When I was first asked to apply and do a salmon harvest research project in my community

Transcription

1 Introduction When I was first asked to apply and do a salmon harvest research project in my community Nunapitchuk, Alaska, I was not entirely certain I was fit for the job because I did not know much about how salmon fish cycle in our region from the ocean. In the beginning, the sound of doing this research project did not trigger excitement because I thought I was going to have to actually set a net in the Kuskokwim River, draw it in, and remove from fish from the net all summer long. Throughout this project, I have come to realize that it was fun and exciting to find out all the facts I slightly forgot in my culture and the norms that come with it. In the end, I was glad I took this job because I not only gained more knowledge about the history of my village and how it came about, but how important the subsistence way of life is to me and the people in Nunapitchuk. My name is Juliana Wassillie and I from Nunapitchuk, Alaska. Nunapitchuk, Alaska is located just 30 miles west of Bethel, Alaska, the biggest town in the Kuskokwim area. Nunapitchuk is exactly latitude and longitude on the map. It is 407 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska. There are more than 500 Yup'ik Eskimo's living in Nunapitchuk. Nunapitchuk is considered to be a rural community A photo of the village of Nunapitchuk, Alaska.

2 located Southwest of Alaska. It is mainly flat land and swampy with no trees or hills. The village is divided by a river and about li of residents live on one side where there are no main buildings such as the clinic, store, post office, police station, laundry mat, school, and city offices. The airport and gas (Below left, elder helping youth make black fish traps. Bottom right, adult female helping make Eskimo ice cream during culture week at the school). station are away from the village as well. The only way they are

3 ~ -~~-- reachable is by boat in the summer and snowmobiles/atv in the winter months. There are no roads in Nunapitchuk and houses are connected with board walks. Nunapitchuk is not close to the ocean; rather it is inland on the Johnson River. Most of the residents depend on subsistence activities to survive and feed their families with. Year round, hunting, fishing, and berry picking has been a customary tradition since a very long time ago. Moose, caribou, seal, otter, beaver, and occasionally musk-oxen are hunted in the region. Waterfowl are also hunted in the spring season when they first arrive from the southern states and again in the fall before they leave for the winter. Bird eggs are searched for as well and are eaten regularly. The most important and back breaking subsistence done by the Yup'ik Eskimo's in Nunapitchuk is harvesting salmon fish and salmon berries in the summer. Salmon fishing is done in the intersection area of the Kuskokwim and Johnson River where they are plenty. Salmon fish, white fish, black fish, and pike are main sources of Nunapitchuk's fish food supply. Salmon berries, black berries, cranberries, blue berries, and raspberries are famous for picking and are scattered in the Johnson River area where there is mainly tundra. All my life I have been involved with subsistence activities and helping harvest food for the winter. In the spring, when there is some ice still, men hunt waterfowl, otter, beaver, mink, and muskrats. At left, a male checking his net and some white fish in the bucket. They also set up traps under the ice for black fish and hunt in the ocean for seal. Some families go out camping near Baird Inlet for pike. Women are responsible for plucking birds and skinning the animals they catch. In the summer, men go out to fish for salmon and white fish and women cut them up. Both men and women pick all sorts of berries when they ripe as well as greens. In the fall, men hunt for moose, seal, caribou, bears, and waterfowl.!love what I do and I am not ashamed of my

4 culture. We the Yup'ik Eskimo's try to survive off the land and depend on our own to feed ourselves with whatever there is in the wild. I would never take away what I know and have been taught to do because I cherish everything it is our ancestors use to do to this day. Everything I know is the greatest and I would never exchange it for any other lifestyle. I am writing about my village because it is immensely important for me to keep my tradition going and help make it stay that way for years to come.

5 Village description Nunapitchuk, Alaska has not much of scenery but it has its abilities. There are more than 500 people living in Nunapitchuk. It is divided by a river where less than half of the residents live on one side of the river and more than half live on the other. The larger side of the village contains all the main buildings that include the school, post office, store, police department, city offices, clinic, and laundry mat. The land is flat, swampy, and is on tundra therefore has permafrost underground. Yearly, houses shift and cause them to unlevel due to melting of the permafrost. There are no roads, malls, or hospitals. All the houses are connected with board walks to accompany A TV's dumping sewer to sewage lagoons located within the village because the land is swampy and mossy. There is no running water but built in water tanks and flush toilets. The airport and gas station are about 300 yards away from the village as well and the only ways they are reachable are with boats in the summer and snowmobiles/atv in the winter. Recently in 2003, an elevated boardwalk was built from the smaller side of the village to the airport and gas station. Elevated boardwalk to the airport from smaller side of Nunapitchuk. There are approximately 280 each of men and women including babies of both sexes. The median resident age was 22.8 in the 2000 census data. Race in Nunapitchuk consists of 95.9% American Indian, and 3.4% White Non Hispanic. 66% of houses and apartments are occupied by owners not rented out.

