Praying for good weather

School for the year 2011 is wrapped up. I'm hoping that the weather stays clear for all the teachers trying to go out to the holidays during the "teacher migration." During this break, I hope to upload some pictures from seal hunting in the ice (yes, that was a while ago...), some outdoor pictures, and Christmas Program preparation.

A week of Bush-type events!

Today (Friday) my students were in the gym having an inside recess due to a wolf sighting near our school. A couple days ago a few wolves were spotted by the airport which is about a mile away. Parents were encouraged to pick up their child from school so there weren't kids walking around the village.

Also, we've got a storm warning for late tonight until Saturday afternoon of high winds and some fresh snow. After our last "Arctic Storm 2011" I honestly love the wind and the fresh snow, so I hope it won't be too bad. It's 7:30, we just ended high school girls basketball practice, and I don't see evidence of much wind yet. (Sammy is head coach and I am acting as assistant coach right now even though that isn't a real position.)

Earlier this week we've had plenty of issues with power and water outages. One issue the village had over Thanksgiving weekend were frozen water pipes and the city's main water pump burst. We conserved water in tubs and filtered water in pitchers and milk jugs. Then a few days ago during my prep time right before school started (8:45 am), I was just about to turn on my coffee pot when the power went out. Judging by how incredibly black it was, I grabbed a flashlight and went down the hall to find the kids who were all waiting in the gym for the bell to ring. For some reason our alarms started going off. I realized they weren't the normal fire alarms, then both were ringing, then it was just the fire alarm, and finally the all turned off. No one seems to know what other alarm system was going off.

Looking down the hall; my classroom is on the right.

We started school with no power. The kids enjoyed doing our normal check-in with only a flashlight as a spotlight for the student sharing. With hurting eyeballs the lights surged back on. I happily turned on my coffee pot just to have it stop mid-brew and the power went off again. The whole villages power was off for quiet a while that day. It turned on and off for us since our generators were having issues.

Field Trip on the Yukon

October 11th, Tuesday, 5:00 AM.  I rolled over in my dark room. My eyes winced shut as my laptop came to life, loading wunderground.com to check the weather for that day. As stated on the extensive field trip proposal, our class field trip to go out boating was planned for either Tuesday or Wednesday. With a slight panic, my eyes raced over the weather forecast. Tomorrow is supposed to be freezing, have 15-20 mph winds, and rain? I thought. Tuesday had practically no wind, no rain, and some clouds. During this time of year, seal hunting was best right before freeze up, but the cold temperatures would just lead to a quickly freezing river too dangerous for the students. With Wednesday's possible weather conditions, the phrase It's now or never motivated me.


Knowing that it was entirely possible that we might have to cancel the trip completely if we couldn't pull all the parts together, I started sending out texts and calls, packing warm clothes, and getting things ready just in case. If one student didn't have a permission slip, or proper clothes, I'd have to cancel it. If the boat drivers couldn't drive, we wouldn't go.

Instantly, we ran into some issues. One of my main boat drivers was going to be hunting in Black River that day. My amazing parent chaperone had committed to babysitting. Some parents didn't answer their phones. I was prepared to tell the students that we most likely couldn't go, meanwhile I was finding substitutes and alternatives from my back-up lists. I calmly went to a scheduled meeting for my post-evaluation with our Assistant Instructional Leader. The lunch ladies were graciously packing us a lunch to take if we got to go.

While students arrived at school my hand found a stack of permission slips piling up. After a few ups and downs of good news or disappointments, things started falling into place. Before I knew it, I was telling students we wouldn't be leaving unless each student had two hats and warm gear from the two totes I had packed that morning.

3 boats x (25 gal. of gas @ 6.55/gal) = $491.25 (approximate)

Nunam Iqua w/ Kuzelveq Mountain in the background

The students used sticks to push them off the sandbar

Students took the lead in the front of the boat

Bummer checked his net and repositioned it

Some of the girls observe

Thank you to our amazing boat drivers!

