Tea with Katie Albright

“Around” is a word I will have to apply to all aspects of travel in “Bush Alaska.”
The airplane was supposed to arrive around 9:30 a.m., when in fact it arrived at 10:00. It was supposed to have enough seats to accommodate around five passengers from Atmautluak when in fact there were only enough seats for three. The boxes that Pam sent UPS were supposed to be delivered around August 2nd when in fact they are still in the hanger at Arctic Circle Air and will now be delivered around Friday the 10th. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. This is the way it is here and I have to get used to it.
As soon as I arrived in Bethel and found the Dorm where I would be staying, I set out to see the town. Bethel is spread out all over the place. All of the roads that I have seen are dirt and only a few have boardwalks that follow them. Most of the time people walk along the side of the roads. There is a massive project underway to pave the main drag through Bethel which will do much to reduce the mud problem.
After dinner tonight, I mentioned going for a walk and a couple of my fellow teachers thought it was a good idea so we did. Before I continue with this story I should introduce my companions. My next door neighbor in Atmautluak and fellow teacher, Virginia and her husband Moses; Darren, a new teacher from Oregon and I all decided to find the Kuskokwim River to see if there were any big ships at the docks. It is important to note that Moses is a Yup’ik Eskimo from this part of Alaska. As we walked, people would stop to say CAMA’I (chama-I or hello) to Moses. It seemed like Moses had a cousin every quarter mile. Hanging around with this guy is a good way to meet people.
We found the river and the port and though there were no big ships in port, there was plenty to look at. We saw guys loading big barrels of gasoline into their boats to take back to their villages because the price of gas in the village is around $11.00 per gallon. We noticed too that the Kuskokwim River is greatly affected by the tides of the Bearing Sea, which is some 70 miles down stream.
On our way back to the dorm, Virginia spotted a small sign on the side of a house. The sign said “Albright, K.” and nothing else. She said to Moses “Hey Moe, I wonder if that’s your Aunt’s house.” Moses got very excited and they went to the door to ask if this was the home his Great Aunt Katie Albright. It was! The two went inside and immediately Virginia came back out to invite Darren and me inside. Game for anything he and I gladly accepted the invitation and went inside to meet Moses’ family.
Aunt Katie shook our hand and welcomed us warmly. Moses’ cousin David, the man of the house, greeted us and made us feel welcome as well. Darren and I kind of stood around as Moses and Katie chatted in Yup’ik. When it seemed like we were about to leave Katie invited us to stay and have tea. It was obvious that Moses really wanted to stay so he could visit with his aunt and we felt very welcome so we said yes to tea. Katie is 83 years of age and she likes to share her culture with the cussuks (Cossacks or white people) that she meets. After the tea was poured she scurried over the refrigerator and got out a bowl to bring to the table. She said that it is important for us cussuks to learn to eat like Eskimos so we don’t starve in the winter. The bowl contained Eskimo Ice Cream called Akutaq (AH-koo-TOK). This is the stuff of legends. The travel channel guy from that bizarre foods show had it. If I remember correctly, the ingredients are: Salmon Berries, Black Berries, Sugar, Crisco, and a smidgen of fish oil. I may be wrong on these so don’t sue me. Anyhow, it was very, very good. Since it is mostly berries, the Crisco and fish oil were barely noticeable. It tasted great and left your palate clean with only a little tartness from the Black Berries.
Katie told us about the conditions of life during her youth and how school was when she was a kid. Moses and Virginia later told us that she did that so that we might have some insight to the negative attitudes that some elders have towards school. After Katie described her life in the sod house of the old days she made it quite clear that she greatly preferred to live in her modern house with its electric lights and stove that requires no wood. She is quite happy to live like a cussuk and she is enjoying her life tremendously.
I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to share tea, dessert, and conversation with this Yup’ik Elder, Katie Albright. If I am lucky, I will have this opportunity again and again. My only regret is that I forgot to bring my camera on this walk. Oh well, maybe next time.