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 61.01

latitude and 162.049 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.

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

..------------------------ ~ -~~--

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

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.

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.

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 13.7.

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 2000. 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.

..

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 1889. The first Akolmiut

School was built in 1921. School was taught in the Moravian Church until a new school was built in 1976.

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 1985. The

airstrip in Nunapitchuk was built in 1986. Aluminum boats were replacing wooden boats in 1990. The

new large kindergarten through high school building was built in 1996.

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

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 1970.

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),

.,

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.

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.

Salmon Fish Caught On Average 400 .s::

V'l u: 300 -0 200 ,_ (I) .c 100 E :::l 0 z

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 111213

Number of Families

:•;:; Kings

~'11 Chums

Reds

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.

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.

Salmon Berries Picked On Average

VI 80

c: 0 GO rtl

40 l!l c: +"

20 s::: ::l 0

0

E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 <(

Number of Families

Photos of camping for salmon berring picking in the Johnson River.

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 2000. 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

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 1950. Five gallons of gas use to cost

..

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.

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,

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

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.

..

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.