I really really like this photograph of a woman splitting fish. It is so amazing to see that my family and I still do this today! My mother and father, along with my grandparents from both sides, split fish every summer. My mother is the main fish splitter, while my father and brother go out to catch the fish in Igushik, a fish camp 2 hours away from the village of Manokotak. I really enjoyed this picture the first time I saw it. The lady is using a head scarf, usually called 'plaatuuks' in Yup'ik. My mom uses them when she splits fish. My Gomallii uses hers when she makes fried bread, and she makes us use them too if we are going to help her. They are used to prevent hair from getting in the way.
This photo was taken in Naknek, Alaska in Bristol Bay Alaska. I am very fond of this because Naknek is in my region. The woman 'seking' or splitting the fish looks as if she has been slpitting non-stop for a while, considering the loads of fish hanging behind her. The Native Way of Life is pure awesome! Quyana:)
The rivers and waters are the most abundant waters filled with salmon that keep Alaska’s astounding name: The Last Frontier. As you all know that Alaska has the cleanest and most beautiful air. The less pollution there is, the better the resource. Let’s keep Alaska the most rich and plentiful. Save our salmon, stop the pebble mine! The pebble mine has no right to intrude our Alaskan waters, it is tradition.
About Me
- Jorjana Alakayak
- I am taking linked classes: Writing and Contemporary Alaska Native Life. They're both awesome classes. I am to critique a photo that I was interested in. I really like the photo I chose. I am very fond of my culture and my way of life. Subsistence is one of the most interesting and wonderful thing that ever happened to me. I never realized how valuable my culture is and how overwhelmingly rich Alaska is until this project was taking place. I learned so much throughout the course of both classes. My professors: Mr. Gramse and Ms. Furlow are the most wonderful professors. They both made my first semester of college enjoyable and interestingly interesting for the thoughts and discussion we had during our classes. I hope you enjoy reading the importance of the photo I chose...and remember...be proud to be Alaskan, because we have the best salmon!
My hometown: Manokotak, Alaska
The Igushik River is the main route to fish camp:)
Dried Salmon
This photo is of beautifully filet-ed half dried salmon almost ready to be smoked and put away for the winter.
Stop the pebble mine...before it is too late!
Part of Alaska's tradition is to keep tradition going...so are you up to it? Say no to the pebble mine...subsist off natural resources...pollution goes a long way!
Alaska's Most Wanted: Salmon=)
Cullenberg, Paula. Alaska’s Fishing Communities: Harvesting the Future Conference Proceedings. Alaska Sea Grant College Program: University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The team that planned what information was to go in this book wrote about the importance of Alaska’s waters which explains how valuable Alaska is. The text talked about the benefits that fishing gives Alaska’s communities. The immensely diverse Alaska is one of the most subsistent states in the country. The fishing communities in Alaska depend on salmon to survive. Like the lady in the photo I chose, she is working hard by splitting salmon to hang and let dry until ready to be put away for the winter. “…subsistence and commercial fishing are the backbone of the rural economy in Alaska.” Commercial fishing and subsistence fishing are a huge support system for Alaska Native families. Alaskan communities rely on fish and wildlife to help feed their families. The fishing industries in Alaska are the largest private employer in the state of Alaska. Jobs and work are found for many people to help keep themselves earning money to support their lives, along with living subsistent lifestyles. The jobs and resources give more opportunities to Alaska Native peoples who seek for employment. Harvesting salmon is not always simple. Some summers, there are hardly any fish and fishermen end up getting a small paycheck towards the end of the summer. This concludes to the way people choose to live in Alaska…they may choose to gather loads of subsistence food and live a completely subsistent lifestyle…some may choose to collect food from the grocery stores and live a half subsistent life, or whatever you may call it. Either way, the salmon in Alaska has a zillion resources which make Alaska a unique state. Be proud of where you come from you Alaskans!
VanStone, James W. Eskimos of the Nushagak River: An Ethnographic History. University of Washington Press ,1967.
In this book, the author states that the census based on the human population in the Nushagak area have consistency on traditional customs that have been passed down to generation from the aboriginal lifestyles in the Nushagak River. They have changed a lot. The indigenous peoples of Alaska have been learning how to take care of themselves through traditional knowledge that has been passed down decade after decade. The time that has passed allowed the modernized changes to happen more quickly. The future is understandably going to change due to new technology and contemporary tools that are helping billions today. The lifestyles of the people back then are a blur to anthropologists because they cannot create a consistent baseline for the history in the Nushagak area. There are many difficult methods to follow in order to fully understand the past of the Native people who lived for many years. It is obvious that this area was neglected and ignored to a point where study teams cannot rely on the information that is given amongst a lot of other issues in the rural communities. The inhabitants to the Nushagak River areas have history but are long lost how families worked to continue to live. There are still many questions to why this ignored area of Alaska was deserted by anthropologists. From now on, with the new technology and education, history is just a click away. The enormous amount of information and data that the World Wide Web holds is ama-a-aaaaazing! People can search for interesting facts about so many things, including the different cultures and customs Alaska Natives have.
