instead finishing 12 days and approximately 180 miles later at Elfin Cove. From Yakutak, we crossed the Situk River heading southeast, walking along the beach that would become so familiar in the coming days. Driftwood marked the high-water line far up the shore from the breaking waves. The Gulf of Alaska and the expansive Pacific beyond would be our constant companions to our right. In a land where rainfall measures over hundreds of inches each year, the sun shone brightly through a partly clouded sky. Deep forests rose to our left, creating a dense boundary at odds with the open sea.

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

But the Lost Coast wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all firm sand and sunny skies. During the last glacial period, this part of the world was covered by glaciers. While some remain, others have receded far into the mountains, leaving an array of boulders in their wake. Some proved to be mere stepping stones, while others required us to circumnavigate or to crawl our way up and over. Rain fell, further slowing our progress on the monolithic, slick rocks. One afternoon, picking our way over a stretch of massive boulders, Trevor fell. Though he landed without injury, his accident sobered our pace. We made camp and called it a day. When we resumed our trek and ambled along the beach, our footprints overlapped with the meandering tracks of brown bearsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a warning to keep our wits about us and stay alert. Locals warned us that the Lost Coast teemed with bruins, but we spotted only six throughout the course of the trip. While most of our travels took place on land, the small distances on the water brought the greatest challenges and served as the crux of our trip. Lituya

JACK MCCLURE

he Lost Coast of Alaska stands as one of the more wild and rugged regions within the state. A path of boulder-strewn beaches, thick forests, and majestic mountains dots the shore from the Copper River to Icy Point.

Trevor watches one of the many waves crash along water’s edge.

Bay was our first obstacle, a quarter-mile crossing unmanageable at first glance due to stormy conditions. We watched large breakers roll in through the bay’s entrance and talked of the tidal wave that had hit the area over 50 years ago. A day of waiting passed before we were able to cross and continue trekking along the beach once more. A few days later I lost the shaft to my paddle while bushwhacking through dense forests. Without a shaft, I would not be able to navigate the final section of water travel to our end destination. I started planning for a flight out, but within a few hours, Trevor had worked with me to create a makeshift paddle out of driftwood so we could continue on. However, the setback changed our end destination from Gustavus to the much closer Elfin Cove. Ten miles of ocean packrafting separated us from our final camp and Elfin Cove on our last day of travel. Impatience led us to being caught in a riptide while attempting to cross Cross Sound. After extracting ourselves, waiting for better conditions and navigating safely across, we split up three miles from Elfin Cove. I had a flight out in a few hours that I did not wish to miss, and Trevor wanted to visit The Hobbit Hole, a local spot of interest. One short crossing lay between me and an easy paddle into town. Anxious to reach dry land, I began the crossing while the tide was going out, nowhere near slack tide. Despite my conservative line and strong paddling, I found myself pushed beyond the protection of land and out to the open gulf. Battling anxiety and nearing panic, I paddled as hard as I could, landing myself in an eddy on the other side, and safe along the shoreline once more.

Early morning light filters through the tent at the author’s camp near Mount Fairweather. The wildest coast in Alaska delivered a test that lived up to the hype from others who had traveled its rugged land. The numerous glaciers, the ocean, the animals, and the variable weather left me yearning for more. For now, I’m stuck sorting through memories and looking at photos from the trip. But the north portion of the coast beckons, and I know one day I’ll be back.

Jack McClure is a writer and adventure tour operator living in Wiseman in a 12-foot by 12-foot cabin built in the 1930s. Originally from the Chicago area, he moved north to pursue his idea of a wilderness life, including forays to places like the Lost Coast. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

SPORTSMAN

Casting Call

Henry Winkler with an Alaskan rainbow trout.

Actor Henry Winkler talks fly fishing N ACCOMPLISHED SPORTSMAN WHO METICULOUSLY

records the measurements of every fish he hooks, actor Henry Winkler has learned that his seasonal fly fishing trips on American rivers, including in Alaska, are not just about catching trout. They are about adopting the proper perspectives on life and how fly fishing recharges him and reminds him that anything is possible. Winkler grew up in New York City and had a summer home on Lake Mahopac upstate. He spent most of his young life with low self-esteem and had difficulty at school due to undiagnosed dyslexia. His insecurities continued even after becoming a sex symbol as the macho, leather-jacket-wearing Fonzie on the hit television series Happy Days. Fly fishing was one of the biggest challenges he ever undertook and became successful at, boosting his confidence. The beauty of the sport and the landscape inspired his interest in photography, leading to his bestseller I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River, in which he reflects on family, photography, and his passion for fly fishing. I sat down with Winkler at his rambling, modest estate in

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Los Angeles, where we spent hours talking about his love for the sport. He’s one of those rare souls in Hollywood that welcomes you with an open heart and instantly makes you feel comfortable. Just don’t enter his sacred space when he is fishing, and all will be fine. A friend taught Henry and his wife, Stacey, how to cast lines in his swimming pool. Henry recalls his first adventure: “We were floating down the river, and I was just learning to cast, and I couldn’t get it,” he says. “I caught one fish, and it was the runt of the litter. I lifted it out of the water, and it flew over my head, got off the hook, and I literally sent it to another zip code. It was, sadly, no bigger than the palm of my hand. That was my entire catch for the five days down the river.” Today, Henry and Stacey are addicted to their fishing expeditions but rarely see each other during the outings. Stacey walks into the room and tells me, “I love fishing, but Henry and I cannot go on the same boat. Henry goes into my water space all the time.”

COURTESY HENRY WINKLER

BY JIM DOBSON

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Winkler says his wife, Stacey, is a “wonderful fisher-person.”

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Jim Dobson has been a world explorer for over 30 years and has covered more than 80 countries. He is highly experienced in exotic travel and extreme luxury adventures and has been lucky to work with and travel alongside some of the biggest celebrities and billionaires. As a longtime contributor to Forbes, his life is a constant adventure filled with some amazing people.

COURTESY HENRY WINKLER

Henry interrupts. “My fly seems to always go automatically into Stacey’s water. It seems fishy. We literally fish in separate boats and meet up for lunch. It is not at all a competition.” As Stacey leaves the room, she gets the last word. “Every time I have a really good fishing day you can bet that is where Henry is heading the next day.” One of his fondest memories in Alaska is when he traveled to Enchanted Lake Lodge, in Katmai National Park. “We take off in pontoon planes called Beavers and every day we would fly into a different place where the pilot lands on a puddle,” he says. “Maybe it’s a lake, but it looks like your bathtub. We were dropped off for the day and walked on the tundra while using salmon eggs as our bait.” But don’t expect to see Winkler away from the rivers and on the open Alaskan waters. Sizeable, choppy waves make him seasick. Winkler is very organized and methodical. He lays out each day’s multilayered ensemble the night before. “I leave most of my gear in the guide’s boat overnight,” he says. “I have my silk underwear and fishing pants. In my zipper pocket, I have the guide’s tip for the day, $50 for an emergency, a credit card, and my fishing license. In the pocket of my fishing shirt, I keep a pen and small notebook. I started my diary in 2004, and I record everything from the weather conditions to what I have on the end of my line and every fish I catch that day. I also wear my waders because I have been known to fall in almost every trip.” Winkler’s list of necessities grows: “I have my cigar cutter. I only smoke once or twice a year, and it is when I’m on the river fishing. My waterproof backpack holds my lighter, my Sony 50mm camera with two lenses. I have biodegradable bathroom tissue and river soap so that it does not harm the river. I have gloves, extra socks, an army-navy knife, and gum. A scarf you can put over your head and face. My Simms rain jacket. Dark chocolate. Sunscreen. Every time I have caught a lot of fish on the same fly, I hook it on my felt hat. Under my seat, I have an ice chest where I keep a bottle of water and my lunch, which is the same every day: Fritos and a tuna fish sandwich.” The sport of fly fishing is not about hunting for food, but about the excitement of the chase, the skill of the catch, and about communing in nature. “I have been known to catch 60 trout in one day,” says Winkler. “I always catch and release and don’t even eat trout. I think they are so majestic. I won’t eat a trout even in a restaurant. They are beautiful and so much fun, and they give me such joy to catch them that it is my pleasure to take a picture with them, give them a kiss, sign a laminated autographed picture, and put it in their mouth. I am hanging in trout nests all over the West. You never know, they might be watching my new HBO series, Barry.”