Not a much better treat than hot coffee and a sticky bun

A nontraditional lunch setting is good for the soul

The boys practice spear-throwing on the tundra

A couple of the boys found a barbell to test their strength.

The students got to collect drift wood to start this fire.

After a relaxing lunch break, we were ready to get back out.

 Throughout the day, the students got to see 4 moose-- a bull, a cow, and two calves. We were able to see a few different birds, a weasel, pike fish, maklak, and be with the wildlife in their own habitat.

As the day went along, other boats joined us

After a few hits with a spear, they use the cavaq (harpoon)

Jadon hit this Maklak (bearded seal) with his spear

My students got to be a part of at least a couple successful chases

On our way back towards Alakanuk, we saw a boat towing a whale. I asked Bummer if it was possible for us to see it since I had never seen one before. Two men from Mountain Village had caught the Beluga and were willing to let the students see it. It took all of the boat drivers, students, and men to tug it ashore.

The students point out scratches on the whales body.

We all thought the whale was smiling.

Bummer helps cut some small pieces of whale fin for people to try.

At one point there were 14 boats working as a team to catch one maklak.

They throw the head and some intestines in the water so the spirit lives on.

The four maklaks in a row allowed students to see the traditional way of cutting the seal.

We were blessed with perfect weather.

So overall, the trip was a success. At the start of the day, I wasn't quite sure if the students would get to go. And then when we could, some students were reluctant to go. But with a little encouragement we were headed towards the boats. Throughout the day I got to watch each student express themselves in a new way. The most rewarding part of this trip was to watch the change in some of the students who are more typically quiet and reserved. I'll never forget seeing some of the brightest smiles for the first time and hearing beautiful laughter ring out over the roar of the boat engines.

We got to see and experience much more than I had ever hoped for with the community's best hunters. To be under the open sky and gliding along the glassy water was a new experience to some of the students. Some got to throw a spear for the first time or feel the warm skin of a large maklak. My students got to ask questions about rain clouds in the distance and eat around a fire. Suddenly the worlds of their Yup'ik ancestors mixed with things they had read or learned about in school collided.

Storm Update

We made it through the night. Sammy, Michael, and I played around in the windy gusts and dove into snowbanks. Other than a door pushing us into the railing by the school while we were trying to close it, there wasn't as much excitement as we anticipated. There were strong winds and times when visibility was limited to about 10 feet in front of you, but it really wasn't terrible. This morning on the way to school there was part of the powerline snapped and on the ground.

In bush Alaska do we ever cancel school? Nope. Not here. We actually had fairly normal attendance, too. A couple students who live across the slough had troubles getting here since they can't cross by snowmachine or boat, but that is normal for this time of year.

The village next to us, Nunam Iqua, had staff camped out in the school overnight to escape some flooding since they're close to the sea and on even lower ground than us. (Hard to imagine when I'm pretty sure our highest ground is about 6 ft.) They did end up evacuating some people from Nunam and Kotlik which are close to us. On a picture from a phone, I saw that Scammon Bay had some pretty intense flooding. I heard from a student here that Stebbins has a couple houses under water.

Our kitchen window, facing East

Hard to see the gusts of wind

Our door before going to bed last night

After school today, I went for a walk down to the slough not expecting much with the tides. I was surprised to see that my favorite tree that lays sideways on the ground was completely covered and the water was up quite a ways on the shore. I decided to check out a few other areas including the place where the barge docks, which I had heard had water levels up just one foot away from the top of the bank. I can only estimate, but instead of the tide rising 8-10 feet above normal tide level, I'd say it rose about 4-6 feet above.

Sammy doing her new leisurely activity of sitting in the bank

At the dock, the tide pushed large chunks towards the shore

BEFORE: Me, standing on the shore shooting towards the bank

NOW: The bank is filled with water, ice, and snow

BEFORE: I was "surfing" on this board on the edge of the bank

NOW: This is the same board, but the tide is high

Midtown, where the barge docks

The tide is right up to the shore right now

Weather Warning

In the past few days we've accumulated about two feet of snow. For a girl from Western Washington, I've been in snow heaven, cruising around on my snowmachine. Flying through deep snowdrifts, taking people for rides, and getting stuck have been a welcomed activity for me lately. Only peaceful thoughts pass through my mind while I watch the colorful red sky and purple accented clouds in the evenings. There isn't anything better than feeling fresh snow melt on my smiling cheeks as the chilly breeze sneaks into the crack between my hat and my goggles.

