Native Learning and Northern Lights

The talk of the village recently is the nuclear crisis in Japan. Alaska news stated that the radiation leak is spreading in our direction, but the wind here is blowing in the opposite direction, protecting western Alaska. The Eskimos are a little concerned but I really don’t imagine it will affect us too much. We’re over 3,000 miles from Japan. It’s them I’m worried about! It’s crazy how that many people can just be swiped away that fast. 

Meanwhile, back on the tundra, there have been wolf sitings, so I’ve kept my hikes relatively close to the village. I try to get in 20 miles every week, so I’ve lost some weight, but the only drawback to that is I can’t shop for clothes that will fit. 

School pictures were today, which means the photographer was flown in yesterday, spending the night at the school. There are also all the people who flew in to do the villagers taxes, so it’s been a busy place. Also, the superintendent over the entire Lower Kuskokwim School District flew in to visit Newtok. It’s fun watching someone step into our casual, isolated world. I’d never see him in anything other than work clothes in Bethel, but out here he was sporting the typical bush clothes - old jeans, a t-shirt, and boots. That’s one of the perks of living out in the wilderness! It’s a rugged way of life out here, and I love it. The physical demands can be great and the hygienic opportunities are few, so it’s completely absurd to bother with appearance.

Today marks the end of the third quarter - only 10 more weeks and I’m headed back to Texas. Although I do love the longer days of sunshine. With the time change, the sun now sets around 10:00. 

In a couple of weeks we’re going to have a “Culture Week” during school. The morning hours will be spent in the classroom, doing our regular classes, then after lunch we’ll turn toward the Yupik Eskimo ways of life. There will be a Yupik adult teaching a class with a group of students from all different age levels. A certified teacher (a “gusuk” - white person) will be assigned to each class too, as a chaperone and student. Some of the Yupik classes include:

• Basket making
• Quilting
• Quspuk sewing (traditional Yupik attire)
• Fish net mending
• NYO (Native Youth Olympics)
• Dance mask and fans 
• Arctic survival

Grant was assigning us to our classes in the staff meeting and got to the last one - “Kim will be with Junior outside, learning Arctic Survival.” 

“YES!” Everyone had to laugh - Brandi said, “yeah, she’s the one with blisters all over her feet right now from hiking 5 miles.” 

They all agreed I’d benefit greatly from this course, considering how much time I spend adventuring out into the wild and all the times I’ve almost died. So much so, that I’ve acquired yet another nickname: Indiana.

At midnight a couple of weeks ago, a colleague called me and told me the northern lights are out. She told me to meet her and the group of people out on the North side of the village, beside the river. I hung up, scrambled into my snow gear, and hustled outside. Having never seen this phenomenon before, I didn’t know how long it would last. It was beautiful, but it wasn’t as bright and colorful as it normally is - as it would have been at another time or in Northern Alaska. But it was awesome anyhow! I was sorry the pictures didn’t turn out so well.

At nighttime, when I’m not over at a colleague’s house, I’m usually on the outskirts of the village, plopped in the snow, staring up at the huge expanse over head, the stars well visible in the crisp night air. It’s awing - almost like I’m almost have an out-of-body experience! 

Irrcinraq