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This intricate cribbage board, carved by Angokwazhuk, or Happy Jack (Inupiaq), circa 1900-1912, includes a musher with sled dogs, fur seal, and fish. Gift of Caryl Sale Krug and John Krug. 98-7-208, 213 TRY THIS

Alaska on Display Alaska State Museum rivals all others BY MICHELLE THEALL

MONG THE WEATHER-WORN BUILDINGS, DOWNTOWN

Bottom: This silver bracelet was created by Tlingit artist Nathan Jackson in 1972. While Jackson is best known for his totem carvings, he works in a variety of mediums. Bracelet, 1972, Silver, II-B-1682 Top: Nathan Jackson designed this mask from abalone, human hair, bear hide, wood, and buckskin. The wearer of such a mask would see out of the mask’s mouth, rather than its eyes. Mask, 1973, II-B-1683

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

MICHELLE THEALL

mining-era souvenir stores, gritty taverns, and cruise-ship shops, Juneau welcomes visitors and Alaskans alike to its recently renovated gem: The Alaska State Museum. Don’t let the modern architecture of the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building fool you. Beyond the gleaming glass, sweeping atrium, and grand staircase, you’ll find authentic Alaska housed here along with the Alaska State Libraries and the Historical Collections and State Archives. I stumbled into the museum because of a storm. The happy accident occurred last November when I was teaching a bald eagle photography workshop in Haines. Weather moved in and sent us packing for the ferry a day early, arriving in Juneau with extra time on our hands that needed to be spent indoors. Having visited some of the top-rated museums in the world, I expected, well, not much beyond a way to keep my clients busy for an hour

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or so, when they’d rather be surrounded by 1,000 bald eagles in the snow. Instead, I found a unique, educational, and visually stunning display of Alaska history rivaling other types of exhibits and collections from New York to Rome. Yes, it’s that good—and a “must see” stop for anyone in or close to Juneau. According to museum curators, the museum’s broad mandate is to “collect, preserve, and interpret Alaska’s human and natural history.” To date, more than 32,000 objects have been catalogued, including an unparalleled collection of 15,000 Alaska Native materials, ceremonial objects, and archeological artifacts. While a self-guided tour of the museum encompasses Russian colonial era through American statehood to the present, the Alaska Native collection dominates the gallery with representations from Alaskan Eskimo, Athabascan, Aleut, and Northwest Coast: woven baskets dating to 5,000 years b.p. along with prehistoric Eskimo ivory carvings, seal-skin parkas, bowls and spoons crafted from the horns of Dall sheep, and the fluid formline art of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian on jewelry and totems. One display tells about the lives of the first people to call Alaska home through human figurines from St. Lawrence Island and Kotzebue, as well as whale talismans, harpoon heads, sea bird carvings, and a stone ulu with a bone handle. A four-foot walrus skull emphasizes the importance of the mammoth-sized creature to indigenous peoples in the Arctic and Subarctic, not only as a food source, but also for its ivory and leather to create tools, clothing, and boat coverings. Modern Native artists are also highlighted, including a mask by Nathan Jackson, created from abalone, human hair, bear hide, and buckskin.

The Cape Spencer lighthouse station operated continually from 1925 until 1974, providing 500,000 candlepower light, a diaphone fog signal, and highpower radio beacon with a range of 200 miles at sea. It was created in response to over 300 shipwrecks in the Inside Passage in the early 1900s during the gold rush. Gift of the U.S. Coast Guard, through the efforts of Joe Leahy. III-O-497

To truly absorb all the museum has to offer would require several hours. Beyond the Native cultural treasures, the museum houses shipwreck artifacts, gold rush memorabilia, mining equipment, aviation materials, mountaineering gear, Russian medallions and documents, skeletons, fossils, and rare watercolors and works by Sydney Laurence and Eustace Ziegler. This walk through Alaska history honors its past with a quiet and reflective aesthetic, layout, and lighting, feeling

sacred, like you’ve entered a chapel, rather than a new building on Whittier Street in Juneau. History is presented even-handed and without bias—documented with painstaking research and discovery. And the work is not done. The museum continues to grow its acquisitions and donations, amassing a more definitive record from multiple perspectives. Even on a sunny day, this museum warrants a visit for its rich and impressive chronicle of the Great Land. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Tlingit artist Tommy Joseph sits outside the Bayside Hotel in Ketchikan wearing the suit he designed along with a carved alder fedora and juniper cane.

OUT THERE

Fashion comes to Alaska

OU DON’T OFTEN SEE A MAN STROLLING

the streets of Ketchikan in a three-piece suit. But last fall, locals paused to stare as a person wearing a one-of-a-kind suit splashed in Tlingit designs walked through downtown. This piece of art is the culmination of 10 years of hard work for Tlingit artist Tommy Joseph, bringing together Native art, tradition, and modern fashion. “I’ve always created with my hands—metal, bone, stone, whatever,” Joseph told me over the phone. Primarily a carver by trade, Joseph makes totem poles, hats, screens, bowls, and more, including traditional battle armor. He first carved at age eight in his Ketchikan elementary school and was so excited about it he surreptitiously “borrowed” steak knives from his mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens to work on wood carvings. Joseph’s childhood passion became a career, leading to carving projects at Ketchikan’s Totem Heritage Center and Sitka’s Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center. Eventually he opened his own gallery in Sitka. Up until 2007, however, fabric art was well outside the realm of his expertise. In 2007, Joseph won the United States Artist’s Fellowship Award and $50,000 to pursue his art. The awards ceremony was held at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, where Joseph was dazzled by the pomp. “I got nervous here and there because I’d never been around

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

BY EMILY MOUNT

the limos and red carpet and all that kind of stuff. It was a big blur, so many people, so much happening.” He met his sponsor Marion Boulton Stroud, founder of The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. She invited him to Philadelphia and threw open the doors for his creativity. She wanted Joseph to make anything. Literally, anything. When he walked into the Workshop and Museum, Joseph encountered a life-size sperm whale constructed of felt, complete with barnacles and scars. Stroud’s encouragement to create anything hit home. In that moment, he decided to make a three-piece suit featuring his Tlingit clan and crest. Following in the steps on his ancestors, Joseph drew the suit’s patterning with formline design, a two-dimensional style that characterizes Northwest Coast art. He drew his clan and crest (wolf and eagle) in colors traditionally used in Tlingit regalia and totem poles. Joseph’s designs wrapped around the sleeves, pant legs, vest, and jacket, large enough so the animal faces were only partially visible. “It’s abstract,” he said. “You can’t really figure out what it is but you know it’s something. Not everybody needs to know everything.” After being measured by a Russian tailor who works with international royalty, Joseph began the printing process. Several failed attempts with American textile printers led Joseph overseas, where he settled on a

HALL ANDERSON

A Tlingit artist and his three-piece suit

Emily Mount, an Alaska naturalist, writer, and photographer, works for Lindblad Expeditions/ National Geographic on expedition ships around the world. She is a frequent contributor to Alaska magazine. Her fashion tastes focus on practical outdoor gear, making her more likely to be found in long johns than leggings and XTRATUF boots over heels. Emilymountphotography.com.

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Tommy Joseph stands in the doorway of the Bayside Hotel in Ketchikan. Joseph stayed in the hotel while repairing and repainting the Chief Johnson totem pole in Ketchikan.

HALL ANDERSON

Dutch printer. When the Dutch fabric arrived in Philadelphia, the design and layout did not match. Joseph moved on to an Italian printer, which produced almost perfect colors and matching layout. Joseph returned to Philadelphia to try the suit on. “After years of work, we got it out of the bag in the hallway, and I put it on right there,” Joseph chuckled. “It fit like a glove.” In 2016, the suit toured the country with Native Fashion Now, an exhibit featuring Native American fashion of the past 50 years. Art often plays a significant role in Native clothing, telling stories, displaying status, or advertising the family of the wearer. Native haute couture, complete with runway models and international fanfare, is relatively new. Today’s Native fashion designers combine a modern artistic vision with traditional materials and designs. Joseph continues this innovative step in Native art. In addition to the touring Native Fashion Now suit, the bolt of Italian fabric yielded enough material for two more suits. One remains uncut on the fabric roll and archived at The Fabric Workshop and Museum. The last suit Joseph took home to Sitka to display at his house. Ten years after winning the Artist’s Fellowship Award, Joseph debuted his suit in Ketchikan at a luncheon with artist Ray Troll and photographer Hall Anderson. He sauntered the streets like he was on a fashion runway, completing the outfit with a carved alder fedora and juniper cane. “The dude’s wearing this outrageously cool suit,” Ray Troll said later. “Cars were slowing down checkin’ him out, heads were turning, people were going, ‘Yeah! Lookin’ sharp!’ He rocked it.” Though most at home sporting t-shirts, Joseph got into the modeling act as Anderson clicked off images. A few months later, I asked Joseph what he had learned from this artistic adventure. Joseph paused. “I learned a whole lot,” he said. “I got to see what’s out there and what people can do. Whatever you put your mind to, you can do it if you stay true to who you are.”

