Finally Working

I had a restless night sleeping in Bethel, but arrived at Grant Air by 8 am. The flights were cancelled to the coast and many other places, but I had fun bonding with Sarah who was trying to get home to Newtok and the girls from Toksook Bay (including Jamie) who didn't look at all remorseful about playing cards and missing school.

At about 10am, I decided to go to a tundra village closeby. I understand that they have a hovercraft as backup transportation for getting back to Bethel and lots of daily planes. There is
no low pressure area hanging around so I don't think I'll be here for a week.

Moses picked us (Jen, an OT from Colorado) at the airstrip and gave us a fun-filled, bumpy ride from the airstrip to the school. As usual , we sat in the sled with the baggage. I should have worn a kidney belt as the lack of snow made for a bumpy ride. The school in Nunapitchuk is across the river so we went over some slushy river ice and it was raining. The snow is meltig away like sugar and the bare ground and boardwalks really drag on the snowmachine and sleds runners. It is not uncommon to see sleds loaded to the gills with families and supplies headed to nearby villages.

Nunap is a very interesting village, built on both sides of the river. Atmautluak is a breakaway village from Nunap. Oscar Nick and his wife Alice moved over to the Pikniktalik River site (the current village of Atmautluak) in the 70s and lived there alone for 5 years before others joined them. Both villages (and nearby Kasigluk) are loosely segregated by Russian Orthodox and Moravian....in Atmau, divided by the school in the center of a long strip and in Nunap, divided by the Johnson River.

Since I had packed for 3 villages and many more people, the enchiladas, oranges and brownies were plentiful. Dinner conversation was excellent- we talked about our grown kids (already launched and independent), raising daughters (their a feisty lot) and fitting into villages.

From my observations, it takes many years to pick up cultural nuances. Many out of town teachers never stay long enough or throughout the year to really understand the Alaska Native culture. Similarly, many Alaska Natives don't really bond in a big city with anyone other than other Natives so that they, in a manner of speaking, create a mini-village within the city. EVERYONE has a culture...cultures don't die unless all their members die, they adapt. The sign of a strong culture is its ability to adapt.

These are some of the changes I've observed coming back to tundra villages after being gone for 25 years: almost everyone has a TV and telephone (minimal use of CB radios now), villages have central generators so they are quieter, children drive snowmachines, mail is delivered daily (weather permitting), parkas are more ornate but have less fur, students come to school speaking English and Yup'ik and blend them (cak'aq=cake), modern housing is available to many (painted, foundations, more than one room), moose have returned to this area, more Alaska Native certified teachers, more graduating seniors leave for higher training, more kids have kept their teeth (dentists used to pull lots of 'bottle mouth' teeth). Some things have not changed- many houses still do not have running water, for example.

Tomorrow, I will be working in 6th grade alongside the teacher. That should be fun. Good night.