The Slanting Tundra Life

Things change so much in our neck of the world. Nothing seems to stay on an even keel, including the tundra’s permafrost.
We, who choose to live in homes (or the end of a school building in my case) built on the ever-unstable tundra, know our residences sink and rise throughout the year. It is a given.
Presently, my “house” has sunk into the tundra a little on one end. I have to put 20 oz. bottles in the refrigerator door. Otherwise, they fall over if I place them on the shelf. Two closet doors are hard to open, but one storage room door doesn’t scrape the vinyl as much as it did in the fall. Although, our dining table’s legs are loose, the table is pretty stable. I have it against a wall on the down slope of the house.
Cooking with a round skillet on a stove that tilts to the left is fun. Until recently, I had the skillet handle to my left. That put extra weight on the wrong side. I had to lift up on the handle a bit when frying food so the oil would be evenly distributed. This allowed me to use the whole skillet bottom to cook instead of only the left half. Then I got a bright idea. I turned skillet so the handle to on the right. The handle weight evens out the skillet enough so I don’t have to hold it at all.
Sometimes pipes freeze and rupture. Sometimes you are unable to unlock a deadbolt without lifting or pushing down on the doorknob as the seasons change. But there are also a few good things that are discovered while living the slanting tundra life.
Thanks to the snow you find air leaks – at least I do. After the storm I went to our back porch arctic entryway and saw snow inside. That itself isn’t a surprise. It happens. The odd part was that now I have more housework to do. The light in the arctic entry is not bright. I had done a “man cleaning” of the place (swept the floor) when I first arrived. Now, thanks to snow blown in, I am able to see the various spider webs above the door and in the ceiling corners. The snow adhered itself to the webs. It now looks like I have snow starfish living there. Now I have to sweep the walls and ceiling.
Although probably not possible, it would be nice for contractors to know which side a building will sink over time. Then they could adjust their construction accordingly. All the doors could be mounted to swing toward the inevitable slant. Refrigerators and such would be installed against the “lower wall.” Heck, maybe they could invent stove burners that can be adjusted to help the pots/pans stay level when cooking. These are just some thoughts on how to solve an unsolvable problem.
For now and probable the foreseeable future the tundra will continue to shift with the season temperatures, even during mid-season. Two weeks ago we experienced winter storms, freezing temperatures, and snow. Excitement was building in anticipation of driving a vehicle on an ice road to Bethel. I was getting used to which doors opened easily. Then last week it warmed up and rained. A good percentage of the snow is gone now and the river isn’t as frozen. I’m sure that has set peoples’ travel plans back a few weeks.
I’m not complaining at all, just stating a few facts of bush life. You have to be flexible and have a sense of humor living “out here” because things do change, sometimes pretty rapidly. So, be safe this winter/spring season.
(Be sure and check out Tundra Teacher Tales in paperback or e-book at
www.booklocker.com/books/973.html)

Seasonal Thoughts

I sure hope that your holiday season began with a large dead and delicious turkey on Thanksgiving and spending time with the ones you love. Did you put the shopping on the back burner – at least until the sales started – and actually talk to others during your family gatherings? Because a good, in-depth conversation affords you the opportunity to spread the joy of giving by letting people know exactly what you would like to receive.
Seriously though, the best gifts cannot be bought. They are free, never-ending, and very fulfilling. I’m referring to love and respect of your fellow neighbors. This includes the realization that everyone is different in his or her beliefs and personality, each have their own reasons for believing the way they do. However, sometimes things are taken too far.
Christmas vacations, feasts, and parties are now “Holiday” vacations, feasts, and parties. Celebrating the Birth of our Lord may be dwindling, but by golly the commercial aspect is still there. Exchange of gifts will take place as always. I’m not knocking the giving at all. I too take part in buying things for others and receiving gifts as well, but I do my best not to lose sight of what Christmas truly means to my family and me.
A recent article I ran read on the Internet centered on the objection of Santas using the phrase, “Ho, Ho, Ho.” Apparently, it seems that some people have the idea that the young kids who sit on Santa’s lap will immediately think that Santa is referring to prostitutes when he says, “Ho, Ho, Ho.” Instead, it was suggested that they use “ha, ha, ha” in place of “Ho, Ho, Ho.” I guess they figure it is better to laugh at kids (ha, ha, ha) than speak the universally recognized “Ho, Ho, Ho” which, by the way, is an interjection used to express joy or surprise.
I’ve seen articles that are banning Christmas cards in schools. It deals mostly with the religious aspect of cards, but one school came up with a lame reason. They said that it was best for the kids to make one big card together. That way kids don’t “waste paper on lots of little ones.” Thus, they are saving trees and doing their environmental duty. I think that one big impersonalized card would use just as much paper as several small personal, loving, expressive cards addressed and given to the ones they love.
There are other things that are stir controversy, but none more than when religion, politics, and money come into play. Christmas time seems to incorporate all three of them. That makes it a hot and vulnerable topic.
Christmas is considered a holiday and people celebrate this time of year in various ways. If someone wishes to display crosses and manger scenes around their home or have a menorah in full view, then that is their right. We don’t have to conform or change our ways. If a person does not wish to take part in a school play or eat certain foods that is also their right. Let’s not judge or punish personal beliefs that are perfectly legal.
It is impossible to make everyone happy. I’ve tried for years. The impossible is apparently built into my character, as I will most likely continue trying to please everyone. However, in doing so I won’t compromise my personal beliefs – and I don’t expect others to either.
This is still America and whether you agree or not, it will always be a Nation that was founded under God. We have (and He allows us) the freedom to believe or not believe in a higher power. So let us keep the freedom and not impose policies and laws that hinder our inalienable rights.