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Hey Baby, It’s Cold Outside Warm clothing for brisk Alaskan adventures BY BJORN DIHLE

The days are growing shorter, snow is creeping down the mountains, and the wind is carrying whispers of ice and darkness. It’s time to utter cryptic one-liners, squint with a granite-hard stare at oncoming blizzards, and go shopping. If you’re feeling too existential, consider getting one of those fancy coffee drinks while looking for clothing to keep you out enjoying all the beauty and thrills winter has to offer. Whether you have the heart of a yeti or get cold just thinking about yetis, good winter wear can make the difference between feeling like a super hero or a popsicle. Here are five great products I tested and recommend.

Duckworth Hi-Line Shirt From Montana-grown merino wool with the inside brushed with polyester, the Hi-Line Shirt is appropriate for everything from bush living to a governor’s ball. I plan to wear mine covered in salmon slime, deer blood, and various other wild Alaskan bodily fluids if I ever get an invite—first impressions are important. The Hi-Line is super warm and perfect for fishing, hunting, or looking good out on the town. I’ve been wearing mine on rainy days while guiding brown bear viewing trips. I stay toasty while impressing my clientele with my impeccable sense of style. Even the bears seem moved, which, considering they’re the harshest critics in the cutting-edge world of Alaskan fashion, is a pretty big deal. $175; duckworthco.com

Helly Hansen Vanir Glacier Down Jacket Developed after years of professional mountain dirtbags’ input and testing, the Vanir Glacier Down Jacket is new for fall/winter 2018. It’s perfect for shredding the high country with your broskies or wandering through the icefall of a glacier while pondering the inner secrets of creation and death. Lightweight and filled with treated goose down, wearing this jacket is like being held by a benevolent polar bear that gets you for who you really are. It reminds me that it is possible to find love in a world that seems hopeless. This is the perfect puffy parka for all but the coldest adventures. $325; hellyhansen.com

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Big Agnes Chilton Down Sweater This lightweight down sweater acts great as a layer on truly cold days or as a stand-alone jacket when the thermometer is above freezing. It features 700-fill DownTek—warmer and more water resistant than normal down—and has an ultra-light wind- and water-resistant nylon shell. Like all Big Agnes puffy products, the Chilton is high quality and warm. The women’s jacket, with a slightly different build, is called the Tiago. This sweater is a great choice for both casual and wild settings. $180; bigagnes.com

Patagonia Powder Bowl Jacket This season, Patagonia recycled 215,435 pounds of plastic waste into some of the highest quality winter gear on the market. Besides being responsibly made, the Powder Bowl Jacket is more than ready to answer when the mountains catcall you out to play. I recently stood wearing a Powder Bowl at the top of a summit in a storm and was inspired to beat my chest and yell, “John Muir ain’t got organic oats and honey on me.” Might sound weird but, trust me, give it a try—it’s more exhilarating than slamming a six-pack of Red Bull while base jumping off the north face of the Eiger. The Powder Bowl is constructed with two layers of GORE-TEX, making it wind-, rain-, and weather-proof. It’s helmet compatible, with an adjustable powder skirt and watertight/coated zippers, just to name a few of its features. It’s designed for skiers and snowboarders, but I’ll use mine for mountaineering and other adventures as well. The Powder Bowl continues Patagonia’s legacy of being environmentally and socially responsible while still offering the best quality in outdoor clothing. $399; patagonia.com

Muck Boot Company Arctic Ice Boots Designed for optimal traction on ice and wet surfaces, the Arctic Ice Boots lived up to the challenge of a winter in southeast Alaska. I tested mine on numerous dog walks over glare ice and on multi-day forays into the mountains and was pleased with the outcome. While they don’t replace ice-grippers for winter walking, they have much better traction than just about any other winter boot—which is invaluable considering how often people fall and hurt themselves doing something as simple as walking from their house to their car. They’re also well-built, comfortable, warm, and waterproof for more rugged travel. I’ll be giving these as an early Christmas present to someone whose only flaw is they occasionally slip during the winter. $180; muckbootcompany.com

OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Green Gem of the North

BY MICHAEL ENGELHARD

T SHINES LIKE THE DRAPES OF NORTHERN LIGHTS,

vibrant, viridian, and mysterious: pale to Kelly green, gummy-bear yellow, rarely lavender or pinkish-gray. The Chinese fittingly call it “Stone of Heaven.” The specific hue of Alaska’s state gem, nephrite—a tough aluminum silicate—depends on its iron content. More common and less valued than Asian jadeite, large nephrite deposits seed the ground in our state’s northwestern corner. Jade cools and condenses along margins of tectonic plates, the result of metamorphic compression where seafloor crust slips into Earth’s mantle. One of the Brooks Range’s westernmost peaks, a semi-precious stone dome straight from Scheherazade’s tales, is jam-packed with this substance. Frost, snowmelt, and rainstorms pry blocks from Jade Mountain’s flanks, tumbling them into Jade Creek, a Kobuk River tributary. Nephrite outcroppings on the slopes outweigh dump trucks. The best quality is generally found in stream-rolled boulders, which have been smoothed. A brown, mineral weathering rind that

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

has to be cut away before polishing often disguises the wonders within. The interlocked crystals of some cross sections sawed with diamond-coated blades resemble a satellite picture of boreal forest threaded by rivers. Like walrus ivory, qiviut, or gold, jade is pan-Arctic wealth, though less widely known and procured. Since the 1899 Seward Peninsula gold rush, prospectors had been aware of its presence. The region’s Inupiat had gleaned from the peak’s tool-stone sites since time before time. Intercepting caribou on their fall migration at Onion Portage, 118 miles east of Kotzebue, people combined Kobuk River hunting trips with rock hounding at nearby Jade Mountain. The travelers saw lithic debris on one Kobuk mountaintop as evidence of a luxurious, see-through house a shaman had built there for an orphan boy. Jade was a coveted trade item and in bead form served as a currency. Elders say Siberian Eskimos ventured to Kotzebue to barter for the celadon-colored material. Tools and weapons with jade components were valuable enough to be handed down from generation to generation, to be dug from

(THIS PAGE) COURTESY PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (OPPOSITE PAGE) COURTESY BLYTHE MARSTON

The story of Alaska’s jade

Point Hope hammer made from a nephrite head fastened with rawhide thongs to a bone handle.

More common and less valued than Asian jadeite, large nephrite deposits seed the ground in our state’s northwestern corner. sand-drifted ancient settlements: adzes, drill bits, harpoon points, spearheads, and hammerheads for crushing caribou bones to extract marrow. In pre-metal days, Point Hope whalers farther up the coast wielded qalugiat—hand lances to deliver the coup de grâce made of a nephrite blade mounted on a long bone attached to an eight-foot wooden handle. Cobbles of “axestone” also came from the Kiana hills and from stream gravels in the Shungnak headwaters. The name Shungnak itself echoes the Inupiaq term for jade, isinnaq. U.S. Naval Lieutenant George Stoney, who in 1884 gathered samples for the Smithsonian on Jade Mountain and gave it its English name, first reported it to the outside world. Regarding names: none is tied to Kobuk jade as intimately as Marvin “Muktuk” Marston’s. During the 1950s, the mineral and the man, in his own words, became synonymous. In 1943, the founder of Alaska’s Territorial Guard and dogsledding commander of its tundra army of Eskimo Scouts had visited a homesteading couple on the Shungnak, lured by jade’s luster and a story he’d heard at the Kotzebue trading post. The trader had come into possession of a 250-year-old lamp gouged from a jade lump, lit by seal oil soaking a braided-grass wick. Its fame had drawn the curious from afar, and when its Inupiaq maker died, it had been placed on his burial mound. Directed by the Shungnak homesteader, Marston set out for nearby Dall Creek and its apple-green nuggets of many tons. After finding a choice chunk Marston estimated to weigh 100 pounds, he lugged it to Kobuk Village, strapped to his packboard. A log bridge across the creek broke underfoot, and with each step he sunk ankle-deep into muck, down to the frozen layer. Groaning under his load, the 54-year old major and future delegate of the Alaska Constitutional Convention wondered if he’d grown too old. At the scales of the Kobuk trading post he marveled at his rock’s real weight: 164 pounds. Seeing Jade Mountain’s lode as a boon to the local Native economy, Marston asked Territorial Guard captain Joe Sun from Shungnak to stake a claim for the Inupiat. A war correspondent witnessed the super-gem in Marston’s Nome office, and when his story broke stateside, it unleashed a mini-boom. Non-Natives who’d staked sections of the mountain sent barges full of jade to Seattle and from there as far as China and later Germany, supplying carvers and collectors. (One shipment was sunk off the Aleutians.) Soon, almost all the area’s surface had been picked clean; the glassy green now had to be quarried. That and the long transportation to processing centers made it expensive. A rhino-sized monolith, which had taken five years to travel downriver, marked Kotzebue’s outskirts, a milestone to nowhere. Argentina’s dictator Juan Perón had ordered it for a statue of his wife, “Evita.” After his overthrow in 1955, it sat in town for some time covered in a white shroud, yet another roadside attraction. Designated the official state gem in 1968, yields from this 40-mile stretch along the Kobuk became sculpted civic displays.

