Transitions - Chilly Barrow to hot Fairbanks to cool and wet Wasilla; Kalib and Jobe return to the blog
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 10:03AM 
Among the things that I did on my last day in Barrow was to interview elders Wesley and Anna Aiken for Uiñiq. They grew up the old way and still express amazement that they can now wake up everyday in a warm house and with the flick of a switch turn on a light.
On April 8, they will celebrate 63 years of marriage and they have a host of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to celebrate with them. I can't say for certain, but I hope to be in Barrow at that time so that I can photograph the celebration.
This is from the night before, and you can see Wesley sitting right up front. I took this picture at what was a Slope-wide gathering to honor the bilingual teachers and others instrumental in setting up bilingual programs over the past five decades or so. The teachers gathered in every village on the North Slope and were joined together by teleconference and then all were honored with certificates and pins. Many were honored posthumously.
Some, such as Anna Aiken, were not able to attend, but Wesley picked up her awards and brought them home with her.
These are some of the people who have been working hard to keep the Iñupiaq language alive and vital in the face of TV, video and internet.
Van Edwardson called me on my cell phone to tell me that he had been tearing up the floorboards at his late grandfather's house to build anew when he found this seal-oil lamp beneath it. These are the instruments that people used not so long ago to both light and heat their extremely well-insulated sod iglus.
The lamp would contain seal oil and wicks.
Van notes that the house of his grandfather, Ned Nusunginya, had been there for all of his life and undoubtedly longer than that. "I'm 51," he said.
The lamp is made from soapstone, apparently from Canada and must have got to Barrow via trading and bartering. "This was used by my ancestors," he told me.
After he found the lamp, he took it to the Iñupiat Heritage Center, where it is being given museum care.
Some time ago, I can't remember precisely how long, the artist Vernon Rexford contacted me to ask for permission to use my photographs as the basis for some balleen scrimshaw etchings. I greatly appreciated the fact that he asked and told him to go ahead and just etch my name in there, somewhere. Not long after I returned this time, he was out on his four-wheeler when he spotted me, came over and invited me to come and meet him at the Heritage Center, where he has a full-length balleen hanging in the gallery, with his recreations and interpretations of my photographs from one end to the other.
It was an amazing thing for me to see, to think that what I did had inspired him and he had found a way to work my work into his own vision and create a new kind of life for it that I had never imagined.
He later took me to his work area in the Heritage Center and showed me this smaller piece, also based on my photographs, that he was still working on.
You can see that it is sitting atop a copy of one of my old Uiñiq magazines, with another one above that. The sketch is of his grandmother, the late Bertha Leavitt, and was drawn by Larry Aiken, son of Wesley and Anna, from a photograph that I took of her on the beach in July of 2006. There was a nice breeze blowing that day and it would sometimes catch and lift the hem of Bertha's parka and when it did, I would snap the shutter.
Now he was going to work off the sketch of my photo to etch the image of his grandmother, his Aaka, into his balleen.
I ate a lot of food in Barrow, so much so that when it came time to go, my jacket was feeling tight around the tummy. It hadn't felt that way when I had arrived.
Due to the satellite problems that were putting the internet out of commission for many hours at a time, Alaska Airlines had been advising passengers to check in at least a couple of hours early because if they were offline, they would have to write tickets by hand.
So I went in two hours early, but the satellite was behaving, Alaska Airlines was online and I received my ticket in reasonable time. Now I needed something to do, so I walked the short distance to the Teriyaki House. I just wanted something light, so I ordered a bowl of soup - a huge bowl of soup, as it turned out.
You will remember Jessie Sanchez, the young Eskimo dancer and whaler who has become a Barrow Whaler football player. He is the kid who got hurt in the first Whaler game. Now the Whalers would soon board the same jet as I would to fly to Fairbanks to play their second game at Eielson Air Force Base. Jessie was feeling much better and he had gotten a Mohawk cut.
He was also getting a bite to eat at Teriyaki, along with his friend Lawrence Kaleak, who you saw dancing at Pepe's at the victory celebration.
After we ate, we all walked back toward Alaska Airlines. That's Jessie's girlfriend, who told me her name but I forgot. She would not be going to Eielson, but only to the Alaska Airlines terminal to say goodbye. For the past week straight, the weather in Barrow had been continually cold and windy, with periods of rain, mist and fog thrown into the mix.
Now, that we were all leaving, it was starting to improve.
Soon, we were all on the jet, football players, coaches and a whole bunch of other people including tourists, businessmen and women and people just heading out to visit someone or to return home.
That's Anthony Elavgak, sitting there thinking. What is it that Samuelu, Samoan, has in his hands in the row behind him?
Why, it's a ukulele! He makes a nice sound with it. Before continuing on to Anchorage and then Wasilla, I got off the plane in Fairbanks and I did go to Eielson and photographed the game.
It was a very different game than the opener in Barrow. Whereas the temperature in Barrow had been in the 30s and the wind in the 30 mphs, it was hot in Fairbanks and Eielson - in the 80's. The game was tough and Barrow lost, big time, never got on the scoreboard.
