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Alice Ambrose |
2002-27-09 |
Gates of the Arctic National Park |
We met with Alice Ambrose, Susie Williams' daughter, on February 19, 2003 in Hughes, Alaska. She invited us to her home to talk to us about her life in Hughes, her family and spring carnival. She showed us pictures from the spring carnival and spoke about the individuals in the photos. Hudson Stuck visited the community of Hughes, baptised many people and even named a boy after himself. The original unedited version of this interview is available in the archives at the Rasmuson Library.
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Rita Koyukuk |
2002-27-08 |
Gates of the Arctic National Park |
We met with Rita Koyukuk, Susie Williams' daughter, in Hughes, Alaska on February 18, 2003. She talks about a picture her daughter, Marilyn Evans, gave her for mother's day of Susie and Rita during the spring carnival in Hughes in the early 80's. She talks about the fancy parkas they were wearing, the spring carnival, and traveling to the carnival by dog team.
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Joe and Celia Beetus, Part 2 |
2002-27-10 |
Gates of the Arctic National Park |
We met with Joe and Celia Beetus, Susie Williams' brother, on February 19, 2003 at their home in Hughes, Alaska. Joe and Celia have contributed to the Gates of the Arctic National Park Project Jukebox in the past and invited us to their home to learn more about their lives in Hughes over the last sixty-four years. Joe is the oldest elder in Hughes and he made us feel very welcome in the community the night before at the Gates of the Arctic Project Jukebox presentation we made in the community hall. While we were showing the project, Joe began to tell stories about the photos and the people in the program and the others in attendance were all very enthusiastic about his experiences. Currently, Joe is spending one day a week at the school sharing his accounts and the history of the area with the students. Joe and Celia spent quite some time looking for photographs that we might be able to use in the Jukebox program and were very eager to share them with us. Joe is losing his hearing, so during the interview we relied on Celia to help us explain things to him. Joe and Celia open their house to everyone in the community, so there were people coming and going as well as multiple phone calls thoughout our visit. Everyday life in Hughes keep these two busy. The walls of their home were covered with pictures of their family, and Joe explained several of the older pictures hanging on the walls. Margaret Williams was also present during the interview and she encouraged Joe and Celia to talk about their photos. The original unedited version of this interview is available in the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections and Archives at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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Mary Shields |
2011-19-01 |
Dog Mushing in Alaska |
Mary Shields was interviewed on May 9, 2011 by William Schneider and Marla Statscewich at Mary's home in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this interview, Mary talks about learning to drive a dog team, doing back country travel by dog team, training dogs, running the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, camping with dogs, mushing in Siberia, and her tourism business. For more about Mary Shields and her dog team adventures, see Sled Dog Trails by Mary Shields (Fairbanks, AK: Pyrola Publishing Company, 1984).
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Kathy Lenniger |
2011-19-06 |
Dog Mushing in Alaska |
Kathy Lenniger was interviewed on June 8, 2011 by William Schneider and Marla Statscewich at Kathy's home in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this interview, Kathy talks about how she got involved with dog mushing, caring for a dog team, operating a sled dog tour business, types of clients on her trips, pros and cons of tourism, preparing clients for trips, and her love of dog mushing and Alaska's wilderness. |
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William Demoski |
2011-19-07 |
Dog Mushing in Alaska |
William (Bill) Demoski was interviewed on June 15, 2011 by Robert Drozda, Karen Brewster, and Marla Statscewich at the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, Alaska. Angela Linn, Ethnology Collection Manager, and Briana Brenner, her student intern, were also present at the interview. In this interview, Bill talks about how he learned sled building and how he built a particular sled. He identifies parts of the sled, compares modern and traditional sleds and materials, and compares models of different sled styles. This recording has been edited from the original. |
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Cody Strathe |
2011-19-09 |
Dog Mushing in Alaska |
Cody Strathe was interviewed on July 11, 2011 by Robert Drozda, Marla Statscewich, and Katrin Simon Sakurai at his workshop in Ester, Alaska. In this interview, Cody talks about building customized modern dog sleds out of durable and strong materials like plastic, aluminum, laminated wood strips, Kevlar, and carbon fibers. He also points out specific features on different sleds and demonstrates some of the steps in the construction process. Cody also mentions how his dog team is spending the summer working with tourists on a glacier in Southeast Alaska. This recording has been edited from the original. |
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Pete Bowers |
2011-19-10 |
Dog Mushing in Alaska |
Pete Bowers was interviewed on July 20, 2011 by Robert Drozda and Marla Statscewich at the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, Alaska. Angela Linn, Ethnology Collection Manager, and Emily Chagluak, her student intern, were also present at the interview. In this interview, Pete talks about the history of, and archeological evidence for, people using dog power for transportation and work. He uses items from the Ethnology Collection at the University of Alaska Museum of the North to demonstrate the types of dog team equipment and technologies used through time. This recording has been edited from the original. |
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Bob Ahgook |
2004-17-20 |
Community Health Aide Program |
Bob Ahgook was interviewed on October 25, 2005 by Marla Statscewich at his home in Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. In this interview, Bob talks about becoming a health aide, the training he received, communicating with the doctors by radio, taking care of patients, and delivering babies. Bob also talks about how he was able to apply what he knew as a hunter to his health aide work, the challenges of being a health aide, the important role health aides play in the villages, dealing with emergencies and transporting patients, and some of the problems he encountered with healthcare management between the Tanana Chiefs Conference and the North Slope Borough. Finally, Bob mentions other jobs he had after he stopped being a health aide, and how because of his health aide training he was able to help himself when he was having a heart attack.
