Language Documentation & Conservation Special Publication No. 17 Language and Toponymy in Alaska and Beyond: Papers in Honor of James Kari ed. by Gary Holton & Thomas F. Thornton, pp. 203–216 http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/ 11 http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24848 “The inhabitants of Nunivak Island, a tundra people, were a partial exception [among aboriginal southwest Alaskans] to [the] wholesale crossing of ecological boundaries.” James VanStone (1984: 207) “The winter ice of Etolin Strait between Nunivak and Nelson Islands may be thick butoften is too broken and liable to movement or at times too slushy for small vessel or sled travel.” Margaret Lantis (1984: 209) Crossing Etolin Strait and the Challenges Presented by a Single Place Name Robert Drozda 1. Introduction Nunivak Island (Nuniwar)1 in the Bering Sea is separated from mainland Alaska and Nelson Island (Qaluyaat)2 by the hazardous waters of Etolin Strait (Akularer/Akuluraq in Cup’ig/Yup’ik). Before the introduction of air travel (circa 1946, see Griffin 2001: 92) Nunivak remained isolated from the mainland for all but afewice- free months of the year. Unlike much of the Yup’ik homeland where frozen waterways facilitate travel, winter travel across Etolin Strait is impossible due to shallow, constricted waters and strong, shifting currents that rarely, if ever, allow it to completely freeze over (Griffin 2004: 116; Drozda 2010: 5-6). Summer months are also fraught with hazards associated with small boat travel on the open ocean. The resulting isolation contributed to the distinct culture and language of the Nuniwarmiut. Nevertheless, as expert ocean travelers some Nuniwarmiut paddled their kayaks or sailed skin boats across the strait to Nelson Island and from there to destinations north and south. To facilitate these travels, particularly for return trips, they needed a staging area at Nelson Island. On each side of Etolin Strait at their closest crossing points lies a historical occupation site, Englulrarmiut on the Nunivak side and Aternermiut at Nelson Island (Figures 1 and 5). Both names are representative of the Nunivak Island Cup’ig dialect. Aternermiut, the focus of this paper, is the only known Nuniwarmiut habitation site outside of Nunivak Island with a Cup’ig name. While the site is part of a larger Qaluyaarmiut settlement Nelson Islanders clearly attribute its name, which refers specifically to the action of crossing over to theisland,to the Nuniwarmiut. 1Nunivak Island place names appear (italicized) in a unique orthography (Amos & Amos 2003) developed specifically for the Nunivak Dialect (also referred to as Cup’ig) of the Central Alaskan Yup’ik language. Mainland Yup’ik words are written (italicized) in the standard Central Yup’ik orthography (Jacobson 2012). Official (i.e. US Geological Survey) English or anglicized Native names are also used here andspelled accordingly, but not italicized. 2While technically an island, geographically Nelson Island is considered part of mainland southwest Alaska (NOAA 2018: 435). ISBN: 978-0-9973295-4-4 Crossing Etolin Strait and the Challenges Presented by a Single Place Name 204 Figure 1: General orientation map showing Nunivak and Nelson Islands relative to other Bering Sea islands, Etolin Strait and mainland Western Alaska. 2. The Inaccessibility of Nunivak Island and Crossing Akularer (Etolin Strait) Bering Sea maps show the close proximity of Nunivak Island to the mainland yet create a deceptive view with respect to the extent of the island’s accessibility. At their closest points Nunivak and Nelson Island are separated by less than 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) of sea. Given the relatively short distance it is easy to assume that historically travel to and from the mainland was frequent and relatively easy. But in reality, the constricted nature and shallowness of the Strait, strong shifting currents, and Nunivak’s position at the fluctuating southern boundary of winter sea ice extent all contribute to thedifficult marine access.3 3The difficult approach to Nunivak from the sea particularly with respect to the hazards of near-shore travelis well documented (VanStone 1957: 97; Lantis 1984: 209; Griffin 2004: 116; Pratt 2009b: 102; Drozda 2010: 5-6; NOAA 2018: 408). Language and Toponymy in Alaska and Beyond: Papers in Honor of James Kari Drozda 205 Because of these conditions the island’s offshore waters remained largely uncharted well into contemporary times. Today, potential marine obstacles such as reefs and submerged rocks are still not fully surveyed. The uncertain approach deterred mariners and missionaries and was a major factor in delaying the effects of Western contact on the Nuniwarmiut (Lantis 1946: 161; VanStone 1957: 97).4 For example, Jesuits established their church on Nelson Island at Tununak (only 55 km from the Nunivak village of Mekoryuk) in 1889. John Kilbuck established the Moravian Mission at Bethel on the lower Kuskokwim River in 1884. Kilbuck traveled extensively