6 There are 0% of commuters who drive to work but some residents who have jobs and kids who go to school operate a boat/motor in summer months and a snowmobile in the winter. There is one high school that is divided for high school students on one side and grade school on the other. The school (in the photo at the right) is called Anna Tobeluk Memorial School and their mascot is Wolves. There are about 168 or more students enrolled for school. Student/teacher ratio is The estimated household income in 2005 was $29,100. According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, males had a median income of $16,250 and women $36,250 in Of the 500 some villagers, 20.7% were below the poverty line. The main buildings on the larger side of the village are the only ones that provide jobs for locals. The Nunapitchuk Limited Store (at right) provides groceries, clothing, heating fuel, gasoline, as well as cable television. Most of the residents in Nunapitchuk use rain water for drinking water. Teachers and other whites purchase their water from the store. The only buildings that have unlimited running water is the school, teacher housing (at right), and laundry mat. Some homes are man-made built of plywood and majority of these old homes are being replaced with more higher and sturdy homes. Not many homes are for rent and not many tourists ever land in Nunapitchuk. Electricity is available and is connected with long poles. Phone lines and cable wires are also connected through these poles to each house who needs phone lines, cable wires, and electricity.

7 .. History Nunapitchuk was established in 1920 and was established there because there were fish on that river to supply food for the first people who lived there. No one knows for sure who established Nunapitchuk but the first residents living there were the parents of Calvin Coolidge, John Wassillie Sr, Andrew Cikoyak, Qukailnguq, Nick's, Chris', and Tobeluk's. Before people resided in Nunapitchuk, they lived between the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. The people in the Nunapitchuk area were referred as the Akolmiut by the early invaders. These early Akolmiut use to hunt using spears and fished with dip nets. They use to put their catches underground to keep cool. Underground was their way of refrigerating their catch. Dried fish or other dried food items were stored in upper deck shacks that are above ground safe from minks, weasels, mice and rodents. Other food items such as salmon fish heads and whole white fish use to be buried underground to be fermented. People back in the day tried not to waste any food products for they were difficult to catch and collect. People use to have clothes made out of bird feathers sown together, animal fur such as mink, otter, seal, beaver, caribou, and muskrats. Some even had jackets made out offish skin, dried. Women were the only ones who sewed clothing, cut fish, and care for their homes, children, and fish so as they would not spoil. They made parkas and snow shoes for their family members. There were no stores then and used whatever they had to make clothing items. They even used dried fish skins (after removing the meat) as shoe outsoles or waterproof jackets. Females collected non-green grass to put inside shoes as insoles and for the comfort of their beds. Men were responsible for hunting and fishing. They built homes from underground. Their roofs consisted of mud, some grass, and wood. They even had separate steam houses made of mud and grass insulation. Russian Orthodox and Moravian missionaries came to the Akolmiut in the 1890's and converted most of them. As of today, all the residents in Nunapitchuk are Christians in Russian Orthodox, Moravian, or Pentecostal. The Yup'iks published the first Yup'ik dictionary in The first Akolmiut School was built in School was taught in the Moravian Church until a new school was built in Anna Tobeluk of Nunapitchuk is a hero to Nunapitchuk residents for she helped win a case to have education be taught in rural villages rather than sending their kids to boarding schools such as Chemawa in Oregon, and Edgecombe in Sitka, Alaska. In the year 1950 the Akolmiut first started using currency/cash. In the 1960's, people started building new homes on the other side of the river where there are no main buildings. In 1968, some residents in Nunapitchuk moved to a different land which is now called Atmautluak to escape white ways such as jobs and such, also in search of more food sources. Nunacuaq, the old site before people moved to Nunapitchuk was completely submerged in The airstrip in Nunapitchuk was built in Aluminum boats were replacing wooden boats in The new large kindergarten through high school building was built in Today the Akolmiut include four permanent villages; Nunapitchuk, Atmautluak, Kasigluk Akiuk, and Kasigluk Akula. All four of these villages are in sight of one another. Kasigluk Akiuk is about 2 miles west southwest of Nunapitchuk, Kasigluk Akula is about 2 miles or more south southwest of Nunapitchuk and Atmautluak is about 8 miles east of Nunapitchuk. Before these villages were established, a population of 336 Akolmiut was stationed at Nunacuaq, Kuigallermiut, Paingaq, Nanvarnarllak, Cuukvagtuliq, and Qalekcuugtuli (most located north, northeast, and northwest of