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Rose Ambrose |
2004-17-19 |
Community Health Aide Program |
Rose Ambrose was interviewed on September 27, 2005 by Marla Statscewich in Rose's home in Huslia, Alaska. In this interview, Rose talks about her training as a community health aide, the public health nurses who came to the village, learning from other health aides and the doctors while listening to the single-side band radio, changes in medicine and diseases throughout the years and what it was like when she retired from her job in 1993.
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Hannah Anderson |
2004-17-21 |
Community Health Aide Program |
Hannah Anderson was interviewed on October 25, 2005 by Marla Statscewich at Hannah's house in Bettles/Evansville, Alaska. In this interview, Hannah talks about becoming a community health aide, training she received, the challenges of running a health clinic in a rustic cabin without running water, dealing with emergencies, and always being on call. She also talks about specific challenging cases, dealing with the stresses of the job, educating people about health issues, changes in communication technology during her years as a health aide, and her retirement. Finally, Hannah reflects on her career and provides some advice to prospective future health aides.
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Elsie Bergman |
2004-17-13 |
Community Health Aide Program |
Elsie Bergman was interviewed on September 13, 2005 by Marla Statscewich at Elsie's home in Allakaket, Alaska. In this interview, Elsie talks about becoming a health aide, training she received, her early days as a health aide, using traditional medicine, and types of illnesses and accidents. She also talks about some of the frustrations and challenges of the job as well as the rewards and successes. Finally, she talks about the stresses of being a health aide in a small village, changes in the resources available, people who helped and mentored her, working with the doctors, and gives advice and encouragement to anyone who might want to be a health aide in the future.
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Moses Frederick |
2004-07-36 |
Community Health Aide Program |
Moses Frederick was interviewed on October 11, 2005 by Marla Statscewich, Louann Rank and Sophie Kasayulie at the health clinic in Akiachak, Alaska. This interview was done while Moses was waiting for the doctor to call so he could do his Radio Medical Traffic (RMT) consultation and reporting, so there are a few interruptions. In this interview, Moses talks about his experiences as a community health aide, training he received, types of cases he worked on, the use of traditional medicine, and changes in the clinic and in the health care system.
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Nolita Madros |
2004-17-22 |
Community Health Aide Program |
Nolita Madros was interviewed on October 26, 2005 by Marla Statscewich at the health clinic in Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. At the time of this interview, Nolita was the only health aide for the village so she was very busy. At one point, she had to stop the interview while she attended to some patients. In this interview, Nolita talks about why she became a health aide and the training she received, being a health aide in Huslia and Ruby, Alaska, working as an itinerant health aide, and settling in Anaktuvuk Pass. She also talks about what a health aide does, changes she has seen in health care practices and technology, the benefits of telemedicine, and dealing with issues of confidentiality and job stress. Finally, she reflects on her career as a health aide.
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Bertha Moses, Interview 2 |
2004-17-14 |
Community Health Aide Program |
Bertha Moses was interviewed on September 13, 2005 by Marla Statscewich at Bertha's home in Allakaket, Alaska. In this interview, Bertha talks about her experiences as a health aide, working out of her home, communication with doctors, and some difficult situations she encountered. She also talks about working with Elsie Bergman, who was a health aide in Allakaket for 35 years.
