Jonas Ramoth

Jonas Ramoth is an Iñupiaq elder originally from Selawik, Alaska. At age fifteen, he left Selawik to attend school in White Mountain and then went on to Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka, Alaska. After schooling, he returned to Selawik where he hunted, trapped and fished in addition to raising a family and being the postmaster for many years. He moved to Kotzebue in 1983 after his wife died in order to live with his extended family. For many years, Jonas worked as an Interpretive Naturalist for the National Park Service, Western Arctic Region in Kotzebue. He helped document the history and culture of the region, gave public presentations, and traveled to surrounding villages where he acted as an interpreter and liaison. He was very active on the local and regional Elders councils and spent a lot of his time working with children in schools where he liked to tell stories about animals, cultural values, and the old ways.  From February 29 to March 2, 1996, Jonas participated in the Communities of Memory public storytelling event held in Kotzebue where local residents spoke about their memories of and experiences related to the military.