8 ., Nunapitchuk). These Akolmiut people have been living in these regions for over 500 years or over 1,000 years and still hold strong traditional and cultural values. The Akolmiut still have traditional rights to the land but is mixed with the land of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Back in the day, the Akolmiut used sled dogs in the winter to hunt, fish, and trap. In the summer/spring months they used kayaks. They used these as transportation until modern machines were introduced in the year Below, a photo of Kasigluk, Akiuk, the closest village to Nunapitchuk. Subsistence Subsistence is a big part of Nunapitchuk and the people as I have already mentioned. The primary food are muskrat, beaver, otter, mink, rabbit, ptarmigan, white fish, black fish, salmon fish, northern pike, salmon berries, blue berries, black berries, cranberries, tundra tea, waterfowl eggs, ducks, geese, moose, caribou, seal, smelts, and plants like wild celery (photo at right), marsh marigold (next page top right),

9 and sour dock. Many years ago the Akolmiut used to make trades or barter with the Russian and coastal natives with fur for seal-oil and herring eggs. Subsistence is concentrated heavily in Nunapitchuk, and it's our way of life. That is the way our ancestors survived. My dad use to tell me and my brother to depend more on subsistent activities for our source of food rather than store bought food because one day planes and barges could quit coming to the village bringing groceries if gas was scarce or such epidemic. Anything as possible as that could happen and could lead to starvation. He said it would better to prepare ourselves and to continue on our tradition doing subsistence activities. His father, John Wassillie Sr. was the one who told him about being prepared and to depend on subsistence. Upper left, a photo of a young man and his catch (an otter). Lower left, a photo of Swan eggs and pet dog Shiloh.

10 This year salmon fish arrived later than they usually do. They usually arrive at the end of May or early June but arrived about the middle of June. Towards end of July, salmon fish were plentiful. I have spoken to several families in the village and asked how much fish they get on average yearly. In the graph below, you can see five families try to catch more chums than reds or kings. Six families try to get more kings than reds or chums. Last, all the families get the least red salmon fish..s:: V'l 400 u: 300,_ (I) c 100 E :::l 0 z Salmon Fish Caught On Average Number of Families : ;:; Kings ~'11 Chums Reds

11 Photos below include salmon and white fish being cut and dried in the fish rack and then smoked inside a smoke house. Both the fish rack and smoke house are located within the village of Nunapitchuk, Alaska. The bucket has salmon heads in rock salt stored for winter.

12 I have also prepared another graph containing the number of gallons the same families as in the above graph for salmon fish. As you can see in the graph below, most ofthe families pick about 30 to 35 gallons of salmon berries to store for the winter. Some families say they share with their extended families. Some give berries to families in times of loss of family members. Some elders mentioned they pick less now a days because they aren't as strong physically as they use to when they were younger. Some families pick a lot of salmon berries to share with the community whenever they give feasts and during holidays like Christmas. 80 VI c: 0 GO rtl l!l c: +" Salmon Berries Picked On Average s::: ::l 0 0 E <( Number of Families Photos of camping for salmon berring picking in the Johnson River.