in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region but made only one journey to Nunivak staying less than one day in 1897 (USBIA 1995: 1:5). By contrast, Christianity in the form of the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church did not arrive at Nunivak until 1936 (Griffin 2004: 127). Figure 2: Winter view of Etolin Strait showing broken and shifting pan ice. View from direction of Nunivak toward Nelson Island with Cape Vancouver in background. The earliest nautical references found in the Alaska Coast Pilot (see also USBIA 1995: 1:6) relative to Etolin Strait indicate tidal currents “so strong that the middle portion does not freeze over in winter” (USC&GS 1909: 40). Over one-hundred years later this statement is virtually unmodified and includes the addition, “Navigation is difficult from mid-December to mid-May and usually is suspended from early January to late March” (NOAA 2018: 436). Naturally such environmental knowledge was understood by the Nuniwarmiut and is represented in their oral history. Nunivak elder Joe David (2005; Drozda 2010: 6) recounted a story involving a foreign shipwreck survivor who attempted to walk from Nunivak to Nelson Island. Feeling stranded the man gazed across the strait at Nelson Island—readily seen from eastern Nunivak on clear days. Noting its nearness, he disregarded Nunivakers’ warnings of unstable ice, attempted the crossing and drowned. Nelson Island elders John Alirkar (b. 1929), Phillip Moses (b. 1925) and 4The Nuniwarmiut were not completely removed from outside influences, see Griffin (2004) and Pratt(1994, 2019) regarding, for example, the effects of introduction of reindeer and musk oxen in the 1920s and 1930s. Language and Toponymy in Alaska and Beyond: Papers in Honor of James Kari Crossing Etolin Strait and the Challenges Presented by a Single Place Name 206 Simeon Agnus (b. 1930) also spoke of the currents in Etolin Strait with cautionary terms such as, “extremely strong” (Alirkar 2011: 156-157). Agnus (2011: 158-159) says it is “unlike other places around here, since it is narrow.” Moses (2011: 156-157) concludes, “It does not freeze, but the ice goes back and forth and there’s no way through it”. By necessity and through experience and generations of shared knowledge the Nuniwarmiut are highly skilled navigators of the open ocean. Nunivak elder Peter Smith (b. 1912) explained, “…if you’re a hunter you know [the] ocean current. I’m a hunter, I know the water. I’m an ocean man you know. I live in the ocean, Nunivak Island. If it’s bad weather I won’t go. If it’s good weather [mainland] guys see bad weather, I go. I know the current and wind.” (Smith 1988)5 Figure 3: “I’m an ocean man, you know.” Peter Smith as a young man at Nash Harbor Village (Qimugglugpagmiut), Nunivak Island. Photo attributed to Henry Collins. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution. Prior to the introduction of motorized craft Nuniwarmiut crossed the strait in summer by kayak, but not without careful consideration and planning. Elders Kay Hendrickson (b. 1909) and George Williams, Sr. (b. 1922), each reported crossing by kayak on more than one occasion (Snaith 1999). Williams described gauging the tidal currents in order to make the crossing as quickly as possible, estimated by him and others (including his brother, Jack) at from two to five hours on a calm day (Williams 1991; Snaith 1999). Smith (1988) also spoke of the skills needed and danger of crossing the strait, “[It’s] very scary when they go across. Sometimes before they reach the other side … they get in a storm. Two times I got into a storm before I reached Nunivak, very dangerous.” Contemporary skin boat maker Skip Snaith (1997) conducted an ethnographic study and modern reconstruction of the traditional Nunivak kayak (Snaith 2000). He reported, “[Nuniwarmiut] retained large fleets of active kayaks into the [19]50s, and there was 5Smith spoke in English, edited here for clarity. Language and Toponymy in Alaska and Beyond: Papers in Honor of James Kari Drozda 207 Figure 4: A variety of watercraft at Nunivak Island (probably Mekoryuk) ca. 1950. Photo by E.P. Haddon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Courtesy of NOAA. isolated use beyond that time.” Snaith described the strait as “highly exposed and tide swept,” and reported that “even today with aluminum boats and 150 h.p. outboards locals think long and hard before such an attempt [at crossing]” (Snaith 1999). 3. Aternermiut—a Nuniwarmiut Staging Area at Nelson Island “As this land was called Nelson Island, there was a saying in those days that there was a story that a settlement existed called Aternermiut. I personally saw this settlement. I know this settlement as I used to travel bykayak between Nuniwar and Nelson Island. This settlement was abandoned when I started traveling by kayak. But before I traveled with a kayak, this settlement was inhabited.” (Jack U. Williams, Sr., 1991)6 The abandoned Aternermiut site was investigated by BIA ANCSA archeologists with Nelson Island Yup’ik guides in the summer of 1984.