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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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Tuesday
Nov152011

Congratulations, North Slope Borough Mayor Charlotte Brower; Thank you, North Slope Borough Mayor Edward Itta

DateTuesday, November 15, 2011 at 7:52PM

Charlotte Brower of Barrow made history today when the final vote was counted and she became the first woman ever to be elected Mayor of the North Slope Borough. Congratulations, Charlotte - may you serve well and lead the great Arctic Slope with strength through these times of temendous challenge into the future.

The challenges are many and great, but I am certain Mayor Brower will have strong support as she faces these issues. This being the Arctic, I also know that she will have the prayers of thousands behind her. In the Arctic, that means a lot.

Charlotte is pictured here at the wedding of Frederick, son to her and Eugene, who stands immediately behind her, to his bride, Dora Faye in June of 2005. On that day, her family and crew also celebrated the spring whale they had landed by feeding the community at Nalukatak.

I photographed the wedding and in return, Charlotte presented me with a beautiful blue parka that is my single-most cherished piece of clothing.

And thank you, Mayor Edward Itta, Saġġan, for the past six years in which you have stood strong in the face of the many challenges facing the north - from a rapidly changing climate to dealing with industry and improving health.

This is Mayor Itta singing gospel at the 2011 Kivgiq singspiration with his wife, Elsie, and family, including his mother Molly.

On the personal level, I thank Mayor Itta for the opportunity he provided me to return back to the work that I love best - documenting through Uiñiq magazine the way of life and beautiful culture that exists on the coldest yet so incredibly wonderful stretch of land and sea in North America.

On this count, I must also express my thanks to former Mayor George Ahmaogak, Sr., who lost to Charlotte at the polls today. George is the man who first took me to whale camp, later backed me up in starting Uiñiq and opened the door to the Far North that I have been so fortunate to step through.

I will be forever grateful.

Quyanaqpak to the three of you.

 

AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment4 Comments |
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Reader Comments (4)

Sounds like between Charlotte and George, it was a win-win! Congrats to Charlotte!

November 15, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterjustafarmer

Nicely done, Bill. Thanks

November 15, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDenise Wartes

Beautiful blog post Bill. :)

November 16, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterKera

What a beautiful post, Bill. Just wanted to let you know that I deeply appreciated every word you wove into this essay to celebrate the heritage and the new beginning of the North Slope. Quyanaqpak.

November 16, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterChie

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