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A blog by Bill Hess

Running Dog Publications

P.O. Box 872383 Wasilla, Alaska 99687

 

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Wasilla

Wasilla is the place where I have lived for the past 29 years - sort of. The house in which my wife and I raised our family sits here, but I have made my rather odd career as a different sort of photojournalist by continually wandering off to other places to photograph people and gather information, which I have then put together in various publications that have served the Alaska Native Eskimo, Indian and Aleut communities.

Although I did not have a great of free time to devote to this rather strange community, named after a Tanaina Athabascan Indian chief who knew Wasilla in the way that I so impossibly long to, I have still documented it regularly over the past quarter-century plus. In the early days, my Wasilla photographs focused mostly upon my children and the events they participated in - baseball, football, figure skating, hockey, frog catching, fire cracker detonation, Fourth of July parade - that sort of thing. 

In 2002, I purchased my first digital camera and then, whenever I was home, I began to photograph Wasilla upon a daily basis, but not in a conventional way. These were grab shots - whatever caught my eye as I took my many long walks or drove through the town, shooting through the car window at people and scenes that appeared and disappeared before I could even focus and compose in the traditional photographic way.

Thus, the Wasilla portion of this blog will be devoted both to the images that I take as I wander about and those that I have taken in the past. Despite the odd, random, nature of the images, I believe they communicate something powerful about this town that I have never seen expressed anywhere else. 

Wasilla is a sprawling community that has been slapped down hodge-podge upon what was so recently wilderness of the most exquisite beauty. In its design, it is deliberately anti-zoned, anti-planned. In the building of Wasilla, the desire to make a buck has trumped aesthetics and all other considerations. This town, built in the midst of exquisite beauty, has largely become an unsightly, unattractive, mess of urban sprawl. Largely because of this, it often seems to me that Wasilla is a community with no sense of community, a town devoid of town soul.

Yet - Wasilla is my home and if I am lucky it will be until I grow old and die. Despite its horrific failings, it is still made of the stuff of any small city: people; moms and dads, grammas and grampas, teens, children, churches, bars, professionals, laborers, soldiers, missionaries, artists, athletes, geniuses, do-gooders, hoodlums, the wealthy, the homeless, the rational and logical, the slightly insane and the wholly insane - and, yes, as is now obvious to the whole world, politicians, too.

So perhaps, if one were to search hard enough, it might just be possible to find a sense of community here, and a town soul. So, using my skills as a photojournalist and a writer, I hope to do just that. If this place has a sense of community, I will find it. If there is a town soul to Wasilla, I will document it. I won't compete with the newspapers. Hell no! But as time and income allow, it will be fun to wander into the places where the folks described above gather, and then put what I find on this blog.

 

by 300...

Anywhere within a 300 mile radius of Wasilla. This encompasses perhaps the most wild, dramatic, gorgeous, beautiful section of land and sea to be found in any comparable space anywhere on Earth. I can never explore it all, but I will do the best that I can, and will here share what I find and experience with you.  

and then some...

Anywhere else in the world that I happen to get to, such as Point Lay, Alaska; Missoula, Montana; Serenki, Chukotka, Russia; or Bangalore, India. Perhaps even Lagos, Nigeria. I have both a desire and scheme to get me there. It is a long shot. We shall see if I succeed.

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Saturday
Nov202010

The Elders and Youth Conference Eskimo Dance: At 89, Edith had not danced for 15 years, but last night she did

DateSaturday, November 20, 2010 at 5:19PM

The elders and youth conference ended last night with an Eskimo dance held at Ipalook Elementary School in Barrow. Among the drummers was Vernon Elavgak, who was featured on this blog in September on Cross Island when he helped to apply the skin from the liver of a bowhead whale to a drum frame.

The first to step onto the floor and begin to dance was Billy Kenton.

Eighty-nine year-old Edith Rowry had not danced in 15 years, but last night she did. She was born and raised in Barrow in the Panegeo family but long ago moved to Santa Cruz, California, with her husband. After she danced, she told me that she had come back to Barrow for a variety of reasons, but mostly because she wanted to dance Iñupiat style again.

"I enjoyed it," she said. "It made me feel so good."

Edith Rowry, feeling good, enjoying the dance.

Afterwards, she accepted a "welcome home" hug from Savik Ahmaogak.

Edith smiles for the crowd - which, thanks to a basketball tournament being held at Hopson Middle School was a little smaller than it otherwise would have been. It was an enthusiastic crowd.

Kennedy Elavgak follows the motions his older brother, David, at right. Freddy Okakok.

Charlie Elavgak motion dances.

Molly Kignak carries a young dancer who has worked up a sweat.

Molly exhanges smiles with Elaine Solomon.

Jane Brower leads a women's kneeling dance.

Molly Hopson during kneeling dance.

Isabelle Elavgak, mother of Kennedy. Isabelle is a founder of Tagiugmiut, a dance group that with the help of doctors Aaron Fox and Chie Sakakibara, has brought life back to a set of songs and dances originally recorded by Laura Bolton in 1946.

Young people enjoy an invitational fun dance.

Christina Aiken and her son, Marchie.

 

I hope to publish a summary of the Uqapiaqta!! Lets Speak in Iñupiaq Elders and Youth Conference on Monday, but I am having horrendous problems with my laptop computer. Due to flashing lines, images that hop rapidly up and down and colors that reverse themselves, I can hardly see my pictures when I edit and process them, I am finding it very difficult to blog.

It took four times as long to put this up as it should have and the number of images that I had to sort through was small compared to those from the conference itself. Still, I will try. I will come up with something.

View images as slide show

they will appear larger and look better

AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment6 Comments |
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Reader Comments (6)

Aarigaa, Bill! Awesome photos!

November 20, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterPausauraq

Your pictures are wonderful. I can feel the happiness and strength.

November 20, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCGinWI

WOW, you took great pictures! keep up the good work Bill!

November 20, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMolly Mae Kignak

Thanks again, Bill. Beautiful photos of beautiful people, young and old.

November 20, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterGrandma Nancy

wonderful pictures ...i hope you get your computer sorted out soon.
Looking forward to your post

November 21, 2010 | Unregistered Commentertwai12

I really enjoyed this Aarigaa, thanks for sharing well done..

November 21, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterSusie

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