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John Goodwin

John Goodwin

John Goodwin is an Iñupiaq elder from Kotzebue, Alaska. He was born in December 1942 in a camp between Noatak and Kotzebue, and he grew up living a traditional subsistence lifestyle moving between Noatak, Kotzebue and seasonal camps. He started seal hunting as a young boy, learning about ice conditions, weather prediction, and ice safety from both his father and grandfather. John attended Mount Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska, joined the Alaska National Guard after graduation, and worked as a heavy equipment operator around Alaska, including on the nuclear testing project on Amchitka Island, and as a security officer during the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill cleanup. John applies his expert local knowledge to teaching the youth about hunting, seals, ice conditions, and weather prediction, as well as helping scientists tag seals and serving on the statewide Ice Seal Committee. John married his second wife, Pearl, in 1989 and they are rarely seen apart.
Date of Birth:
Dec 8, 1942
John Goodwin appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
John Goodwin, Part 1

John Goodwin was interviewed on May 17, 2017 by Karen Brewster and Andy Mahoney at his home in Kotzebue, Alaska. His wife, Pearl, also participated in parts of the interview. In this first part of a two part interview, John talks about growing up in traditional susistence lifestyle and moving between seasonal camps, running a dogteam, hunting ringed seals in the winter on the landfast ice, traveling by boat in the early summer through the scattered ice floes to hunt bearded seal (ugruk), and how to stay safe on the ice. He also talks about getting caught in moving ice and drifting out, and the importance of paying attention to the weather, wind, and current. John discusses changing sea ice conditions in Kotzebue Sound, including thinning ice and timing of freeze-up and break-up.

 2013-25-36_PT.1 Sea Ice in Northern Alaska May 17, 2017
John Goodwin, Part 2

This is the continuation of an interview with John Goodwin on May 17, 2017 by Karen Brewster and Andy Mahoney at his home in Kotzebue, Alaska. His wife, Pearl, also participated in parts of the interview. In this second part of a two part interview, John talks about changing sea ice conditions in Kotzebue Sound, including thinning ice, timing of freeze-up and break-up, presence of overflow, and the effect of wind and current. He also talks about the importance of understanding the weather and using clouds to predict changes in the wind and weather, ice safety, and changes in seal and beluga whale hunting. Finally, John and Pearl review more of their personal backgrounds, including education and work history.

 2013-25-36_PT.2 Sea Ice in Northern Alaska May 17, 2017