“Muktuk” Marston’s jade lamp.

The “Alaska Stone”—a marbled tablet slabbed from the tail of the continent’s spine—in 1982 was installed inside the Washington Monument. As the obelisk’s latest and uppermost dedication plaque, it towers above the National Mall, courtesy of the Northwest Alaska Native Association, the corporation that still owns the Kobuk claim. Jade brightened the passage of statehood papers. Over a decade after his Shungnak treasure hunt, Marston had finished a lamp from his haul, obsessed with the trader’s tale of the legendary lamp, which had disappeared. In 1956, Marston’s creation graced the University of Alaska Fairbanks gym table, its diaphanous panels tingeing the snow-scape of constitutional documents about to be signed. Recounting his jade trek for the other delegates, Marston compared the path to statehood to those former travails. He thought jade appropriate for the occasion. It had been here when mastodons roamed the land, he explained, “and in the light of the ages past we could project the dream of the future.” OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Working the Ocean’s White Gold Carvers turn walrus ivory into art

CULPTING WALRUS TUSKS IS AN ACT OF

transformation, turning animal into art. It also is revitalization: what is dead once more becomes animated. Lastly, it is the thrill of discovery. What hides in there? asks the carver, exploring a silky arc with callused hands. Throughout the Bering Strait region and Arctic coastal Alaska, the earth has yielded walrus ivory artifacts thousands of years old. The practice of manufacturing things of transcendent beauty from the sea’s white gold still is vigorous. In Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island (the “Walrus Capital of the World”), nearly every resident has a relative who is an ivory carver. They sell their creations to tourists or mainlanders living there, to private collectors and galleries, and to gift shops and wholesalers like Maruskiya’s of Nome, whose window on Front Street brims with finely

BY MICHAEL ENGELHARD

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

Ivory snow wrought treasure like Aladdin’s cave. Inupiat from King Island, another sea-mammal hunting outpost, goggles from northwest also market their wares through this store. Alaska circa Before contact with Europeans, Eskimo people AD 400-600. had little access to metal or wood and therefore

(TOP) COURTESY BRIAN KULIK (LEFT) COURTESY JAMES AUSTIN/ROBERT AND LISA SAINSBURY COLLECTION, SAINSBURY CENTRE FOR VISUAL ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA (UK) (OPPOSITE PAGE) COURTESY ALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA

Fairbanks ivory carver Brian Kulik, an Inupiaq, doing what he loves best. Here, he finishes an Eskimo nativity scene.

“Singing to the Walrus” is a transformation sculpture by Levi Tetpon from Shaktoolik.

cultivated the craft of carving bone, soapstone, and walrus ivory; more durable than wood, the curved canines were easier to process than stone. The output included ancestral images, amulets, and everyday items: needle cases, harpoons, snow goggles, fishing lures, arrow straighteners, and fancy combs. Soot or red clay rubbed into patterned grooves looked pretty while adding magic and meanings. With the influx of sailors, traders, miners, and missionaries in the late 19th century, new demands broadened Native repertoires: scenes from life, scrimshawed on entire tusks, ornamented tobacco pipes, letter openers, and sundry souvenirs and collectors’ items. Styles also changed, from semi-abstract representations of humans and animals and geometric compositions to large-scale graphics and naturalistic designs: flags, roses, sleds, boats, hunts, and cliché (and incorrect for this part of the North) igloo encampments— often copied from illustrations or photos the customer provided. Ivory carving morphed from subsistence into a cash enterprise also in Saint Michael, Teller, and on Nunivak Island. “Hundreds of Eskimo men turned out thousands of ivory cribbage boards, gavels, umbrella handles, and figurines for the local stores,” according to the anthropologist Dorothy Jean Ray. In the 1870s, the Alaska Commercial Company at St. Michael bought walrus tusks and gave or sold them to men for engraving, since no walrus lived in the area. Elsewhere, large-scale commercial exploitation of the animal’s tusks, blubber ( for lamp oil), meat, and skin ( for drive belts in industrial machinery) caused Arctic populations to plummet from hundreds of thousands to 50,000 by the 1950s. Luckily for the carvers, a second source of raw material lies underfoot: Modern Michelangelos dig fossilized walrus teeth from the normally frozen ground around prehistoric hunting camps during summer’s brief window. They chance upon them beachcombing or hunting, as rivers and wave action uncover

ancient wealth. Minerals from the embedding soil tinge these gems creamy-white, bluish, or a deep, chestnut brown. An unworked fossil walrus tusk fetches about $500, depending on size. It is perfect for chiseling: soft enough to be carved with hand tools yet hard enough to be polished like stone, without need of lacquer or any other finish ( fresh tusks must be seasoned before they are carved or they will crack). Walrus are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, but Alaska Natives who traditionally hunted them can continue to do so and sell byproducts—whiskers, skulls, ivory—that have been modified, upgraded into art. Alaska Natives and non-Natives may use fossilized walrus (and mammoth) ivory, though it’s illegal to take fossils from state or federal lands. In Nome, out-of-state tourists watching the Iditarod or disembarking from cruise ships like to buy locally carved ivories. Unfortunately, many don’t understand the difference between legal walrus and illegal elephant ivory. Alaska galleries complain that consequently, sales for some artists have dropped 40% since the ban. The buyers’ uncertainty spells hardship for carvers and their families as in this cash-poor region art pays for clothing and fuel. To make matters worse, works by fictitious “Eskimo” carvers, frequently mass-produced and from elephant tusks, infiltrate markets. Today’s carvers have changed with the times. Instead of bow drills and files, many now prefer dental or electric tools, and Sharpies for tracery, not India ink. Souvenirs can no longer be had for tobacco, flour, or nails. Statuettes with inlaid baleen eyes or trim, engraved with lines filled with black pigment, and set on fossilized ivory bases cost thousands of dollars apiece, as do embellished skulls with tusks in place. Regardless of trends, the creative process and artistic sensibilities remain unchanged. The carver, observer of physical and spirit realms, makes them tangible for the rest of us with vision and skill. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Harnessing Change

Sled dog care and mushing program leads children into the future BY JAYME DITTMAR

EOPLE AND DOGS HAVE COEXISTED AND WORKED

in unison for thousands of years across North America and Siberia. The oldest archeological evidence suggests that humans started using dogs as an integral part of their nomadic lifestyle as long ago as 14,000 years, in their migration across the Bering Land Bridge. The essential relationship to an animal counterpart that is arguably engrained in our genetics helped establish human habitation in the north, including Alaska.

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It wasn’t until recently that humans no longer depended on their canine partners for travel. In an understandable drive to travel farther faster, wheeled, tracked, and winged machines started outnumbering sled dogs in the Alaskan villages in the 1960s. But it wasn’t just the sled dogs that disappeared. Rapid “progress” brought an outside values system that impacted traditional skills and livelihoods in the villages. Children, especially, felt an overwhelming lack of identity. This in combination with other complex factors,

(THIS PAGE) ROBERT STAPLETON, COURTESY KATHY TURCO (OPPOSITE PAGE) LEONA STARR, COURTESY KATHY TURCO

George Attla was at the height of his mushing career when this photo was taken in 1978 with one of his lead dogs at his North Pole kennel. He was known for his strong connection to his dogs, and always said that dogs never make mistakes—it is always the musher.