13 When I asked most of these families why subsistence was important to them, all of them had the same or similar answer. Subsistence is important to them because getting food supply from the wild is better than store bought food. The native food they gather and store prevents them from starving if they could not afford store bought food. Once again, many Nunapitchuk residents do not have jobs and are unemployed so they depend solely on subsistent food. Elders of the community have said they grew up knowing only native food they hunted and fished off the land and river. They did not have a store to purchase food because there was not any at the time. The only items available back then was sugar, coffee, tea, and rice but were not able to afford them because they did not work. Some elders and even one young adult in Nunapitchuk mentioned store bought food not being a complete meal. They say they get hungry right away after eating store bought food but not with native food. It is customary of what we the native Eskimo's grew up eating. Some families say subsistent food is their main food due to higher prices of both fuel and groceries in the community. Elders grew up eating only native food provided from the wild, and having no jobs or education to work in high skilled careers leaves them with nothing to depend on but the wildlife and what it comes with. Since the subsistence way of life allows each individual to hunt and gather as they please, no one shall not starve, steal, or beg from others for food. Harvesting all types of food and plants from the wild was the way for the Yup'ik Eskimo's as it was their only source of diet. If subsistence was not around, people would starve as is since there are not many jobs to provide everyone in the village. As one young man puts it, "subsistence is fun and challenging as well as cheaper than store bought food. It is the way we live and we like our food from the wild since they're healthier." Essentially, subsistence is important because it is our LIFE. Employment Since the village of Nunapitchuk is small, there are not many jobs available for everyone. The school and city offices provide most of employment. Most jobs in the village require only one person to get the job done like administrators and secretaries. Earl Chase, who use to be a manager for the Nunapitchuk General Store said whenever there was a job opening at the store, about 50 people would apply and there is only 20 or more permanent jobs. Several men trained outside of Nunapitchuk to become a VPSO. I know of one man who completed that training and has moved to the village of Chefornak since that village was in need of a VPSO. Couple men went to AVTEC in Seward to train as well and came back to work for the school under construction or mechanical preferences. My brother went to Palmer summer of 2007 to train for a heavy equipment driver for six weeks and came back to the village working for a company to improve the airstrip. Other temporary jobs such as carpentry and summer jobs are seasonal. It seems as though temporary jobs are more available in the summer like fixing homes, improving the board walks and the airstrip. Sub cashier, aides in the school, pull tab, and babysitting jobs are temporary for women in Nunapitchuk. As I have mentioned before, the majority of the residents in Nunapitchuk are below the poverty line by 20.7% in Everyone in the village try to make a living by doing the best they can and is through subsistence. I know of two or several families who trade or barter either salmon berries or dried salmon fish with coastal members for seal oil, seal blubber, herring eggs, walrus, or maktak. Most families pick five gallons of salmon berries to sell during village carnivals primarily in July and August. These families make profits of up to $250 or more for a single five gallon in remote villages especially up river in the Kuskokwim and coastal regions where there

14 .. is barely any tundra. Selling salmon berries is very common in the Akolmiut area. It is during these carnivals that I think elders make their most profit by selling home-made Eskimo ice cream of salmon and black berries mixed, sour dough bread, and dried smoked salmon or white fish. The low employment level in Nunapitchuk cause many families who have no jobs to depend more on welfare checks, Medicare, and Medicaid as well as food stamps (quest cards) to help with emergency hospital trips to Bethel or Anchorage and groceries. In 1997, elders and community members did not like the idea of using welfare checks because it would require people to leave the village to train in return. Working hard on subsistence activities and helping the elderly sounded ok, but having to leave did not. Even though this dramatic changed occurred, men like Ivan Wassillie, Earl Chase, Walter Riley, Sr., and John Berlin knew they needed the help from welfare due to lack of job availability and low job experience skills. Every year, many men participate in commercial fishing. There are about 30 permits for commercial fishing in Nunapitchuk. Over the last ten years I have been watching and listening to Eskimo's who speak their opinion in the Yup'ik news radio about caring for the land in villages to commercial fishing prices. There were controversies and raffles about how low the cost of salmon fish were getting. After commercial fishing and earning less than they paid for their gas, less and less fisherman fished. Almost every summer, prices for salmon fish decreased and the price of gasoline could not be afforded for a round trip boat ride. It took couple of years for commercial fisheries to raise the price for salmon fish after Eskimo's voiced their opinions to the public, but not has made significant changes hence forth. Fuel The type of fuel Nunapitchuk residents use to heat their homes is stove oil. The price of one gallon of stove oil is $5.69. Gasoline is $5.74, just five cents more than stove oil. Fuel is delivered with a barge that comes in from Bethel every spring/summer. Every year fuel prices increase and is making it difficult for families who earn low income. On average it costs about $580 to heat homes in Nunapitchuk. To hunt, fish, and gather subsistent food, it costs about $3000-$4000. With fuel prices on the rise each year, traveling and gathering subsistent food is harder than before. Residents in Nunapitchuk have said higher gasoline prices are negatively affecting our subsistence way of life in many ways. First, people don't travel as far as they use to and with each trip they make to hunt, fish, or gather, they try to get as much food as they can in less time if they aren't camping. Traveling less and not as far is not as fun as it use to be. Several men use to make so many trips to the Kuskokwim River to fish and did not worry about how much they caught. Today, those same people try to get as much as possible and be done the first trip to save money. Some fisherman and hunters were not able to travel as much this year because they could not afford much gas. Second, with each trip hunters or fisherman make, they have to bring something back home. For instance, if they go out to get wood from a far distance or to pick berries or fish, it would be convenient to bring something back home rather than nothing at all. It has gotten much more serious and worrisome then before. Third, high fuel prices prevent families from getting an abundance of subsistence food as they like. Men who are in their 60's and 70's mentioned to me that gas prices use to be $15 a drum in Five gallons of gas use to cost