Weyer, Edward Moffat. The Eskimos: Their Environment and Folkways. Yale University Press, 1932.
This book explains the way Eskimos live and the standards they live under. The Eskimos are exposed to the rest of the world by their customs and social beliefs. Like any other culture, the Eskimos have their own way of life and may choose to live the way their community and family were raised. The way that the media presents Alaska Natives are normally stereotypical. The cultural stereotypes that are suggested are that Alaska Natives are poor. That is all wrong. Alaska is rich with immense amounts of resources that keep Alaska’s uniqueness present. Just ask yourself…when was Alaska ever poor?
Fish Cutting. Retrieved November 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVrc1M8avWI
Every culture has its own way of living. This you tube video shows the consistency in the unique languages that all cultures have as a way of communicating. The video shows the equality even in fish. The man filleting the fish is cutting the fish in half to symbolize the equality amongst many things; the sameness is shown even though it wasn’t cut symmetrically. When different cultures communicate, each culture has its own style and way of speaking. Although cultures are all the same by being human, they are very unique in many different ways. Even animals, they have their own way of communicating in the wilderness. Animals can adapt to different environments, but it takes time. When people move to a different area, the people moving and the people around them have to gradually adapt to the different people around them. Most families living in the rural communities usually move to fish camps to split fish and gather food for the winter, and in correspondence as do the cabins and the living things; everything is ever changing and that is just how life is. We, as people, are expected to change as years go by. The land and the environment are always changing. That is how life goes, like the fish that is being split. The salmon give themselves time to re-establish more lives to keep the subsistence lifestyle many people have in Alaska. Every season comes for a reason, many things happen for a reason, and so does every life. If there is room for life, there is room for change; a culture is always changing and is very normal to see that life goes on. Life goes on in many cultures’ beliefs which are seen as their spirits. Which is more or less normal? What would the world be like without all the different values people believe?
Welch, Laine. Salmon Permit Values Expected To Leap in Bristol Bay. Fish Factor, The Bristol Bay Times Newspaper, Vol. 27 No. 47 8November2007.
Bristol Bay commercial fishermen are going to hold huge valued fishing permits as the price of fish is gradually uprising. I have been fishing with my dad for two years in a row and learned a lot about fishing. I’ve learned to get up early in the morning and stay up after midnight…I got used to drinking coffee…ugh you don’t even know. I remember when I would come along with my parents and their fishing crew out to the bay to fish for a couple of days and would return to fish camp to go wash up and go right back out. This would go on all summer. Some days, I would cry to come with my parents because I had a lot of fun riding in the boat and going to the barges to deliver a day’s catch. A lot has changed since then. I experienced fishing in three areas: Nushagak River, Kulukak Bay and Togiak Bay. They are all filled with abundance. The salmon we love to catch are always jumping and caught in the net. I love the way the sound of splashing gives excitement in our boat cabin during our snack breaks. Each summer is different in so many ways. The weather has changed a lot since I was younger. The places we used to fish are different. Everything is ever changing. Traditionally, we would fish from the end of May through mid-August. It is immensely different now days. The fishing periods are shorter and the fishing season are just so different it is hard to explain. All in all, fishing in Alaska is an essential. We, the people of Alaska, need to keep our tradition and pass them knowledge we know down to the next generation and enjoy the knowledge while it still exists. The value in our knowledge is important. The cost doesn’t matter...the traditions do!
The team that planned what information was to go in this book wrote about the importance of Alaska’s waters which explains how valuable Alaska is. The text talked about the benefits that fishing gives Alaska’s communities. The immensely diverse Alaska is one of the most subsistent states in the country. The fishing communities in Alaska depend on salmon to survive. Like the lady in the photo I chose, she is working hard by splitting salmon to hang and let dry until ready to be put away for the winter. “…subsistence and commercial fishing are the backbone of the rural economy in Alaska.” Commercial fishing and subsistence fishing are a huge support system for Alaska Native families. Alaskan communities rely on fish and wildlife to help feed their families. The fishing industries in Alaska are the largest private employer in the state of Alaska. Jobs and work are found for many people to help keep themselves earning money to support their lives, along with living subsistent lifestyles. The jobs and resources give more opportunities to Alaska Native peoples who seek for employment. Harvesting salmon is not always simple. Some summers, there are hardly any fish and fishermen end up getting a small paycheck towards the end of the summer. This concludes to the way people choose to live in Alaska…they may choose to gather loads of subsistence food and live a completely subsistent lifestyle…some may choose to collect food from the grocery stores and live a half subsistent life, or whatever you may call it. Either way, the salmon in Alaska has a zillion resources which make Alaska a unique state. Be proud of where you come from you Alaskans!
