Wandering about AFN, Part 5: More of the many faces that I saw

This is Mae Lange of Cordova, with her son, Tom. I used to go to Cordova often and whenever I did, at least one morning, usually Sunday, she and her late husband, Fred, would invite me over for breakfast.

Oh, did I love breakfast at Mae's! I don't remember how long she has had her sourdough starter brewing, but it is a long time and she would keep those sourdough pancakes coming, along with all the bacon, sausage and eggs-over-easy that I could eat.

In fact, she would feed me more than I could eat, and I would happily eat it all.

And when we weren't eating, she and Fred had many stories to tell me, ranging from their experiences running a fishing tender in Prince William Sound to Fred's role in the battle to retake the Aleutian Island of Attu to hanging out with Bob Hope in Palm Springs, where they tried to retire for awhile - but, when you've known Prince William Sound, how can you ever be happy in Palm Springs?

That's Caleb Pungowiyi on the left and Mike Williams on the right. Pungowiyi is very short, even shorter than me (I think. Sometimes I think I am taller than I actually am) but don't be fooled. He is an ex Special Forces paratrooper, so you know that he is tough.

Of course he is. One has to be tough to grow up as a hunter on St. Lawrence Island, where Pungowiyi did, in the village of Savoonga.

He is also the past President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.

If you live in Alaska or pay close attention to this place, you probably already know who Mike Williams is. He is the famous "Sobriety Musher" who declared war on alcohol and drug abuse after he lost all six of his brothers to incidents involving alcohol. 

The Iditarod Trail has been his battlefield. In the early days, he fought the fight by carrying pledges to stay sober for one year and he would give them to people along the way to sign. In 2000, I followed along in my little airplane.

Mike Williams will not be running in the next Iditarod, but Mike Williams plans to. Jr., that is. Mike Williams Jr. will be making his first run. This does not mean Mike Sr. is retiring, "The Iditarod is in my blood," he told me. "I'm not retiring."

He also fights for Alaska's tribes and the education of Native youth.

I first met Al Adams at a dinner table in the restaurant of NANA's Nulugvik Hotel in Kotzebue in 1981, when he was a member of Alaska's House of Representatives. He had recently played a lead role in forming a bipartisan coalition of rural legislators that, for many years, provided Native and rural Alaskans with unprecedented power in Juneau.

He later served as the Senator for Northern Alaska and is now an influential lobbyist.

Ben Nageak, former Mayor of the North Slope Borough, holds his baby granddaughter, Madeline, who is the daughter of his late son, Perry. Standing proudly beside her is granddaughter Angela and looking back, daughter-n-law Elli. 

Connie Oomittuk, formerly of Point Hope but now of Palmer, observes.

When you are in town for AFN, you run into friendly people wherever you go. I was walking across Fourth Avenyue looking for food when I heard someone shout from a car, "Hi Bill!" It was Brittney, niece of my friend and colleague in Barrow, Noe Texeria.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that, due to getting hung up in Wasilla, I arrived late on opening day and missed the dual keynote addresses of Willie and Elizabeth Hensley. I arrived shortly before noon and, as I stepped to the doorway opening into the convention hall, an old friend whom I had not seen in over a decade came dashing over to say "hi."

As we stood at the doorway, talking, I became aware of a beautiful, young, female, voice singing "God Be With You 'til We Meet Again," in Yup'ik. The doorway to the hall is far away from the stage, but I looked and saw Alaska Congressman Don Young standing on stage between his two daughters, Joni Nelson and June Valley.

A large image of his wife, Lu, Gwich'in Athabascan, who died in August, was projected onto the screens at either end of the stage. A strong, emotional, moment was happening, but I was too far back to photograph it and it seemed rude to suddenly dash off to the front, so I stayed there with my friend until the song ended.

Then I went up and took this photo, after the main moment had passed, having missed it, but while the feeling still lingered. The song had been sung by 12 year-old Alyson McCarty of Anchorage.

I stopped by a reception sponsored by the Kuukpik Corporation of Nuiqsut. They had door prizes and this boy, who told me his name, but, damnit, I have forgotten, won. He grabbed the poker set. Maybe I will sit in for a few hands with him next time I go to Nuiqsut.

I'll probably leave broke.

Memry Dahl and Janie Leask. Back during my Tundra Times days, Leask, Tsimshian, served AFN as President. Now she is the President and CEO of the First Alaskans Institute. Dahl used to work there with her but is now with the Aleut Corporation.

John Trent, a biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife service, and Johnny Leavit of Barrow. Trent's works with walrus and polar bears and so does Leavitt, as a traditional hunter.

In June of 1991, Luke Koonook was 65 when I saw him climb onto the skin-boat blanket at Qaqrugvik, the spring whale feast in Point Hope. Given his age, I wondered if they would toss him more gently than they did youthful celebrants.

No! They tossed him high and hard and he easily rose more than 16 feet above the ground. I know, because I had mounted a camera atop a 16 foot two-by-four and in some of my images, Luke is above the camera.

Sylvia Lange, daughter of Mae, who is at the top of this thread. Sylvia is a commercial fisherwoman and was once featured on a CNN special about strong, independent, women. She also owns the Reluctant Fisherman Inn in Cordova. Two summers ago, before either my wife or I got banged up the way we have been the last two summers, I put our car on the ferry in Whittier and took Margie to Cordova - not for work, but for fun.

We stayed in a suite overlooking the boat harbor at the Reluctant Fisherman and it was truly wonderful. We could look out the window and see otters swimming, as fishing boats came and went.

I would recommend the Reluctant Fisherman Inn to anyone.

Children join in with the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian dance group that came from Juneau.

The children dance to the beat of the box drum.

I hate to go into overkill, seeing as how AFN took place last week and is now a memory slipping into history, but I have already placed the photos for two more posts, so I will, and will feature them tomorrow and the next day.

Comments

[dahli22]

You really capture the happiness and feelings of camraderie. Well done.

[debby]

I love the expression on the face of the box drummer, no less intent as he drummed for the children than he was from an earlier picture. I love that respect. In reading your book, I see respect throughout, and I think that it must be a fine world that you move in, Bill.

[Janie Leask]

more great photos Bill - you capture AFN perfectly!

[Sylvia]

Thanks again, Bill. By the way, I love breakfast at Mae's too. She does make the best sourdoughs, & living independently at 89 yrs. young. She used to have a CB in the kitchen to keep tabs on us when we were out fishing. Her handle was "Mae's Cafe", and she had fed much of the fleet at one time or another at her table.

[Wasilla, Alaska, by 300]

Thank you, everybody. Sylvia, I had meant to put the 89 years in and the reference to Mae's cafe, but I always do these things late at night - or rather, early in the morning before I go to bed and I get absent minded. Thanks for the additional info.

Debby, thanks for the comments on the book, too.

Janie - Given your history with AFN, your comment carries extra meaning.

dahli22: Appreciate it.