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Elsie Iqsak Wassilie, Interview 1 |
2004-07-43 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Elsie Iqsak (Alexie) Wassilie was interviewed on on October 13, 2005 by Marla Statscewich, Louann Rank, Sophie Kasayulie, Frank Chingliak and Mary Frederick at Elsie's home in Akiachak, Alaska. In this interview, Elsie speaks in Yup'ik and English about growing up in Akiak where her father was a reindeer herder, the death of her mother, moving to Akiachak, and becoming a community health aide. She describes her duties as a health aide, training she received, communicating with doctors, delivering babies, using traditional medicine and plants, and dealing with serious injuries and the stress of the job. She also talks about the joys of summer fish camp. View a map of the village of Akiachak, circa 1935, with buildings identified by Elsie Wassillie.
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Joseph Uyaquq Lomack |
2004-07-44 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Joseph Lomack was interviewed on October 15, 2005 by Louann Rank, Mary Frederick, Sophie Kasayulie, Frank Chingliak and Marla Statscewich at Joseph's house in Akiachak, Alaska. Joe's wife, Nastasia, was also present during the interview. In this interview, Joe speaks in Yup'ik about growing up in Akiachak, his memories of going to school and church, and learning traditional skills and stories from elders. He tells the story of the early history of Akiachak, including one about a small bell that was used for church services in a qasgiq when it was still being used in the village. Joe also talks about the subsistence lifestyle of fishing and trapping, how he learned traditional skills, the use of plants for traditonal medicine, and starvation times and the importance of sharing food. He also discusses the use of boats, airplanes, dog teams, and reindeer for transportation.
View a written English translation of this interview by Frank Chingliak and Anna Jacobson done in May 2006.
View a short video clip of Joseph Lomack speaking in Yup'ik about being a health aide in Akiachak produced by Frank Chingliak of the Yupiit School District, along with a written English summary of the video.
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Elizabeth Naparyaq Peter |
2004-07-40 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Elizabeth Naparyaq (Lomack) Peter was interviewed on October 12, 2005 by Louann Rank, Mary Frederick, Frank Chingliak, Sophie Kasayulie and Marla Statscewich at Elizabeth's home in Akiachak, Alaska. In this interview, Elizabeth speaks in Yup'ik about learning Yup'ik values, traveling to seasonal camps, respecting the land and the animals, and stories told in the qasgiq. Sophie Kasayulie translates.
View the written English translation of the traditional story about cannibalism that Elizabeth tells which she learned from Old Man Japhet of Tuluksak (Section 11).
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Olinka Vendella Laviissi George |
2004-07-41 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Olinka Vendella Laviissi (Ivanoff) George was interviewed on October 13, 2005 by Louann Rank, Sophie Kasayulie, Marla Statscewich, and Frank Chingliak at the Yupiit School District's "Blue Building" in Akiachak, Alaska. Michele George was also present during the interview. In this interview, Olinka speaks in Yup'ik about about her birthplace of Nunacuaq and living a seasonally-based subsistence lifestyle of fall camp and summer fishing. She mostly discusses parka designs from the Yukon River and Kuskokwim River and uses her own parka for illustration.
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Nellie Ilegvak Moses, Interview 1 |
2004-07-38 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Nellie Ilegvak (Fritz) Moses was interviewed on October 12, 2005 by Louann Rank, Marla Statscewich, Sophie Kasayulie, Frank Chingliak and Mary Frederick at Nellie's home (sections 1 - 6) and on October 13, 2005 in the Yupiit School District "Blue Building" in Akiachak, Alaska (sections 7 - 11). In this interview, Nellie speaks in Yup'ik and English about her childhood memories of fish camp and other seasonal subsistence camps, camp locations and changes in the river channel, drying and smoking salmon, berrypicking, and traditional and medicinal use of plants. She also shares her memories of the qasgiq, dancing and potlaches in Akiachak, the use of story knives for storytelling, and coming across old burials and graves out on the tundra. View a map of family fish camp sites at Akiachak, circa 1939, as identified by Nellie Moses.
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Tom Kiarcimalria Wassilie |
2004-07-42 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Tom Kiarcimalria Wassilie was interviewed on October 13, 2005 by Louann Rank, Mary Frederick, Frank Chingliak, Sophie Kasayulie and Marla Statscewich at the Yupiit School District's "Blue Building" in Akiachak, Alaska. In this interview, Tom talks about living a traditonal seasonally-based subsistence lifestyle based on hunting, fishing and trapping, and learning traditional skills and values from his grandparents at their camps on the Elaayiq River. He shares experiences with fishing for blackfish and clams, and hunting muskrat and geese. Tom also talks about traveling by dog team, proper care and breeding of dogs, and even racing his dog teams. In addition to his own experiences, Tom also shares some traditional stories.
