Fall 2015 Kawerak, Inc. Halibut Donated to Four Communities in Need By Planning awerak received and dis- donated by the SeaShare group to the four communities that are Bering Air, Erickson Helicopters, tributed 10,000 lbs. of out of Bainbridge, WA. SeaShare heavily reliant upon walrus meat Ravn Alaska, and Lynden Trans- K halibut on July 29. It was exists to help food banks across and other marine mammal port, Inc. for the donation of the the nation fill homes with seafood resources to fill their freezers. The air freight for 200 boxes of frozen from the Pacific Northwest. Based residents of Diomede, Gambell, halibut and forklift services to on an average 4-ounce portion, Savoonga and Wales received the move pallets for shipment. We SeaShare has donated more than boxes of frozen halibut to supple- give special recognition to the U.S. 200 million servings of seafood in ment their far below normal levels Coast Guard for flying the halibut the past 20 years, much of it com- of nutritional sustenance currently up to Nome on their C130. ing from Alaska with its great net- secured for the year. The low har- Melanie Bahnke, President of work of donors. The halibut proc- vest of walrus is due to the chang- Kawerak notes, “This was a great essing for this shipment was ing Bering Sea ice and wind condi- partnership between SeaShare, donated by many generous Alaska tions in recent years. The Bering the U.S. Coast Guard, Bering Air, seafood companies, including Sea ice is normally considered one Erickson Helicopters, Ravn Ocean Beauty Seafoods and North of the primary breeding and haul Alaska, Lynden Transport, Inc., Pacific Seafoods in Kodiak. out area for walrus. Vera Metcalf the State of Alaska, Kawerak, Earlier this year, several tribes says, “Although the donation is Inc., the Eskimo Walrus Commis- contacted the Eskimo Walrus good news, it’s only a temporary sion, the Native Village of Commission for technical assis- solution as climate change makes Diomede, the Native Village of tance in declaring a local harvest hunting more difficult.” Gambell, the Native Village of disaster and requested outside It was great to partner with local Savoonga and the Native Village Jeremy Kazingnuk (Bubba), assistance. Kawerak was then airline companies to save on the of Wales to overcome several from Diomede helping his approached by the State of Alaska, cost of moving the 10,000 lbs. of logistical issues to bring the most grand-father Dennis Soolook, Governor Walker’s office, to halibut after it arrived in Nome. vital and basic resource to four Sr. bring fish home receive and distribute the halibut Kawerak and the tribes recognize: communities in the Bering Strait.” " Just when I cooked the last of our walrus from our freezer, we received the donation of halibut, which filled our freezer. We are so PAID grateful and thankful PERMIT #456 PERMIT for the fish and PRESRT STD PRESRT US POSTAGE US ANCHORAGE, AK ANCHORAGE, express our thanks over and over." A quote from a Carol Piscoya,Community Services resident of Gambell Vice President, with Coast Guard Cap- tain Mark Morin, Commanding Officer of the Air Station in Kodiak. 5231 phone 5231 - Kawerak, Inc. Kawerak, 948 Box PO 99762 AK Nome, (907)443 www.kawerak.org Kawerak Newsletter Kawerak Kawerak Newsletter (formerly named Uqaaqtuaq News) is an informational newsletter produced by Kawerak with contributions from UAF Northwest Campus and other partner agencies. Articles and photos can be sent to [email protected] or call (907)443-4345. Ublaakun suli translated in the Inupiaq language means: Tomorrow again! All smiles in Savoonga as the donated iviisa (halibut) is distributed Quyanna! Visit our website at www.kawerak.org. - Trent Noongwook and Jaylene Miklahook receiving their share. Fall 2015 Kawerak, Inc. Nome Archaeology Camp, By the 11 Campers and 4 Camp Sponsors (listed below) etween July 19-26 eleven students Archaeology-What We Learned word of mouth. Today we still “reading the Earth” and discover- from Savoonga, Buckland, Kotzebue, Hunting techniques and sub- share stories orally, but also ing hard evidence of a humun- B Selawik, Nome, Girdwood, Fairbanks, sistence activities. record them by transcription or gous storm about 2,000 years and Anchorage explored Northwest Alaska’s What people lived in: tents recording them with tape record- ago. This storm coincided with a rich cultural heritage from a base camp near and semi-subterranean ers. We discovered that it is our story originating from around responsibility as youth to pass on that same time telling of a fero- Salmon Lake, just outside of Nome. From houses. our stories to others. cious storm destroying villages there, campers gained experience in archaeo- How to tell prehistoric and historic apart: prehistoric is Why do we record stories? across Alaska. We thought it was logical survey and GPS mapping, recorded oral We record stories so we can learn interesting that stories can com- histories with local elders, launched field