escalated suicide rates as well as drug and alcohol abuse that now deeply impact Alaska Natives. Legendary dog man and musher, the late George Attla would likely say the solution is to bring sled dogs back to the communities of the Interior, and to not only reintegrate them back into daily life, but they may be so important that dog care and mushing should be incorporated in school curriculum. Attla dedicated the final years of his life to strengthening young people physically and mentally, and deepening cultural pride across all generations, through a shared vision to revive dog mushing and all of the lessons the sport had to offer. With the help of his partner, Kathy Turco, this vision expanded to A-CHILL, The Alaska Care and Husbandry Instruction for Lifelong Living project, a thriving school curriculum that integrates sled dogs into classrooms throughout two different school districts. Amanda Attla, culture teacher of A-CHILL and George’s daughter, says that the program started simply. “From the time I was a little kid, we were always taking in the wild, misbehaving kids,” she said. “But we learned how to take care of ourselves by going to fish camp, mushing and doing all the cultural things it takes to raise a dog team. My dad and mom raised 17 kids through the years, and they concentrated on what it would take for not only us to survive, but for our people to survive.” George Attla was also a profound advocate for the unconditional love and acceptance that dogs provide. “No matter what kid it is, whether it’s a shy kid, talkative kid, dogs accept them as they are,” he said in a previous interview. “They don’t care what you look like, they don’t care what you sound like. They will accept you.” As a child, George was nomadic with the rest of his family, moving seasonally from camp to camp. However, at age eight, he was sent to the hospital in Sitka to be treated for tuberculosis. Here he was provided the white and western perspective of education. Nine years later on his return, he started to see that villages had also assimilated western education in schools without acknowledging the social, educational, and values systems of Native culture. After a professional sled dog racing career, George faced the unexpected death of his son. While grieving, he was

George Attla in 2014 at 80 years old at the Huslia New Years youth races. Attla believed dogs teach youth life lessons in a race, including preparing for it. The youth in the photos were all part of the Frank Attla Youth and Sled Dog Care-Mushing Program, which was started and run by village volunteers, including dog mushers and their dogs. Youth dog handlers are considered just as important as the racer—it is the pride of all to bring a racer to the line.

George Attla was also a profound advocate for the unconditional love and acceptance that dogs provide. inspired to start a sled dog care, culture, and mushing program in Huslia. George and Kathy started seeking support from volunteers and private companies to help launch the pilot Frank Attla Youth and Sled Dog program, instituted at Jimmy Huntington School. Partnered with the teachers and volunteers from the community, they instituted traditional practice into mathematics, history, biology, and literature. Dog care and culture were studied through field trips to dog yards twice a week where students learned from some of the greatest mushers and dog men of Alaska. “It takes a tribe to raise a child,” Amanda said. “To provide for a dog team, the community has to be involved. You have to hunt and fish together, as a tribe, as a people. That is one of my favorite parts to this.”

George Attla passed away in 2015 from bone cancer, but his legacy continues. Kathy wrote every aspect of the Frank Attla Youth and Sled Dog program into a manual and distributed it widely. The result was the A-CHILL community-based project, funded with a grant from the U.S. Department of Indian Education serving the Alaska Gateway School District and the Yukon-Koyukuk School District, which include the villages of Dot Lake, Tanacross, Tok, Mentasta, Northway, Tetlin, Eagle, Allakaket, Hughes, Huslia, Ruby, Koyukuk, Nulato, Kaltag, Manley Hot Springs, Minto, and Rampart. Teachers, children, elders, and communities all across Alaska are realizing just in time what there is to be gained in renewing something that is becoming lost. In harnessing dogs, we harness the rapid changes of Alaska today, to determine what values we leave and what we carry into the future. But Amanda said it best, “Dogs will go to the end of the earth for you, they will do something for you that you won’t find anywhere else.” Jayme Dittmar is an outdoors enthusiast, journalist, and visual storyteller based in Alaska. She has been mushing, packrafting, and traveling in the villages of the Interior for the last five years while directing her work to protect northern lands and livelihoods. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

By Charlie SWANEY and Peter MATHER Photos by Peter Mather

Jeffery Peter cleans the guts after a successful caribou hunt. The Gwichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;in take pride in using all parts of the caribou, including eating the guts, head, and bone marrow.

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Caribou People

The importance of the Porcupine herd to the Gwich’in people AS I SIT WITH GWICH’IN HUNTER CHARLIE SWANEY UNDER A CLASSIC BLUE CAMPING TARP, A RAIN DRIZZLE SILENTLY DRUMS ALL AROUND US. Thin, tall, and not so young anymore, Charlie and I talk caribou. It’s our favorite subject. Charlie is one of the most relied upon hunters of Arctic Village, a small Gwich’in community of a couple hundred people in northern Alaska. Nestled into a fairy-tale valley, hundreds of miles from the nearest road, the village is on the traditional migration route of the 200,000-strong Porcupine caribou herd. Today we are at the biennial Gwich’in Gathering, and I’m listening to Charlie talk about his people and their connection to the caribou. He explains why they held the first Gwich’in Gathering in Arctic Village 28 years ago, when the calving grounds of the Porcupine herd were under threat from proposed oil and gas development in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.

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THIS IS CHARLIE’S STORY… In the old days. People they respect the caribou. Everything they had, they respect caribou with. This particular time it was in the fall. We walk up the mountain to look around for caribou. We end up staying there that night. We didn’t have no tent that night. We didn’t really need no tent. It’s warm out, you know. Well the next day, we went up to the top, and we look all over. We look everywhere, and we see some caribou, but they’re way back. Way too far. So we walk all the way along the edge of this mountain, all the way to the other end. When we got to the other end, we sat down and there is a mountain over there, they call it “Duchanlee.” We see a caribou coming down. We start walking over that way. We get up there and...well. I didn’t know

The Porcupine caribou herd crosses a river in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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that my rifle sight was off that time…that caribou pop out in front of me. I shot four times, what was in my magazine, and I reloaded and I shot five more times. That caribou took off. My sight was that far off. Well I thought that caribou is long gone. But something just tell me, just go over that ridge and just go over and check. Well what do you know, I went over that ridge and check, and I’ll be darn, if that caribou didn’t turn around and start coming back towards me and turn sideways. I was able to shoot it and I knock it down. Well…we skin it and gut it right there. When we got back to the village we heard that just at that moment when that caribou turn around and come back, there was an elder from here, well his wife passed away. I tell everybody about this caribou that it turned around and come back to us...

just like it gave itself to us. It’s almost like it sensed that we lost an elder, so that caribou turn around and come back and give himself to us…’cause on a normal basis, if you shoot nine times at a caribou, well it’s gone. But it just so happens that this caribou came back, and I shot it. The caribou really are connected to communities that they go through. You know somehow it knew, that caribou just knew...and it’s just like this gathering that’s happening. The first day, the caribou showed up, and I talk to some of the elders and they say, “They know; they know exactly what’s going on here. There is a celebration happening here, and they come to be with us.” They, the elders, look at us and the caribou as one…’cause we roam this land together. That’s the way it was in the old days too.

That is one particular story that always stick with me; I always think about. I never seen, a moose or caribou or anything come back to me like that, and just at that particular time that elder pass away. For thousands of years, the caribou took care of people here. And then all of sudden in ‘88 when they want to develop oil, well the caribou needed help. And that’s what all these Gwich’in communities did, they got together here so they can do the best they can to help the caribou. That first Gwich’in Gathering, that’s how it started…because if they drill up there in their calving grounds, there is going to be a disaster. The Gwich’in call this place Izhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit, meaning the “Sacred Place Where Life Begins.”

Elder Kenneth Frank warming up before the 2014 Gwich’in Gathering that was held in Old Crow, Yukon.

Esther Lord roams the streets of Old Crow and flies her kite.

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The Porcupine caribou herd on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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“As a woman, I know what it is like to give birth, to bring another being into this world…and we need a refuge.” Princess Daazhraii Johnson in Arctic Village with her son, speaking on the importance of defending the calving and nursing grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd.

Dana Tizya tells stories as the sun rises during the 2016 Gwich’in Gathering in Arctic Village.

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Caribou People

Gwichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;in hunter Daniel Tritt, of Arctic Village, in his home after butchering a caribou from a successful spring hunt.

A camera trap captures a unique image of the Porcupine caribouâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s migration across the Blow River in northern Yukon.

The late elder Agnes Neyando of Fort MacPherson, Northwest Territories, spent her summers living in a wall tent and fishing whitefish well into her nineties.