Yep - Winter is Here

It looks like winter is finally here. Although it took a while this year, the signs of an impending winter have been around for a few weeks.
The boats have been out of the river for a while. But that didn’t stop subsistence gathering. I’ve witnessed people fishing through what seemed like very thin ice. There was one dedicated man I noticed almost daily ice fishing. One day he sat on what looked like an overturned bucket on the ice jigging for fish while water flowed down the open center of the river. A few days later there was a net strung under the ice. Around the same time it looked like he was standing on water. Apparently he was standing in a few inches of overflow fishing again.
As the temperature began to drop and others began venturing on the thinly frozen river to try their luck, I wondered and asked, “Why the rush to gather food? They would have all winter to fish.”
I found out that this particular river in this area freezes solid. You can’t fish it in the dead of winter unless you are fishing for river bottom. People have to travel a few miles to fish. When that happens I just might feel comfortable enough to walk out on the “river.”
Another sign that winter had arrived is the ability for people to travel across the tundra by snow machine or even four wheelers. Add the holiday season celebrations and it is good for villages. Instead of only attracting the local population and people with enough money to pay for a flight to the various events, people from surrounding villages are able to make the trip and enjoy the festivities rather inexpensively. Several people can pile into a sled pulled by a snow machine and the fuel cost can be split between them. That leaves funds for a good time and brings in more attendees. It is a good thing for all.
The ability to make runs to the trash dump is another item worth mentioning. I’m not exactly sure where the dump is for Atmautluak, but I’ve heard it is up river and then a good walk from the shore. Spring, summer, and fall you have to put the trash in a boat and then haul it over the tundra to the dump. It isn’t an easy job when the river is open and quite impossible when the river is in the process of freezing up. Therefore, the trash had been piling up for a couple of weeks. Not anymore. The trash has now been taken to the dump cross-tundra style.
Hunting large game is simpler during the winter months. Hunters can put all their gear in a sled and head out. When they wish to make camp they just stop and set up. They can also pull right up to a catch and not have to pack the animal out on foot. It is convenient, easier, and usually more productive.
Winter does bring its share of difficulties. No season is exempt from their share of difficulties. I don’t carry a whole slew of emergency items on my person (except when traveling), but I do like to have a lighter and a flashlight with me at all times. The lighter comes in handy if locks are frozen. The flashlight is good for the short winter days. They do tend to be of use.
Almost daily you see or hear someone banging on a snow machine or four-wheeler. It is a given that bearings, axles, tracks, or the like will freeze up at some point. The best way to loosen them is hitting the area with a heavy tool like a hammer. Most of the time it works without damaging the equipment, but guys like fixing things that way whether it does the trick or not.
Yep, winter is among us. Let’s all be safe and look out for one another.