Last evening, as Sammy and I reclined in a snow bank along the edge of the Yukon, we watched the sun set. The clouds hung motionless and the air was quiet. We knew it was most likely the calm before the storm that is coming today.

Yesterday, we got warning that there would be an "unusually severe and life-threatening storm" on the Yukon Delta. We are the second closest village on the Yukon near the Bering Sea. They are predicting 50- 70 MPH winds and a tide that is 8-10 feet above the normal tide. Since there is already ice on the river and the slough, the floods may bring heavy pieces of ice onto the shore. I'll try get some video if it is bad.

To check current details, check the National Weather Service at http://www.arh.noaa.gov/zonefcst.php?zone=214

You can find this Hazard warning map at http://www.arh.noaa.gov/index.php as well as satellite maps and more.

After school today I'll probably go put my Skidoo up in the big metal container to protect it from the wind and have it a couple feet higher in case of flooding. We have also been making sure that our water containers are all full in case the sewer system goes out.

Chevak, AK

 

After flying to Hooper Bay for a couple nights for Teacher In-service, Michael (who kindly volunteered to be the male chaperone) and I flew to Chevak, AK. The flight was again amazingly beautiful with the sun peeking through the clouds to reflect brightly on the bay. We landed on a foreign airport with no one to pick us up.  After a few calls and still no one, I asked a local for a ride to the school.

That was my first encounter with anyone from Chevak. I’ve now come to conclusion that after meeting almost 30 people from Chevak that in my experience every single person is incredibly friendly! I also love the passion they share of helping the community by educating themselves any way they can to bring good leadership to their home village. Friday night, they invited guest speakers to talk to the kids to start off the Natural Helper’s Fall Retreat of fun ice-breaker activities, sessions about anti-bullying and dealing with suicide, and lastly a huge healing circle.

Chevak School

The guest speakers included the mayor, a young lady, and a member from the school board (Chevak is its own district, yet due to its location shares sports and activities with Lower Yukon School District). The speakers shared their realization of need for change within their communities and how it motivated them to push through college to create positive change within Chevak to help their loved ones. They talked to the Natural Helpers about how they chose carefully which college they would be able to go to without being overwhelmed and wanting to drop out and go back to the village (one went to Fairbanks with his wife and the other went to Hawaii to a small friendly campus). The guy from the school board ended the night with a prayer that all the Natural Helpers (about 15 students each from about 6 schools) would find healing at the retreat and hope for their future.

According to the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council report on Alaska Suicide Facts and Statistics, it states:

“Alaska had 1,369 suicides between 2000 and 2009, an average of 136 deaths by suicide per year. The highest number of suicides, 167, occurred in 2008. The lowest number, 123, occurred in 2003. That is an average of about 2.6 suicides in Alaska every week, or more than 10 a month.”

“Alaska Native men between the ages of 15-24 have the highest rate of suicide among any demographic in the country, with an average of 141.6 suicides per 100,000 each year between 2000 and 2009.”

A graph from the same site puts this into a much better visual perspective:

To see more reports, graphs, and prevention plans, check out the Health and Social Services section of the State of Alaska website. http://www.hss.state.ak.us/suicideprevention/statistics.htm

 The Chevak Bluffs on the edge of the village

Clouds reflect in a neglected window

An early morning walk with the Scammon Bay Mountains behind

Jamie Loun, my friend and Natural Helper Sponsor from Mountain

A tire sitting in front of the school.

These are hanging on the wall inside "The Cache Store"

A couple guys enjoying their "ride."

One of the students told me araq is the fungus that some burn and use the ashes as a hallucinogen.

A little girl playing by her house.

We don't see this native plant in Alakanuk.