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Alaska Native Heritage Center A walking tour of 10,000 years

By KAYLENE JOHNSON-SULLIVAN

n spring, just as fiddlehead ferns begin to unfold, activities get underway at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. Daily, from mid-May until mid-September, the center showcases 11 of Alaska’s Indigenous cultures, each with their own language, traditions, and stories. As drummers beat to the rhythm of ancient songs, visitors might imagine this as a place that time forgot. Yet time is relative in Native cultures. One visitor asked a young Tlingit man demonstrating Native games how long ago these competitions first originated. “Like the origin of our people, we can only tell you that we have always been here,” he answered, smiling. “The games have gone on as long as anyone can remember.” His answer reflects a different way of thinking. These are people who traditionally measure time by the migration of salmon and caribou and whales. Inside the Gathering Place auditorium, young people adorned in Native dress dance to the beat of drums and chanting voices. The frames of the drums are carved from steamed driftwood. A membrane made of walrus stomach stretches over the circular frame. Dancers and drummers wear mukluks, soft boots made of beaver skin and the hides of caribou and wolverine. In a prayer song about hunting, dancers tell the story of how animals give themselves to those who are worthy. The group highlights songs from all the major cultural regions of the state. The powerful energy of the dance reflects an age-old way of living from the land and sea. After the dance, the audience is encouraged to ask questions. These young people are articulate high school students who have earned the privilege of being interns at the heritage center. They share where they come from, which cultural group they belong to, and their family stories. In their dancing and in their conversations with visitors, they are clearly enjoying themselves. Other activities in the Gathering Place include a demonstration of the games of the Native Youth Olympics. The games test competitors’ physical and

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

KAYLENE JOHNSON-SULLIVAN

Andrew Kashevarof tests his skills at the high kick.

Performers sing and dance traditional songs at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

mental strength, concentration, and stamina. The Alaska high kick is a feat of balance and strength: The athlete sits on the floor, balancing on one foot while holding onto the other, and then kicking straight up to a suspended ball. The trick is to land without losing balance. In the seal hop, contestants must hop across the floor on their hands and toes while maintaining a push-up position. The knuckle hop is a test of pain tolerance as competitors do the seal hop on closed fists. The young woman and two young men demonstrating these athletic events have a friendly competition going as the audience expresses admiration at their skills. The athletes explain that during the Native Youth Olympics, 500 students from

middle and high schools around the state converge in Anchorage to compete. The Junior Native Youth Olympics includes as many as 900 elementary students. Storytelling and an introduction to Alaska Native cultures also energize the Gathering Place. From there, visitors can go to the theater, where videos include “Stories Given, Stories Shared,” a film produced by the center. Beyond the theater is the Hall of Cultures focusing on Alaska’s Native groups: Athabascan; Yup’ik and Cup’ik; Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik; Unangax and Alutiiq (Sugpiaq); Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Across from the theater, artisans ply their crafts as they weave, do beadwork, sew skins, and carve ivory. The indoor and

If you go: Wear comfortable footwear and be prepared for a variety of weather conditions. Many of the exhibits are outdoors. Plan to stay awhile. This is not your typical museum and visiting with people who work here is a highlight. Many good books discuss Native cultures in Alaska. Read one before your visit. Suggested reading: Roy Corral’s Alaska’s Native Ways: What the Elders Have Taught Us (Graphic Arts Books, 2002). Steve J. Langdon’s The Native People of Alaska: Traditional Living in a Northern Land. (Greatland Graphics, 2013). OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Jenay Mike sells handmade jewelry.

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outdoor studios feature artists at work; it’s the perfect opportunity to ask questions about their lives in rural Alaska. Roberta Naumoff, an Alutiiq originally from Kodiak, now lives in Palmer, a community some 40 miles north of Anchorage. She creates jewelry and her husband carves ivory. She laughs as she talks about her sister-in-law in Fairbanks. “I’d never live there,” she says. “It’s way too cold!” Another artist, Liz Spud, a Cup’ik originally from Nunivak Island, creates dancing fans made of caribou ruff. She wears a stylish hat, Hollywood sunglasses, and red lipstick as she holds up a poster painted of her in 1962 when she was 12 years old. “I was in a calendar,” she brags. Tamara Mosier, a Yup’ik woman originally from Clarks Point, carefully pulls thread through a piece of sealskin. “I work here for the solace of the place,” she says. “It’s like home and you get to share your way of life.” The Alaska Native Heritage Center has close ties with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage. Native people from outlying areas often travel to Anchorage for medical care since services are hard to come by in the village. The fast pace of the big city often feels foreign to rural residents and a visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center can feel like a taste of home. Several elderly patients in wheelchairs make their way around the center’s grounds accompanied by attendants wearing scrubs. An outdoor path meanders around a quiet lake where village sites display the aboriginal home structures from wooden plank houses to subterranean dwellings. There are guided and self-guided tours available, and each site has its own interpreter who can answer questions. Like the dancers, many of the interpreters are young Native people who enjoy first learning and then sharing the wisdom and knowledge of their elders. Andrea, a Yup’ik high school senior, explains that mosquito repellent of the early Yup’ik culture was made of stink (fer-

KAYLENE JOHNSON-SULLIVAN

Subterranean huts along the shore of the small lake outside the center.

Tamara Mosier demonstrates sealskin sewing.

mented) seal oil, smeared on the skin and covered with ash from a campfire. She said that Athabascans, on the other hand, put a hot ember on a piece of punk, a shell-shaped fungus found on dying birch trees. The smoke from the smoldering punk kept mosquitos away. At the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian village site, a plank house illustrates how the Native peoples of southeast Alaska lived. A totem pole features a chief at the top with three notches on his hat to represent the three potlatches he has held. Below the chief, his nephew stands on the box of wisdom, with a design depicting open hands facing downward toward Raven and Eagle, the two main clans of the culture. At the bottom of the totem are a girl and a boy that represent the passing of wisdom to future generations. Across from the Alutiiq subterranean house exhibit lay the bleached bones of a gray whale. A full-grown gray whale can weigh as much as 40 tons and be 50 feet long. Whales are a mainstay of many Native cultures’ diets and provide sustenance for entire villages. Much like a pie-eating contest at a state fair in the Lower 48, Native games include a muktuk eating contest. Muktuk is a traditional dish of frozen whale blubber still attached to the skin. It is often eaten raw but can also be diced, breaded and fried, or even pickled. When people ask about the harvesting of whales or seals for food, Tamara explains, “Eating seal is just like eating a cow. It’s a subsistence food for us.” For hungry visitors, the café has an outdoor seating area and features Alaskan fare such as salmon chowder and reindeer

A traditional cache and canoe on the center grounds.

sausage. The gift shop carries unique cultural gifts, including art, books, and clothing. Audio tours are also available to guide visitors through the Hall of Cultures and the outdoor village sites. The audio tour features the spoken sound of Alaska Native languages and includes historical narratives along with additional information for each of the exhibits and sites. The center is open daily in summer and in winter for special events, such as World Intertribal Music Festival, the Indigenous World Film Festival, and Iditarod Day. As rich as the heritage center site is, a day is hardly enough time to explore 10,000 years of history. The cultures of Alaska’s many Native groups are each a woven tapestry of traditions and ways of life, with skills and wisdom passed from one generation to the next. The modern world has not always been kind to these ways of life, but like the people of their past, modern Alaska Natives are adapting. One of the drummers from the dance troupe confessed that while the membrane of the circular drums is traditionally made from the stomach of a walrus, that option was simply not available to him in Anchorage. Instead, the membrane of his drum is made of goat skin, and he ordered it from Amazon. Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan is the author of Our Perfect Wild: Ray & Barbara Bane’s Journeys and the Fate of the Far North (University of Alaska Press, 2016) and other books. For more information visit kaylene.us. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

Walruses are an important subsistence resource for some Alaska Natives.

A Warmer North Alaska Natives bear brunt of climate change in the Arctic

By Alexander Deedy

erby Apassingok learned how to hunt and fish from his father and grandfather. At just four years old, he ventured with his grandfather into the lagoons near his hometown of Gambell, Alaska. At five, he went on his first hunt in the open ocean, and at six, he harvested his first walrus. Now

25, Apassingok and his girlfriend live a mostly subsistence lifestyle. Five to six days a week, meals in their home are traditional dishes made from walrus, In the spring of 2017, Apassingok and a friend motored their 18-foot Lund boat away from Gambell’s coast, in search of walrus and the ice floes they ride north for summer. Some years, the walrus are just off shore. Other years, they may have to travel a dozen miles or more. The duo steered northeast, traveling 12 miles-per-hour at top speed, eyes peeled. Hours—and miles of open water—passed with no results, and all that kept Apassingok out of the cold Bering Sea water was one-eighth-inch-thick aluminum, some rivets, and good weather. About 115 miles from Gambell, Apassingok spotted walrus in the water, and knew they were getting close. Finally, 119 miles out to sea, they found ice floes and walrus, and proceeded to harvest animals until their boat was full. At the farthest, the two traveled 132 miles from land. It took a full day of motoring to get home.