But remember, they are a young team, with only four seniors. They never gave up. They fought to the end. And there was one young man, Adrian Panigeo, who really grabbed my heart because of the size of his heart. He was not the biggest man on the field - far from it - but pound for pound I think perhaps he was the toughest. Certainly, there was not one tougher, not on either team. Defense, offense - making tackles, carrying the ball, getting hit hard by bigger men, still to blast his way through for extra yards when it looked like he should have been stopped - that was Adrian Panigeo.
The announcer had a difficult time pronouncing his name, but he had plenty of opportunities to practice until he got it right, because Panigeo was key to so many plays.
Sadly, he was put out of the game before the first half ended and left the field in an ambulance, having taken a hard blow to the sternum and he got overheated.
Football is a new game to the Iñupiat, but to watch Panigeo play, you would think it had been in his genes forever. I haven't had time to edit and prepare my pictures of the game. Maybe I will put some in later, or maybe I will just wait and save them exclusively for Uiñiq.
We will see.
Early Sunday afternoon, I boarded the plane in Fairbanks. I didn't really want to. The high temperature in Fairbanks was forecast to be 85 degrees. I wanted to hang around, with nothing to do but whatever I wanted to do, and experience that 85 degrees. But I also wanted to see my family and I could not afford to stay in Fairbanks just to have fun, so I boarded the plane.
As it turned out, the temperature in Fairbanks hit 91 this day, a record both for the date and for this late in August.
The plane departed an hour-and-a-half late and there were a bunch of people on board with a tour group that was continuing on to Hawaii. They had to switch planes fast, so they asked all of us who were not going to Hawaii to stay in our seats until those who were had left the plane.
So all these folks you see standing and trying to get out were headed to Hawaii. Unless there's some cheaters in there, who were only pretending to go to Hawaii so that they could off the plane ahead of the rest of us.
After we landed, the voice on the intercom welcomed us to Ted Stevens International Airport. I had always wondered how it felt to Ted Stevens, each time he was on a plane and heard this same welcome.
Now, Alaska was preparing for his funeral. He would never hear that welcome again.
Anchorage had just set its own weather record - for the most consecutive days of rain, 29, I believe. It must be 31 now.
Margie was there to pick me up. As we exited the airport, we found ourselves traveling alongside this small tourist bus. We were in wild Alaska for certain.
Sunday night, Margie and I spent our one night in the same house together and then, early the next morning, I drove her into Anchorage so that she could spend the next four days babysitting Jobe.
Here's Jobe. My pocket camera battery died immediately after I took this picture.
The other day, I was looking at queries people use to get to this blog. One read, "Where is Kalib?!"
Here he is, as captured in my iPhone.
An iPhone image of Margie, Muzzy, and Jobe. Muzzy recently had minor surgery that brought to an end all notions of perhaps breeding him. Now, he must not be allowed to lick himself in a certain place or to bite at stitches.
In the afternoon, I headed to Metro for the usual hot drink, then took the long way home. As I did, I was so overcome by sleepiness that I stopped at this secluded place, closed my eyes and feel alseep listening to All Things Considered.
When I sort of awoke a few minutes later, I shot this image with my iPhone.
I then drove home the even longer way and shot this image by iPhone, too. The battery was still dead in my pocket camera, that's why.
This was yesterday. I awoke this morning to the sound of more rain. Another weather record broken.
Reader Comments (7)
makes you wonder about this strange weather. Great blog today..a little bit of everything . The boys are growing up so fast .
I've missed you. I'm sure I missed a post or 2, but glad you are back.
The balleen scrimshaw is magnificant.
Then Jobe! and Muzzy (haha)
Hi Kalib!
great post!love being able to read about my ancestors and seeing the remnants of their lifestyle like that.
I saw the score of the Barrow/Eielson game and thought of you and your post.. I was really hoping they would pull that out.
Glad you had a good trip!
That whale oil lamp is quite a find. Tim and I read along and looked at the pictures and thought how amazing it would be to suddenly discover something like that, something that your own grandparents had held in their hands again and again and again, and now, you stand holding it in your own hands years and years later. That is neat.
Poor Muzzy.
And I'm not sure what you said to poor Jobe, but he looks quite horrified, and as a loving grandpa, I'd suggest that you not say it again. Welcome home. Get some sleep.
1st post to a blog and not sure how to do it--but had to try. I love checking out your blog, and really become very emotional about your posts RE BRW. To see familiar faces and read little bits of current life--a blessing. How wonderful that you continue publishing Uiniq, Thanks for sharing your photos and observations.
Chris
Thank you Bill for keeping your heart in the eyes of the Native people. It's not every day you trip upon a web-site and the art, the struggles, the lives and the dedication you possess comes alive. We are wonderfully made in the image of God, always recreating new things with our hands and living for the good lord. He is the source of all we have in this temporary life. Keep up the inspiring work Bill. Vernon