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Clara Moonin

Clara Moonin

Clara Moonin is of Aleut and Indian descent and was born in 1956 in English Bay, Alaska (it is now known as Nanwalek). Her father, Alexander Moonin, was born in English Bay, and her mother Margaret Ukatish Moonin was born in Portlock, Alaska. Clara and her five siblings grew up living in English Bay, Port Graham, and Seldovia. Her father and mother worked in the canneries, and her father also was a commercial fisherman. While Clara was growing up, the Russian Orthodox church was an important part of the community's tradition and she remembers celebrating Russian Orthodox Christmas and Easter. Clara also worked in canneries helping with crab, halibut, salmon and cod, as well as grading fish eggs for packing. Clara currently lives in Seldovia, Alaska.
Date of Birth:
Dec 14, 1956
Clara Moonin appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Clara Moonin

Clara Moonin was interviewed on September 16, 2016 by Jan Yaeger at the Seldovia Museum in Seldovia, Alaska. Clara's daughter, Margaret Moonin, was also present during the interview and asked a few questions, although sometimes she can be hard to hear because she did not have a microphone. In this interview, Clara talks about growing up in English Bay (Nanwalek), Port Graham, and Seldovia, Alaska and the Russian Orthodox traditions which were strong during that period. She talks about celebrating Christmas and Easter, including dying Easter eggs, baking and decorating Easter bread, making paper flower decorations, and giving things up for Lent for forty days, such as meat, chewing gum, and playing. She also talks about the history of the church buildings, traditional medicine remedies, and collecting and eating clams, cockles and snails.

 2014-17-17 Seldovia Sep 16, 2016