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“Not very many people got walrus,” Apassingok said. “Because we had to travel so far for it.” Upon returning, they shared their bounty with others in the village. In Gambell—a Yup’ik community of about 700 that sits on the northwestern tip of St. Lawrence Island, closer to Russia than Alaska’s mainland—subsistence lifestyles are part tradition passed down from generation to generation, and part financial necessity. Apassingok says a 16-ounce soda sells for $4. A steak can cost more than $40. In recent years, harvesting some species, especially marine mammals like walrus, has become more difficult. A changing climate is making the hunting seasons shorter and the animal migration less predictable. Marina Koonooka, Apassingok’s girlfriend and another lifelong Gambell resident, said because of the changes in sea ice and erosion concerns on St. Lawrence Island, she’s

(THIS PAGE) CLARENCE IRRIGOO, JR. (OPPOSITE PAGE) COURTESY COLD CLIMATE HOUSING RESEARCH CENTER

seal, whale, seabird, or caribou.

Newtok, a Yup’ik community of about 400 people in the Kuskokwim River Delta of southwest Alaska, is in the upper center of this photo, between the Kealavik and Ninglick rivers. For the past 20 years, the Ninglick River has been changing channels, eroding its banks; the rate of erosion has increased in the past decade due to thawing permafrost. Newtok residents are now losing about 100 feet of ground per year to the river, and the entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath them thaws. They are in the process of relocating to a higher site across the river.

considered moving to mainland Alaska. “It makes me sad,” Koonooka said. “I don’t want to move anywhere. I just want to be there for the rest of my life and keep it the same, but it’s changed so much within the last few years.” Gambell is not alone in its turmoil. The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the planet, catalyzing change across the state and forcing rural towns to face erosion, infrastructure damage, and changing weather patterns that threaten the communities and their lifestyles. University of Alaska researcher Nancy Fresco is one of the lead scientists of the Scenarios Network for Alaska and Arctic Planning, a group that models how climate change will impact the state and its people. As global emissions continue and scientists’ understanding of the complex changes solidify, Fresco says during her 11 years on the job she’s witnessed a slide toward a less optimistic future. “Unfortunately, we’re not uncertain about climate change happening,” Fresco says. “Where the uncertainty comes in to play is exactly how extreme the effects are going to be.” Already, many changes impact Alaska. In Southeast,

groves of yellow cedar are dying because there’s not enough snow covering the trees’ shallow roots to provide insulation during cold snaps. In the Interior, generally hotter, dryer summers and more lightning strikes mean more frequent and higher-intensity forest fires. Farther north, permafrost is thawing and the infrastructure it supports is threatened. In the Bering Sea, ice levels during the 2017-2018 winter were the lowest ever recorded. Witnessing these changes has caused Alaskans to shift the conversation from a debate over the authenticity of climate change to questions about response. “I’ve definitely seen an increase in people from all walks of life saying, ‘This is happening. We see it happening; we see the effects. What can we do about it? How can we adapt?’” Fresco says. For years, Shishmaref has been under the microscope as a community affected by climate change. The town is located just south of the Arctic Circle on Sarichef Island, which is four miles long and only a quarter-mile wide in some places. Sarichef has been inhabited for over 400 years, but accelerated erosion is washing away the land under Shishmaref at an alarming rate. Ice that used to protect the island is now often open ocean, and the OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

The Science Facts about climate change in Alaska Ice cover in the Bering Sea at the end of April 2018 was 10 percent of the 1981-2010 average $5 billionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the total cost of climate-induced impacts to Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public infrastructure by 2100, according to a 2016 study. Continuous permafrost on the north slope of Alaska has warmed 4-7 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century. The average air temperature in the Arctic was nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer last year compared to the 1981-2010 average. The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the global average. The probability of fires in the tundra and along the tundra-forest boundary will increase fourfold by 2100, according to one study.

Only a thin sheath of ice floats in front of Shishmaref, a community of about 600 people north of Nome on the Seward Peninsula, in February of 2017. For centuries, sea ice has protected Arctic coasts like this from winter storms and provided a solid avenue of transportation for subsistence hunters; in recent years, however, the ice has retreated and thinned. Walruses and seals, traditional fare of northern Alaska Natives, follow the ice, forcing hunters to travel farther in search of them. DENNIS DAVIS

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A Warmer North

Buildings in Shishmaref tumble into the sea. DENNIS DAVIS

OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

permafrost that helped keep the soil secure is thawing. A massive storm in 1997 swept away 30 feet of shoreline. In recent years, the ocean has consumed an average of 10 feet of land annually. The clawing waves have forced some homes and buildings to be moved, and critical infrastructure like the town’s water system is threatened. Between 2004 and 2007, the local government and the Army Corps of Engineers installed about 1,400 feet of coastal protection. In 2010, a barrier wall made of rocks was constructed between the coast and the central community, but much of Shishmaref is still exposed. Some homes and infrastructure, including the airport, remain vulnerable to storms and erosion. On several occasions, the road on the way to the landfill has been washed out. Darlene Tocktoo, a lifelong Shishmaref resident who works for the school district and spent decades in local government, says her house isn’t far from the coast, but it’s built on higher ground and is still safe. The subsistence racks she uses to dry ugruk (bearded seal), however, used to sit on west-side beaches that no longer exist. Tocktoo and others have moved the drying racks farther inland, and now they’re only about 25 feet from the airstrip. A 2009 government report found at least 31 Alaskan communities face similar “imminent threats” of flooding and erosion. At the time of the report, 12 were exploring relocating. Earlier this year, Newtok, a coastal Yup’ik community

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

being washed away by the Ninglick River, became the first community to receive federal funds to help with relocation. Shishmaref created an erosion and relocation commission in 2001, and in 2016 the majority of voters officially voted in favor of moving to mainland Alaska. Tocktoo says some aspects of life will change if the community moves to a new home, but she says the Inupiaq culture will still be passed on as it has been for generations. Her grandsons, ages 12 and 14, are learning how to hunt. Students are learning Inupiaq language, and youth are still exposed to traditional food and Native dance. The biggest change may be living farther from the ocean and the bounty it provides, but Tocktoo says that’s a challenge people can overcome. “Our sea is our garden as far as providing food,” she says. “Our main course is the ugruks. That would be the hardest realization, would be to move away from the coast to the mainland. But, realizing that it’s for our safety, we can always hunt and travel back and treat the coast as our subsistence site.” In February, after half of the ice covering the Bering Sea disappeared in just two weeks, a storm whipped up waves that pelted communities typically protected by sea ice. Frances Ozenna, a longtime resident of the island-community Diomede, has weathered many storms with gusting winds and high surf. In fact, she expects to see at least one

(THIS PAGE) NATHANIEL WILDER (OPPOSITE PAGE TOP) COURTESY COLD CLIMATE HOUSING RESEARCH CENTER (OPPOSITE PAGE, BOTTOM) NATHANIEL WILDER

Thawing Arctic permafrost along the Chukchi Sea outside of Point Hope. Besides changing the physical landscape in coastal communities, it also means more methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is released into the atmosphere.

A Warmer North Shaktoolik, in western Alaska, is being threatened by climate change. Storm surges that push waves higher than normal toward this small Inupiaq community, and lack of sea ice, which used to protect it from such harsh weather, have become challenges. The local Native corporation built a gravel and driftwood berm between the town and the sea to help keep erosion at bay, but the Army Corps of Engineers has identified Shaktoolik as one of Alaska’s villages that will soon need to move.

storm each fall, but high surf in February was unheard of, even by her 82-year-old father. “That was amazing to see,” she says. The waves piled debris on the beach and launched ice chunks onto the helipad. Water damaged the pump fuel station that residents depend on for heating fuel and motor gas. The community lost power and the water treatment plant was damaged. It was just the latest hand dealt Diomede by climate change. Fewer years with stable sea ice means fewer years with an ice runway, leaving the community reliant on helicopter trips to connect with mainland Alaska. In 2015, weather and mechanical issues left the island without a flight for six weeks. That same year, officials attempted to get more food to Diomede by declaring a disaster in part because the community had only harvested one walrus in two years. Not only is the changing ice making it more difficult for hunters to harvest walrus, Diomede residents have lost several of their skiffs due to storms, and now there are only two left in the entire village, compared to seven or eight in the past. Residents are moving away. From a peak of 178 people in 1990, the population of Diomede declined to 115 as of the 2010 census. Ozenna estimates the population

Warming temperatures in the Arctic are making permafrost thaw, which destabilizes coastlines. Many Alaskan villages are threatened by accelerated erosion due to rapidly thawing permafrost, harsher than normal storms, and lack of sea ice, which affects subsistence hunting and also helps protect shorelines. This photo was taken near Point Hope in 2016.

is now around 90. And if life continues to get harder, Ozenna says she also can’t imagine a future for herself on Diomede. “What does it look like for the future in five years or 10 years? Traditional-wise we already don’t have our language. We’re barely hanging on to subsistence,” she says. “We do have Native dancing, which we’re grateful to have.” Moving to mainland Alaska will mean adapting, and staying on Diomede will

mean adapting. No matter what, the changes brought by climate change mean a different life for Ozenna and many other Alaskans living across the state, whether they’re ready or not. “People are not always up for the change,” Ozenna says. “But they are facing it now.” Alexander Deedy is a freelance journalist and assistant editor of Alaska magazine. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

West is Eden

The Newhalen River in southwest Alaska is known for its trout and sockeye salmon fishing.