Lore Learning

The other day we were clearing Yupik(the Eskimo language in our area of Alaska)books and materials off a shelving unit in my classroom. The items were being moved to one of the Yupik First Language rooms in another building. During the ruckus one of the special education aids found a few copies of a very interesting and enlightening book. She set them on my desk to show me.
I immediately picked one up and thumbed through it.
You old-timers may remember the work and even may have had a hand in putting the book together. I think it is fantastic. It is titled, “Yupik Lore – Yuut Qanemciit, Oral Traditions of an Eskimo People – Yupiit Cayaraita Qanrutkumallrit.”
The copies are blue, hard back, first editions published by the Lower Kuskokwim School District in 1981. The books are filled with over 250 pages of stories collected by Bethel Regional High School Students between 1975 and 1980. The students had taped Elders from Bethel and surrounding villages as they told stories of Eskimo history, culture, customs, Eskimo know-how, myths, legends, and plain short stories. These were then collected, transcribed and organized in a book. “Yupik Lore…” appeals to gussaq's (white man) as well as natives; even numbered pages are written in Yupik while the odd numbered pages have the English translation. You open the book and have the same information in two languages. Not bad.
As always, if one takes the time to listen – really listen – to an Elder a lot can be learned about how generations survived in the unforgiving bush. The book is interesting. Below are some things that were written and what I learned.
I now know how to get rid of a ghost by placing my hand on its head and with only the weight of my arm to push it into the ground. If I use any force the ghost will just pop back up. Hope I never have to use this.
Spears, bows, and arrows were the way to catch game at one time. It was more physical and intricate than using a gun. I’d starve.
Aged urine was used to wash clothes. Then they’d rinse them with water. It stated that “They got just as clean as if they had been washed in soapy water. ”(p. 135)
Of course fur and skin clothing and footwear was all the rage at the time. In fact, it was the only style of the day, and for good reason. I own a hat made from beaver fur. My head has sweated when I’ve worn it outside in 20 below weather.
Food was scarce, but more nutritious in those days. People were careful not to waste food. It was a huge chore to go out and fish, trap, and hunt to feed a family. Things changed. The “…diet now includes white man’s food, (and people) act as if they don’t have to be too careful about food” because “Today people act as though everything were readily available to them…” (p. 111). I believe there is truth in that statement.
A neat winter survival tip I learned on page 139 was that if you fall through the ice and into water then “dip your hat or mitten in the water and then slam it hard on the ice. When it stuck to the ice (you) could use it for support and get yourself out.” The writing also advised to drink urine to warm you or someone else up that is freezing.
These are only a few of the many, many tricks of the Eskimo captured forever in a superb book. There is so much more information hiding in the pages. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but will. The trick for this gussaq is to remember the valuable advice if I ever need it.

Voc. Ed. in Atmautluak

It is difficult for a lot of the schools in rural Alaska to offer vocational programs. Buildings and equipment are expensive and qualified vocational teachers are at times hard to find, but now and then luck can be on the side of education.
Thanks to a grant a vocational instructor is “making the rounds” to a few villages in LKSD. I’m not exactly sure how the particular schools were chosen. All I know is that Atmautluak was one of them and will have a vocational program until around Thanksgiving.
Driver’s Education and Small Engine Repair will be offered. Originally, welding was to be offered as well. The students were to learn the trade using a simulator, but there was a problem getting the machine to Atmautluak. That is okay. If you can get two out of three things accomplished in the bush you are doing good.
The courses will not be based on the hours a student spends in a classroom as semester-based subjects are, but rather to receive high school credit one has to master the objectives of the class. Technically, they are like the district’s phase system – a type of standards-based curriculum.
These vocational opportunities will not take away from a student’s daily class schedule. It will only add to it. They are offered in the evenings and on Saturdays. This will also help the students be responsible and follow through on their decision. Oh, and I hear a few adults in the community would like to take part in Driver’s Ed. I assume they will have the chance. However, I don’t think I will be one of them.
As it is, people who have had the pleasure of riding with me while I’m behind the wheel probably wonder how I even survive when I’m driving by myself. They are not with me watching where I’m going (or to tell me where to go).
When I do have passengers, they usually have the seatbelt tight, hands securely gripped on the door handle or dashboard, and their eyes are looking out for me (or them?). I continue to be in awe at how large a person’s eyes can get and how much stress a heart can take. Anyway, I’d hate to sit through the class and be reminded of all my faults. For me, I don’t see the point. Besides, my license is still valid. Why mess that up?
I’m not sure if adults will be allowed to go through the Small Engine repair course. I didn’t ask. Maybe I should. Although I wouldn’t be the teacher, the students could learn a lot by having me work on an engine – mainly how not to fix it.
To say I’ll probably keep my distance from the classes and not be nosey would be like…well…lying. I know I won’t be able to resist checking out the equipment and engines, but I’ll try to keep in mind what my wife tells me when we go shopping. Whenever we enter a store “just to browse” that has items displayed on open shelves she states with a loving smile, “Look, but don’t touch anything.” She is keenly aware of how well coordinated I can be.
In regards to the small engine repair class - if I were to touch one of the engines that needed repair, I’d probably total it. It can happen with me and that’s no lie.