Yup'ik Culture Days

I have been waiting for today’s events ever since I decided to come here. Today we learn about the history and foundations of the Yup’ik. The agenda says that tonight we will enjoy a Yup’ik potluck and tomorrow we learn from an elder. But first, we have to suffer through classes.
The classes on the development and implementation of the Yup’ik curriculum were interesting but not so much fun. The best part about the whole program is that it was and is a Yup’ik product. It meets all of the requirements of the state bureaucracy while serving the cultural needs of the people. Most of the career staff at the district level has stayed because of the Yup’ik program. I heard it said that this school district does more to preserve and promote the indigenous culture than any other in Alaska. Does that mean that the Yup’ik people have won the war against cultural genocide? Not yet, but I’ll talk about that another day.
In the afternoon we watched a historical documentary called We of the River. It too is a native product that was co-sponsored by the Lower Kuskokwim School District and is a good video history of the Yup’iks from before the time of the Moravians, in 1884, until about the 1960s or 70s. I will buy a copy of this documentary for myself because it shows the people being themselves, as much as a movie can. The movie also gave purpose to the traditional dishes that we were going to sample at the potluck.
The moment we have all been waiting for, the potluck, was finally here. This was a spread fit for a king. There was Moose Soup and Moose Stew, Dried Salmon and Smoked Salmon, Salmon Fillets and Salmon Strips, Salted Salmon Eggs and Boiled Salmon Heads, and yes there was maktaq (whale skin and blubber). We ate Whitefish and Blackfish and Dried Pike and two kinds of Akutaq (AH-koo-TOK). We were served homemade jellies that were made from this season’s Salmon Berries and last season’s Blue Berries, Fry Bread and some things that I don’t have a description for. I loved something about each dish, even the fish eggs. I couldn’t help going back for seconds on some of the items because they were so good. I will be living well if I can keep eating like an Eskimo.
On Thursday, we had more culture lessons in the big room in the Cultural Center, but this time we moved the tables out of the way and put our chairs in a semi-circle so we could all be close to our honored guest speaker. His name is Peter Jacobs and he is a Yup’ik Elder. I would guess his height to be four feet six inches and his weight to be 90 pounds but, he spoke like a giant. His vigor and enthusiasm, at times, had me wondering if he really was 83 years old as he said during his introduction. Peter doesn’t speak much English so he used an interpreter to get his message to us. The stories that he told us about the old days were very similar to those that Katie told us a couple of days earlier. Like Katie, Peter is happy that we are here but at the same time wanted us to know that their journey to become Cussuk-like has been a painful one. The teachers during those early days, as we know, were abusive and didn’t want the scholars speaking in their savage language. The penalty for doing so was stiff and carried out without mercy. Peter’s message was honest and therefore, complicated, but we all got the point; be a good person first and a teacher second. He spent the best part of the day with us and it was time well spent. Peter told us that every elder has a specialty; one thing in which they are experts. In order to learn everything Yup’ik, you must visit many, many elders to learn their expertise. He then brought out a tote bag and from it he pulled some tools that his father had willed to him. He had three knives, all had a small blade that curved to the left and a handler made of Caribou antler. Each knife was a different size for different jobs. Peter demonstrated how the knives were used to carve serving spoons, bowls, and the sticks for holding fish open in the smoker. The sticks were split from straight grained wood by using the antler handle first like wedge and then like a froe (froe? look it up). He also had a couple of hand adzes that he used for roughing in the work. I hope to be able to learn more from Peter very soon.
The Yup’ik instructors taught us the story of the Floating Drum and the dance that was developed from that story. Did we have to do the dance? Yes, we did. We did the dance six or eight times for Peter and he laughed his head off the whole time. He also praised us for our efforts and encouraged us to dance with our village when we get home.
I first saw Yup’ik dancing on the website of the Yup’ik Cultural Center. They put the dance competitions on the site from each CAMA’I (chama-I) festival. Many of the villages have teams in the festival but, sadly, some of the villages do not have dance teams. Atmautluak does have a dance team and they are quite popular, as I hear it, for their contemporary flair on traditional dance.
I learned something totally new. I was always led to believe that the Eskimo people were generally not a warlike people. This is not true. At some point in history, they fought bloody battles to drive the Athabascans away from the coastal areas. In doing so, they earned the name Eskimo or “Raw Meat Eater” from their Athabascan enemies. They are quite proud to be known as Eskimos so referring to them as such is not an insult, but an affirmation of who they are. I will research these battles and tell you more when I have good information on the subject. You could also research this and tell me; I would like that.
I should mention the manner in which the Yup’ik instructors and Peter opened and closed the day’s lesson. The instructors consisted of Nita, Fanny, and Rachael; all three are Yup’ik Eskimos and highly educated educators that have taught in the villages. Peter Jacobs, as I mentioned earlier is the venerated elder and guest speaker. Peter, the eldest, led the group into the room and we all rose to our feet as they entered. The ladies followed him in an order that appeared to be by age, though I don’t want to presume too much. One of the ladies beat a rhythm on the traditional drum as the group entered. Peter carried a metal dish with some kind of herbs in it. Once they were in front of the class they lit the herbs on fire and crushed the flames so the herbs would smolder and smoke. Peter used a bird wing to move the smoke over himself like a ceremonial smoke bath. He then carried the dish of smoking herbs in front of the students and fanned the smoke over us and then he did the same for the instructors. The smoke is to drive bad spirits away from the gathering of people. Then Peter led us in a Christian prayer spoken in Yup’ik. I know it was Christian of some type because it ended with “Jesus Christo, Amen.” When we finished our day Peter led us in a similar prayer so that we part ways as blessed people. I appreciate the way some of these folks have kept their traditional belief structures intact while adopting the new religion. It is a shame that the new religion is not as tolerant as their own religion seems to be.
Since then, not much happened that is too exciting so I’ll say farewell for now. Thank you for your comments and please keep them coming. If you have a specific question, I’ll try to answer it directly to you so be sure I have your email address. One last thing; I am sick of apologizing for my lack of pictures but I promise to get some photos on this blog next week if it kills me. Until then, best wishes.