15 just $3.00 in their own containers. They smiled and sounded amazed of how little gas casted back then and then their tone of voice changed when they thought of the gas price today. Today, the price of one drum of gasoline is like $275. Now they have to plan very carefully and use their gasoline wisely. Some worry about making it back to the village after traveling to a far distance. All together, gas costs about $3000 for each family to hunt, gather, and fish yearly. Due to higher fuel prices, all these tragedies have risen. Subsistence Change Much of the elders I spoke with engaged fishing and hunting by kayaking, oaring, and using sled dogs when they were about my age. To find sources of food, people use to travel long distances and be away from home for a long time. Most of the time people walked in search of food like beavers and other four legged animals. In the spring, families traveled to their fish camps in the Kuskokwim River and resided there the whole summer. The trip would take about a day and a half. Somewhere in the hills up river from Nunapitchuk, they use to camp for the night. Once they reached their fish camps, men oared out close to the mouth of the Kuskokwim River to set their net. They returned to their fish camps with the tide and rolled in their nets when they were right in front of the camp. When gas was first introduced, they use to try and catch a lot of fish thinking of the winter as well as their dogs to feed since gas prices were low back then. Whenever men hunted for birds or any other food source in the spring, they use to lift their canoes and walk across tundra to reach another lake or river. The only source of food they brought was fish since they did not know anything about sandwiches or store related items. They use to use their body: arms, legs, feet, and hands to get each job done. Following the change of each season, people use to hunt, fish, and gather different food. In the spring, people hunted muskrats and geese around ice break up times. In the summer, they fished and hunted for salmon, white fish, pike, beaver, otter, and mink. Commercial fishing use to help families a lot since they barely ever worked. Some went to cannery to earn a little more. To heat their homes, people used wood for daytime heating and stove oil in the evenings. Each time they earned money, they bought effective stuff like a generator for light. Before generators, families used kerosene to light up their homes. They never use to stay up long. Today, many people depend on outboard motors and snow mobiles to hunt, fish, and gather food. People do not oar in and out of the Kuskokwim anymore. It may sound easier to travel today but it is much harder for families since fuel prices have sky rocketed. One man from Nunapitchuk has said people today are lazier to get things done and they barely walk to work or exercise. Instead they jump onto their snow mobiles or boats and cross the river to work, gas station, or even to hunt and fish. Hunters are not as careful and respectful of the land as they once use to be. One of the elders said he has seen kids today change in absolute ways. The majority of the children in Nunapitchuk speak in English instead of Yup'ik and that bothers him because they are full natives and should come aware of their heritage. He thinks that education has changed them and most of these kids are picky and try to eat store bought food. He says kids in his age were not given these choices, yet followed the old Yup'ik ways and ate what was only available. Another elder mentioned how our people don't depend much on trapping because the price offur has dramatically decreased and they don't go camping a lot.

