Pauline Ramoth

Pauline Ramoth is an Iñupiaq elder from Selawik, Alaska. Born in 1930 to Dorothy and Henry Foxglove, Pauline grew up living a traditional subsistence lifestyle where the family of seven children moved to various seasonal camps to harvest the fish, wildlife, and other resources needed for survival. She remembers tough times with little food or heat, but also remembers muskrat hunting, fishing, and traveling downriver by log raft to bring needed wood materials to the village. She attended school in Selawik until the sixth grade, but when her mother passed away in 1947 she had to drop out to care for her younger siblings. She attributes much of her knowledge of English to visits at the home of the schoolteacher, Mr. Purkeypile. In 1956, Pauline married Warren Ramoth, and together they raised a family, and continued to rely on subsistence hunting and fishing during a time when there were still limited jobs and resources. Pauline cut a lot of fish in her lifetime, and became fast and proficient at it.