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Willie Qassayuli Kasayulie |
2004-07-35 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Willie Qassayuli Kasayulie was interviewed on October 10, 2005 by Louann Rank, Mary Frederick, Frank Chingliak, Sophie Kasayulie and Marla Statscewich at the Yupiit School District's "Blue Building" in Akiachak, Alaska. In this interview, Willie talks about the history and formation of tribal government in Akiachak, from the dissolution of a municipal government to recognition by the State of Alaska to involvement with the United Nations International Working Group of Indigenous Populations. He also talks about the impacts of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), the separation of business and politics, community planning, and the effort to establish the Yupiit School District in order to control their own education and preserve and document Yup'ik language, culture and traditional laws.
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Joseph Arrssauyaq Slats |
2004-07-39 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
Joseph Arrssauyaq Slats was interviewed on October 12, 2005 by Louann Rank and Marla Statscewich at the Yupiit School District Office in Akiachak, Alaska. In this interview, Joe talks about about his experience as a teacher and education administrator in Alaska, and his role as Yupiit School District Superintendent. He also talks about the negative impact of missionary schooling and boarding schools, the importance of having local control over education, curriculum, and the teaching of Yup'ik culture, language, and values, the benefits of vocational training, and the challenges of teacher recruitment.
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George Ayak’aq Peter |
2004-07-37 |
Akiachak - Then and Now |
George Ayak’aq Peter was interviewed on October 11, 2005 by Louann Rank, Sophie Kasayulie, Marla Statscewich, and Frank Chingliak at the Yupiit School District's “Blue Building” in Akiachak, Alaska. In this interview, George talks about Akiachak community programs and his experiences as tribal administrator.for the IRA Council in Akiachak. He discusses federal subsistence management and details of the tribe's activities with housing, healthcare, daycare and youth programs, tribal court, education, village infrastructure, and economic development.
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Marie Napoka |
2004-07-16 |
Tuluksak |
Marie Napoka was interviewed on September 25, 2004 by Bill Schneider, Louann Rank, Marla Statscewich and Freda Alexie in Tuluksak, Alaska. There were complications with the tape recorder during this interview so this has been edited. In this interview, Marie talks about the meaning of and stories behind place names in the area, including Uuravik and Kuigurluq, and the origins of the village at Tuluksak. She also tries to find on the map the location of her mother's village on the Macivik River. While talking about place names, Marie relates them to traditional stories, including about the warrior, Apanuugpak; warring times and fending off enemies; and starvation times.
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Lydia Fly |
2004-07-27 |
Tuluksak |
Lydia Fly was interviewed on April 13, 2005 by William Schneider, Louann Rank and Marla Statscewich at the school in Tuluksak, Alaska. Lydia speaks in both English and Yup'ik. There was no Yup'ik translator available during the interview, but Lydia was encouraged to tell her story in Yup'ik anyway. Lydia's laughter was infectious, so there was lots of giggling in this interview. Sophie Kasayulie helped translate a few sections of this interview the following day. In this interview, Lydia talks about growing up near Uuravik, how the family traveled to seasonal camps for hunting, fishing and trapping, living near Macavik with her husband in a mud house, running the trapline with him, and types of Native foods she likes.
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Tuluksak elders, John Peter, Herman Hawk, Nick Alexie Sr., Carrie Alexie, Joe Demantle Sr. and Lydia Fly meet with Bill Schneider and Louann Rank on April 13, 2005 in Tuluksak, Alaska. Sophie Kasayulie and Frank Chingliak translated the discussion. Marla Statscewich and Richard Phillip were also present during the meeting. The elders speak in Yup'ik about the location of traditionally used places and the meanings behind their names. In the course of this discussion, they share traditional stories and talk about the earlier days of traditional subsistence life based upon seasonal movement to different camps in order to make the most use of available fish and wildlife resources. You can listen to the spoken Yup'ik discussion and read a translated English summary of the discussion below. The recording of the English translation by Sophie Kasayulie and Frank Chingliak made after the meeting on April 15, 2005 in Akiachak, Alaska is available from the UAF Oral History program (ORAL HISTORY 2004-07-33, PT. 1-5).