trips before writing, historic is after. from our past so we don’t repeat plement and support scientific to study museum curation at the Carrie M. Archaeological terms and mistakes. evidence and that the two tradi- McLain Memorial Museum, visited the historic methods Morals tions can coincide. Pilgrim Hot Springs, and worked together as a Morals are lessons one might Museums Marked archaeological sites take away from stories. There are group to take care of daily camp chores. with a GPS. We keep artifacts in muse- many different types of morals. ums to respect the spirit of In the box to the right students share Took soil samples with a soil For example, one moral that is the items. some of what they learned! probe. often used in stories told by our Not every community has a Measured artifacts with a ancestors is to pay due respect to museum. Created by the 11 campers: Andrew Ken- tape measure. all things. Another moral used in Types of museums: 1) State, nedy, Harding Black, Sam Cross, Ben Learned about radiocarbon a story told by Guy Martin is that world, and local museums; dating. Cross, Jacob Weber, Martin Hadley, you should not steal. 2) Cultural Center, Heritage Sites we visited: Anna Warnock, Emma Frankevich, Shamanism Center; and 3) Repository Caribou drive line Shamanism is also a big part of (storage). Sara Toolie, Jennifer Smith, and cultural storytelling, but is the Tent rings Work we do at museums: 1) Daphne Stein in partnership with the one subject that we heard the Village site Catalog artifacts; 2) Connect least about. A shaman can be Nome Culture Camp sponsors: Alaska Pilgrim Hot Springs with Native Elders; 3) Ar- “magical,” “mystical,” and Geographic, National Park Service, Possible Careers: chaeological research; 4) “unknown.” Shamans can be Cultural Anthropologist, Archae- Compare/contrast different Kawerak, Carrie M. McLain Memorial good or bad, but they are rarely ological Educator, Tour Guide, cultures; and 5) Help visitors. Museum & Bering Straits Native Corp. both. According to stories we Museum Director, Paid Intern- Artifacts are old and fragile heard from elders, shamans were ships, Fish Biologist, Artist, so we should be careful powerful individuals. Some peo- Learn More! Photographer, Native Corpora- around displays. ple also call shamans “medicine Are you interested in hearing more about tion Executive, Curator, Ecolo- How do museums collect ar- gist, Pilot, and Interpretive people”. the 2015 Nome Archaeology Camp or tifacts? 1) Donations; 2) Ar- Ranger. Oral History and Science would you like to participate in future chaeological sites; 3) Travel- Oral History: Stories from the One fascinating aspect of oral ing exhibits; and 4) Many ar- camps? Contact Hannah Atkinson at past, morals for the future. history we learned about was the tifacts from Northwest Arctic [email protected], 907-442-8342 How do we share stories? intersection of science and tradi- region are kept in different or visit facebook.com/nomearchaeology For thousands of years people in tional stories. One example Guy states and countries. to stay informed! Alaska passed down stories by Martin spoke of was of geologists Left to right standing: Andrew Kennedy, Harding Black, Andrew Tremayne, Samuel Cross, Ben Cross, Jacob Weber, Martin Hadley, Hannah Brewster, Anna Warnock, Emma Frankevich, Matt Ganley, Sara Toolie, Hannah Atkinson, Jack Omelik, Jennifer Smith. Left to right kneeling: Jeff Rasic, Daphne Stein, and Jillian Richie. Kawerak Newsletter Page 2 Fall 2015 Kawerak, Inc. Scrap Metal Recycling Project KNEWS Program By Lucy Olanna, Brevig Mission IGAP Coordinator and Reuben Adams, IGAP Assistant By Katie Bourdon, Workforce Development Director awerak’s Native Employment Work Ser- vices (KNEWS) has recently hired Angela K (Toolie) Hukill as the Job Development Specialist. Angela was raised in Savoonga. She will be working with our clients to find volunteer place- ments at local work sites to earn their Alaska Temporary Assistance Program (ATAP) benefits. She recently traveled to Stebbins, Savoonga, and Shaktoolik to meet with clients and worksites. Angela enjoys traveling and working with people. Brevig Mission IGAP Laborers, BrandonTocktoo and David M. Olanna prepping She is outgoing, friendly, and has a positive atti- scrap metal for shipment and a flat of the materials after they arrived in Nome. tude. Welcome Angela! School has started, and this is a great place for ucy Olanna and Reuben Adams This new small business, an L.L.C. owned by volunteer opportunities. Clients may be interested from the Native Village of Brevig John Odden, Marc Lee, and Larry Overbay, in learning more about preparing and serving food, L Mission, spearheaded the effort is getting started on stock-piling scrap metal assisting a coach with sports activities, monitoring through the EPA IGAP (Environmental Pro- that eventually will be shipped out for recy- gym safety during evening gym, helping teach tection Agency Indian General Assistance cling.