16 When I spoke with young adults my age, they all liked the idea of subsistence food because they grew up eating and helped harvest for them. Not one person said they disliked our native food. They enjoy everything about our culture and like for it to stay the way it is because it is what we grew up doing and were taught to do. They said would rather live off subsistence food rather than store bought food because they're better to eat and less expensive. Native food also replaces store bought food when they don't have the money to buy them in the first place. One of my cousins enjoys everything about our subsistence lifestyle from participating in commercial fishing to picking salmon berries. Another young lady told me subsistence is important as store bought food like canned meat (cow) are unhealthy because these animals do not exercise, eat corn, and are bad for our hearts. She says doing subsistence activities is easier to accomplish than the old ways but harder to earn money since it requires them to work. Since she has no brothers, she was brought up helping her father fish, and occasionally hunted. Young men like to hunt, fish, and travel to get wood from the timberline near the Yukon area. These same young men enjoy hunting the most out of all the subsistence activities. The fuel price is the number one factor for changing our subsistence activities. As one person put it, it is the barrier for most residents in the village since most are unemployed. They have to earn money to travel for subsistence food. Since fuel prices increased, traveling is limited and animals are harder to find. One person remembers how gas use to cost only $2.65 several years ago and has jumped to $5.74 a gallon. He says gas prices are over a 200% increase in the past few years. Another barrier is employment in the village. Some people have to leave the village to get a better education for a good job. Some teens who absolutely love subsistence leave for college and miss out on subsistence, but will later provide them the opportunity to afford snow mobiles and boats to travel in search of food in the wild. Twenty to fifty years from now, subsistence for my grandchildren will probably be different from today because one elder in the village said generations always change. He has watched how things changed from his childhood to today. They use to oar and use sled dogs to search for food, and now they use boats and motors as well as snow mobiles to hunt, trap, fish, and gather berries and greens. Traveling with these machines is easier but difficult to do since gas is expensive. Most families depend on welfare checks and quest cards to get by. Rarely any teens leave the village for college because they would rather stay at home and help with subsistence or other reasons. Right now, I only know of two other students going to college besides me. Even though our village is getting bigger and families growing each year, people have gotten by with what they have and I am glad they are because I know our culture still holds strong. If our ancestors and parents were able to carry on our traditions and norms, then so could me and the people my age today. The majority of the youth in Nunapitchuk know our way of living, and if we fight for our right to continue on our subsistence lifestyle as best we can, then we should survive. Subsistence is our way of living and without it, we won't survive. Subsistence could fade away in our village, there is a possibility it could happen and our grandchildren could depend on store bought food. With education rising and more and more youngsters leaving to go to college in search of jobs, the knowledge of our subsistence ways can be lowered. Mining companies could change the way we live, creating jobs and trying to grow. Nature changes everything. The toxic waste and chemicals in the water create bad habitual grounds for birds, fish, and animals. If these changes occur,

17 our sources offood go somewhere else cleaner thus leading to less food in our area. So for now, 1 am not sure what subsistence will be like for my grandchildren fifty years from now. Community assets and challenges Nunapitchuk is a small and convenient location to live in. It is safe and hazard free from everything a city has from big oil industries to strangers and housing conditions. Nunapitchuk is located inland from the Kuskokwim River where salmon fish swim but not far from it. The other Johnson River to the North of Nunapitchuk is closer than the Kuskokwim River and a lot food sources are accessible there. Boat rides are very much enjoyable since the river is right outside most houses there. Everyone in the village knows everyone else and they are respectful and caring. Most families in the village give feasts and invite the whole village to enjoy some famous native food such as moose, caribou, seal, and bird soups. Eskimo ice cream and dried/smoked salmon and white fish are also provided within these feasts. Some of the elders participate in school activities for example during culture weeks and tell stories of how they use to survive and live. The main reason Nunapitchuk is a great place to live is because it is in the middle of an area where food supply from the wild is abundant. Melting permafrost is the most negative concern for the reside'nts in Nunapitchuk. Over the years the land has been sinking and causing houses to shift and level. Several times so far, my parent's house had to be jacked to fix the leveling. Elders use to say the land in Nunapitchuk use to be higher and sturdier than it is today. Banks are eroding from waves created by boats. Hills that use to exist are slowly starting to sink and some are already under water. Wooden crosses in the burial sites are falling because they are sinking and some had to be replaced. People in the village are more careless, they rarely dispose their trash in appropriate dump sites. The only time people clean the land is when spring arises. Tundra is becoming more mossy and wet. The amount of land is literally running out. People are looking for ways to fix these negative effects by talking about relocating the whole village to higher better ground. Some ofthe options are to bring soil to Nunapitchuk as a temporary solution. Another option was to build a seawall to control the land from falling apart. The bigger picture is that Nunapitchuk will most likely have to be relocated to higher ground in the next 20 years or so because it is sinking and will soon become dangerous to live on. Personal Thoughts Living in Nunapitchuk, Alaska provides many advantages of the native lifestyle, culture, and traditions it goes by. Ever since I became aware growing up in Nunapitchuk, I have never thought of living anywhere else. I've lived in Akiachak, Alaska before (a small village up river from Bethel) for about 3 years as a child but never outgrew my village Nunapitchuk.!liked living in Nunapitchuk better because of the clean environment compared to Akiachak's. Akiachak is muddy, has dirt roads, and a lot of trees. Nunapitchuk on the other hand is mossy, wet, has board walks, and no trees. Both villages have many mosquitoes and gnats during summer months but Nunapitchuk has less because there are no trees there. Nunapitchuk does not have high or low tides whereas Akiachak does so we (in Nunapitchuk) do not have to worry about the tide. We go out and about whenever we feel like it but in Akiachak they have to wait for the high tide till the water reaches their boats. I get to feel the breeze immediately in the summer but in Akiachak, it takes a while to feel like because of all the high trees. Life in Nunapitchuk can be chc llenging for everyone but we don't complain. The food and berries we live off the Ia nd eives