Southwestern Alaska is a paradise all its own

HE END OF MY LINE JERKS ONCE, THEN AGAIN, AND I QUICKLY HOLLER, “FISH ON!” I PULL AND REEL, pull and reel, until I see the glint of silver scales beneath the water’s surface. This coho looks pretty big, and I take the time to glance over at my buddy and flash a toothy grin. This is the first day of our annual fishing getaway, a trip my friend and I have taken religiously for nearly two

This year we decided to spend a few days fishing the remote reaches of the Alaska Peninsula, a place I haven’t been in several years, and one I missed dearly. We got here courtesy of a bumpy ride in a Cessna 206, which was an adventure in itself, and now when our lines aren’t in the water we’re busy hiking, snapping photos of wildlife, and eating fresh-caught fish. After these next couple of days, we’re headed for a few nights on Kodiak, where we’ll recoup from the backcountry nights with good dining, comfortable B&B beds, and some more sightseeing. Too often I take the beauty Alaska has to offer for granted, but for this next week I’m determined to live in the moment and soak in the natural wonders with the company of a good friend.

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Kodiak Helicopters Take to the skies for an unparalleled view of Alaska with Kodiak Helicopters. Seasoned pilots will get you and your gear anywhere you want to go on the Kodiak Archipelago, help you capture the photo of a lifetime, and show you vistas nearly impossible to see any other way. 907-486-1969, kodiakhelicopters.com Branch River Air Service Near Katmai National Park and Preserve, the community of King Salmon makes a perfect base camp for discovering the Alaska Peninsula’s wild places. Branch River Air Service, located on the banks of the Naknek River in King Salmon, will get you where you want to go. The company has five float planes available for fly-out fishing, river rafting, flightseeing, and bear viewing. Rafts are available for rent. The area around King Salmon is rich in fish and wildlife. Fly to remote areas for an amazing fishing or camping adventure. 907-248-3539, branchriverair.com Ounalashka Corporation The local Native corporation in Unalaska and owners of much of the surrounding land, the Ounalashka Corporation is proud of the area and its diverse options for sport fishermen, birders, hikers, photographers, kayakers, and history

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Nicole Johnston is a record-setting athlete and leader in the Native games arena.

Kickin’ It

Nicole Johnston excels at Native sports and leadership Nicole Johnston is one of the most decorated athletes in Native sports history, with over 100 medals won at the World EskimoIndian Olympics, Arctic Winter Games, and Native Youth Olympics. Her two-foot high kick of six feet, six inches at the 1989 WEIO set a world record that stood for 25 years. She is now the NYO head official, a WEIO volunteer, and board member for Team Alaska at the Arctic Winter Games. In 2017, Johnston was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. ~as told to and edited by Alexander Deedy How did you first become interested in Native games as a kid? I discovered I had a natural ability for Native games, and I learned that through an after-church gathering with a bunch of my friends in Nome. I had gone to church with my neighbors and after church they fed us lunch and we played some games with the other kids. I learned there that the games were easy for me, and I thought they were really cool because they were games that I had never done before.

COURTESY COOK INLET TRIBAL COUNCIL

Of course, after you first started you ended up staying in, winning over 100 medals, and it’s become a big part of your life. How would you say the games have shaped who you are? Native games have definitely made me a better person. I’m passionate about the games and lucky…not a lot of people are fortunate enough to find something they are truly passionate about. The atmosphere that these games provide fuel my passion, and it has shaped me to be confident, kind, compassionate, and caring. When you go to a Native games competition you immediately become part of that family. And we can still rely on our Native games family to help us outside of our Native games venues to move forward. The amount of encouragement from everybody is amazing, and you can’t find that in most sports. What do you think it is about the games that fosters that sense of community and family? Well I think it’s those before us who taught us what the games were about and what they mean, and have shared those responsibilities with us to encourage the same atmosphere that we were taught. As a young athlete and then as a coach, mentor, and official, it’s my responsibility to pass on those traditions that were taught to me by those before me. So when you’re not at a competition, coaching, or officiating, what do you like to do for fun around Alaska? I grew up in Nome and spent many of my summers on the Fish River

The amount of encouragement from everybody is amazing, and you can’t find that in most sports. upriver from the village of White Mountain, where my father is from, learning the subsistence way of life: cutting fish and picking berries and greens and putting food away for the winter. We also had a dog team when I was growing up and I raced dogs and did other sports—basketball, cross country running—but I continue going back to my family’s fish camp with my children, and now that I have my first grandchild, I will be bringing my grandson and whatever other grandchildren my children provide me out there to continue to teach them traditional ways of life. Thinking about the future of the games, where do you hope Native games are in 50 years? I like where they are right now. They’re big enough to include as many young athletes as possible from around the state without losing the true meaning. I think it would have to be carefully managed for them to grow bigger with the right people so it doesn’t become that competitive sport where you’re out there to win, win, win, win—that’s not what our games are about. Our games are about reaching and surpassing personal goals and incorporating those into everyday lives. So, in 50 years I hope we’re still where we’re at now. OCTOBER 2018 A L A S K A

This Alaskan Life

Or, Oh no! Winter is coming!

NE THING OCCUPIES THE MINDS OF ALASKANS IN OCTOBER:

how to spend that PFD check. We’re not talking about money to buy a life vest, we’re talking the $1,000+ annual check every Alaskan gets just for the asking. This year, some drama is involved, but when you mix money and politics, that is to be expected. When Alaska struck oil, a trust was set up for residents to share the riches those oil fields produced. Now, remember, Alaska is the reddest state outside of Utah. We think healthcare is socialism, but resources owned by the people? Money made from those resources shared among the people? We’re cool with that. It’s good to be flexible. (My editor says I should point out that the opinions expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of Alaska magazine. Except I don’t think healthcare is socialism, so the line is pretty fuzzy. Let’s just say the opinions expressed here are made up.) Where was I? Oh, yeah, when that PFD money gets dropped into our bank accounts in early October, we cannot spend it fast enough, and where better to spend money in a hurry than at Costco? I know normal people who take a Xanax to deal with Costco on PFD day. The thing is, if you dumped the winter boyfriend back in April like most of us did, it’s time to find a new one. You made a feeble attempt to stack the wood and clean the roof gutters, but those chores are so much easier when someone is trying to impress you with his handiness and general manliness. So, it’s off to Costco for you, too. They don’t actually have winter boyfriends in the seasonal section with the snowblowers and canning jars, but they might as well. You can tell a lot about a person from the

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M OCTOBER 2018

BY SUSAN DUNSMORE

contents of his Costco cart when he’s trying to spend his PFD. The guy with the cart full of beer will be lots of fun but probably won’t last through January. The guy who pre-shopped and arrived at opening so he could beeline to the generators? Maybe. He’s handy, obviously, but he might not have running water or electricity, and some women are into that kind of thing. Getting the heavy stuff first means he’s strong but maybe not too bright. (I can say that because every month I pick up 50 pounds of chicken feed and 120 pounds of dog food, forgetting I need a good 60 feet to come to a complete stop at the lettuce. I’ve hit that back wall more than once.) You’re not going to find an Alaskan man in the personal grooming or kitchen areas, either, just single women looking for men they might be able to clean up. Those gals will leave sorely disappointed (and alone, unless they all head to the bistro across the street for a glass of wine) because there is no such thing as an Alaskan man you can clean up. I recommend making several trips to the store before deciding on one. Impulse buys from Costco rarely stand the test of time, even if we’re only talking about making it until spring. The wrong guy in a small cabin makes for a long winter. We are starting to settle into the winter routine in October. Shoulder season is hard on those of us who spend as much time as possible outdoors. Paddling and skiing are both pretty awful in October and this time of year the mud is not the promise of spring, but the threat of five months of cold temperatures and dark skies. Maybe I’ll go say hello to that guy in the beer aisle. Susan spends October at Costco, but you probably figured that out already.

SUSAN DUNSMORE

Fall’s Last Gasp

Diane Hirshberg lent Susan her man for the photoshoot since she’s incapable of finding one herself. Craig Kasemodel is for display purposes only but he might share his Goldfish if you ask him nicely.

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