VanStone, James W. Eskimos of the Nushagak River: An Ethnographic History. University of Washington Press ,1967.
In this book, the author states that the census based on the human population in the Nushagak area have consistency on traditional customs that have been passed down to generation from the aboriginal lifestyles in the Nushagak River. They have changed a lot. The indigenous peoples of Alaska have been learning how to take care of themselves through traditional knowledge that has been passed down decade after decade. The time that has passed allowed the modernized changes to happen more quickly. The future is understandably going to change due to new technology and contemporary tools that are helping billions today. The lifestyles of the people back then are a blur to anthropologists because they cannot create a consistent baseline for the history in the Nushagak area. There are many difficult methods to follow in order to fully understand the past of the Native people who lived for many years. It is obvious that this area was neglected and ignored to a point where study teams cannot rely on the information that is given amongst a lot of other issues in the rural communities. The inhabitants to the Nushagak River areas have history but are long lost how families worked to continue to live. There are still many questions to why this ignored area of Alaska was deserted by anthropologists. From now on, with the new technology and education, history is just a click away. The enormous amount of information and data that the World Wide Web holds is ama-a-aaaaazing! People can search for interesting facts about so many things, including the different cultures and customs Alaska Natives have.
Weyer, Edward Moffat. The Eskimos: Their Environment and Folkways. Yale University Press, 1932.
This book explains the way Eskimos live and the standards they live under. The Eskimos are exposed to the rest of the world by their customs and social beliefs. Like any other culture, the Eskimos have their own way of life and may choose to live the way their community and family were raised. The way that the media presents Alaska Natives are normally stereotypical. The cultural stereotypes that are suggested are that Alaska Natives are poor. That is all wrong. Alaska is rich with immense amounts of resources that keep Alaska’s uniqueness present. Just ask yourself…when was Alaska ever poor?
Fish Cutting. Retrieved November 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVrc1M8avWI
Every culture has its own way of living. This you tube video shows the consistency in the unique languages that all cultures have as a way of communicating. The video shows the equality even in fish. The man filleting the fish is cutting the fish in half to symbolize the equality amongst many things; the sameness is shown even though it wasn’t cut symmetrically. When different cultures communicate, each culture has its own style and way of speaking. Although cultures are all the same by being human, they are very unique in many different ways. Even animals, they have their own way of communicating in the wilderness. Animals can adapt to different environments, but it takes time. When people move to a different area, the people moving and the people around them have to gradually adapt to the different people around them. Most families living in the rural communities usually move to fish camps to split fish and gather food for the winter, and in correspondence as do the cabins and the living things; everything is ever changing and that is just how life is. We, as people, are expected to change as years go by. The land and the environment are always changing. That is how life goes, like the fish that is being split. The salmon give themselves time to re-establish more lives to keep the subsistence lifestyle many people have in Alaska. Every season comes for a reason, many things happen for a reason, and so does every life. If there is room for life, there is room for change; a culture is always changing and is very normal to see that life goes on. Life goes on in many cultures’ beliefs which are seen as their spirits. Which is more or less normal? What would the world be like without all the different values people believe?
Welch, Laine. Salmon Permit Values Expected To Leap in Bristol Bay. Fish Factor, The Bristol Bay Times Newspaper, Vol. 27 No. 47 8November2007.
Bristol Bay commercial fishermen are going to hold huge valued fishing permits as the price of fish is gradually uprising. I have been fishing with my dad for two years in a row and learned a lot about fishing. I’ve learned to get up early in the morning and stay up after midnight…I got used to drinking coffee…ugh you don’t even know. I remember when I would come along with my parents and their fishing crew out to the bay to fish for a couple of days and would return to fish camp to go wash up and go right back out. This would go on all summer. Some days, I would cry to come with my parents because I had a lot of fun riding in the boat and going to the barges to deliver a day’s catch. A lot has changed since then. I experienced fishing in three areas: Nushagak River, Kulukak Bay and Togiak Bay. They are all filled with abundance. The salmon we love to catch are always jumping and caught in the net. I love the way the sound of splashing gives excitement in our boat cabin during our snack breaks. Each summer is different in so many ways. The weather has changed a lot since I was younger. The places we used to fish are different. Everything is ever changing. Traditionally, we would fish from the end of May through mid-August. It is immensely different now days. The fishing periods are shorter and the fishing season are just so different it is hard to explain. All in all, fishing in Alaska is an essential. We, the people of Alaska, need to keep our tradition and pass them knowledge we know down to the next generation and enjoy the knowledge while it still exists. The value in our knowledge is important. The cost doesn’t matter...the traditions do!
4 comments:
Nice job! What a great start.
Thanks much!
Hello! I am interested in this kind of investigation about native inuit live. Can you give me an email to ask you something about this investigation. Thank you so much. My mail is josue-92@hotmail.com
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