18 .. us something to do and keeps us on our feet. It is during the subsistence activities most villagers get their exercise. Having the privilege of parking our boats and snow mobiles right outside of our homes is a pleasure because we do not worry about someone stealing them. The atmosphere in Nunapitchuk is friendly and respectful. The only thing I do not like about Nunapitchuk is that it is separated by a river and the airport is pretty far from the tiny village. During fall freeze up and spring thaw, people including me risk our lives to get across for work or school. It is not a fun thing to do because they drag aluminum boats to cross when the ice is very thin and dangerous! Nonetheless, I wouldn't complain much because we manage to get across safely. Another thing I do not like is the permafrost we live above. The land melting causes problems for the whole village and worries our people if we have to relocate soon. I plan to move back to the village after college and work with whatever profession I become. I will do my best to help improve Nunapitchuk with conditions such as the relocation process and helping to keep our tradition alive. I would rather live where I grew up and became accustomed to then stay in the city. I love everything about subsistence and what we do to survive on our own even though there are some back breaking chores to get them done. The foods we gather and harvest taste way better than store bought food and are sure the best. After each summer and winter break, I always hate to leave Nunapitchuk and the other little things I do like eating native food, spending time with family, and taking steam baths. I'll have to admit, it can get really boring and time goes by really slow during certain days at home but I would never want to be anywhere else but at home. Conclusion Throughout my research project on Nunapitchuk and salmon harvesting,!learned that everyone in the village view subsistence as their way of life. Everyone in the Nunapitchuk grew up participating, helping, and caring for both subsistence and traditional rights and duties. My ancestors knew how to provide for themselves by hunting off the land, picking greens and berries. These traditions were passed down from generation to generation up to today and will most likely be going strong for years to come. I learned that boys in the village Jove subsistence most in the area of hunting for animals and waterfowl. Hunting is their way of sport but do not waste their catch yet pass them out to family members or keep them for their own.!learned that their least favorite subsistence activity was fishing because they have to clean the boat of slime and fish blood afterwards. Another important aspect!learned from this research is that high fuel prices affect the way subsistence is done in the village. The less fuel they have, the less traveling and camping they do. Some families were not able to reach their camping or hunting destinations as they use to several years ago because they could not afford the gas. In addition,!learned that all the residents in Nunapitchuk would rather depend on subsistence related food rather than store bought food. In the future, as much as I hate to think of it, Nunapitchuk will most likely have to relocate to higher ground possibly five to ten miles up the Johnson River. If fuel prices continue to sky rocket, our people will probably go back to canoeing, oaring, and using dog sleds to harvest food year round. The way I see it, people my age are impatient and are slowly depending more on store bought food. If my people were to go back to oaring and using sled dogs, I don't think they would conquer these tasks. Most of the skills our ancestors used to hunt, trap, and live are faded because people in the village focus mainly on their jobs or house skills. Other than the discrepancies Nunapitchuk faces today, I doubt that our subsistence way of life will perish.

19 The companies disturbing our wildlife such as the mines at Donlin Creek, l(isaralik, Pebble, and Platinum mines may try to invade and take over our land in search for gold or oil reforms but we the natives can stop them from doing that if we fight for our rights to keep our land hazard free. Nunapitchuk is the home for many of relatives and my friends' relatives. It is a place like no other and we try out best to maintain our culture and society just the way it was brought up like the surrounding villages in Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. No one can take that away from us for we are united as one and will fight as one to keep it that way.