Katie John, champion of traditional Alaska Native fishing and hunting rights and culture bearer, becomes Dr. Katie John: Part 1 - getting there

The graduation ceremony in Tok was scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM. I figured it would take close to six hours to drive there and so I figured that I had better give myself seven hours, just in case. My travels and time on the Arctic Slope, coupled with the many nights of limited sleep that I had experienced visiting whale camps offshore from Point Hope and Barrow, had left me close to exhausted.

Plus, Jimmy, my good black cat, was so glad to have me home that he kept waking me up all through the night and so I did not get much sleep at all. 

Still, a bit after 6:00 AM, although it felt impossible, I forced myself to rise from my bed, stumble to the shower, then drive to the gas station, fill my tank, buy a breakfast burrito, muffin and coffee. Then I drove and I was happy to drive, for it was a day of brilliant beauty in the Matanuska Valley.

As I neared Eureka, a young moose darted onto the highway in front of me. I applied my brakes and so the moose made it safely to the other side of the road.

Now I found myself headed toward the Wrangell Mountains. Ahead of me, blue sky was giving way to overcast.

And then, as I worked my way north up the Copper River Valley, I found myself in a mild snowstorm amidst temperatures in the 20's.

A little road cuts into these mountains not far from here and leads to the village of Mentasta, where Katie John lives and where I crashed my airplane, the Running Dog. I drove on by, headed for Tok.

As the tourist season had yet to begin, there was very little traffic on the road and no active construction sites that I had to stop or slow down for so, even though I was on the ground, I virtually flew to Tok and arrived in not much more than five hours. This gave me plenty of time to eat lunch and then to head over to the community center, where Katie John - about to become Dr. Katie John - would be honored for the first of three times.

She would not be alone. Tok is the home of the Interior-Aleutians Campus of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and this was graduation day. Inside, I found a cake with Katie's name on it - along with the other 14 students who would graduate with her here on this day.

And in a reception room just beyond the cakes, I found Katie, waiting for the ceremonies to begin. I have mentioned that in Alaska, the role Katie played in standing up to the State of Alaska to fight for the traditional fishing rights that Alaska Native people have held since time-immemorial have caused many to liken her to Rosa Parks.

It is a good analogy, but when I saw her, sitting there at the age of 95 with a ceremonial staff and eagle feather, I could not help but also think of the many warriors and tribal leaders of the original nations of the Lower 48 who had fought for the rights of their people.

From there, I followed the sound of the excited voices of young people. This led me to where the Ahtna Heritage Dancers, many of them direct descendants of Katie, who had come to honor their grandma and those who would graduate with her this day, were making the final adjustments to their hair and regalia.

Then I returned to the reception room, where Katie had been joined by her granddaughter, Kathryn Martin, who on this day would receive her bachelor's degree. Both now wore their robes and caps - plus the red sashes worn as a token of honor by all UAF Native graduates.

Before this day ends, I plan to put up all the posts covering the honoring of Katie John, both in Tok and Fairbanks, so check back later.

View images as slide show

Just prior to the honoring of Katie John, I see a Marine Corp veteran of the Vietnam War stop at a red light

This is not what I intended to post today, but it is 12:22 AM and I just drove into my driveway in Wasilla after adding 1000 miles to my odometer over the weekend as I made my way to three ceremonies for Katie John - one in Tok, two in Fairbanks. All this driving and ceremony coverage immediately followed my two weeks in the Arctic, so I am feeling kind of sleepy right now.

What I decided to do, then, so that I could post something quick and then go to bed, was to grab the very first picture that I took today - or rather, yesterday, Sunday.

This is the first picture. I took it at the stoplight on University Avenue and Airport Drive in Fairbanks. I was driving to Sam's Sourdough Cafe to eat a breakfast of ham, eggs, hashbrowns and sourdough pancakes. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day with temperatures that would rise into the mid-60's - an amazing thing to experience after two weeks spent largely on the Arctic ice, followed by a drive that had taken me through a snow storm and sub-freezing temperatures.

I wonder what this Marine's life story is? What kind of journey has he taken from there to here? I sure would like to know. If you ever see this, Marine, and care to share your story, just get ahold of me and I will help you tell it. If not, that's okay.

No pressure. No pressure at all.

After breakfast, I went straight to the site of the UAF graduation and very quickly found Katie John and then followed her through the process.

After I get some sleep, I will begin to piece together the story of the last three days and then post it Tuesday, probably in three to five parts. Then I will get back to the story of my most recent Arctic travels.

On my way to Tok and Fairbanks to witness the honoring of Katie John

This is Ahtna Athabascan elder Katie John addressing then-Governor Tony Knowles at her fishcamp at Batzulnetas on Tanada Creek in the summer of 2001. When she was small, her father would bring her family here and they would  catch salmon. Tanada Creek flows into the Copper River about 200 yards from this spot and it was there where, following in her father's way, Katie John once set up a fishwheel only to have a state ranger tell her she must take it down.

It may not look like it, but Katie John is fighting here - fighting for the rights of herself, her family, and all Alaska Natives to fish to feed their families free from state interference, as their ancestors had. So far, in an an extremely long and complicated battle that had gone to the US Supreme Court and just about back again.

She had won the latest appeal and now there was one step left - the US Supreme Court, and that step was in the hands of Governor Knowles. He had a deadline to appeal and if he did not, her victory would become permanent. Yet, it would also mean that the federal government, not the state, would have jurisdiction over navigable waters that the state now wanted to claim.

Knowles was under tremendous pressure from inside and outside Alaska government and it appeared that he likely would appeal. First, though, he wanted to visit Katie at her fish camp. Then he would make his final decision. This is that visit. After listening to Katie, he decided not to appeal. She had then won.

On Sunday, Katie, who is also highly respected for her contributions to the preservation and teaching of her Native language and culture, will be awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree. She helped create the Ahtna alphabet and dictionary. Through the summer camps that she has sponsored at Batzulnetas and other events, she has also labored lovingly to teach their culture to the children of her area. She and her husband, Mentasta Traditional Chief Fred John, raised 14 children and six foster children of their own John will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Today, she will be honored in a pre-graduation ceremony in Tok. I plan to be at both.

I do not expect to make any further posts until Monday, after I return home. Then I will share more.

Brief stop at home - Jimmy goes crazy, won't leave me alone for a moment

I stepped into the house at about 1:30 this morning, looked down the hall and saw Jimmy step out of our bedroom. He saw me, and came bounding straight to me. Since then, he has refused to leave me alone, whether I be sleeping, eating, feeding fish, computering or whatever.

He is simply all over me - climbing on my lap, my shoulders, stepping onto my keyboard.

And now I must leave him again.

It is off to Tok I go, where Ahtna Matriarch Katie John, also known as Alaska's Rosa Parks for her long fight to take back her traditional fishing rights after the state tried to take them away, will be honored. On Sunday, she will receive her honorary PhD from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

And congratulations to Saggan crew in Barrow for landing a whale this morning.

I wish it had come while I was still there with you on the ice, but the important thing is that it came and the people of Barrow now have that much more to sustain them.

I know - the picture is a blur. I don't care. Seems appropriate to me. Life's a blur.

Breaking ice to keep this blog alive and hobbling along

Due to the impossibility of truly looking at photos on this malfunctioning laptop, this is a random "grab" from a series of ice-breaking shots that I took either late last night or early this morning, I can't remember for certain. Night and day tend to blend together and become to seem as one, this time of year.

I will explain later, when I can sit down at my home computer with a monitor that works and do it right.

I had planned to fly out of Barrow for Anchorage tonight, and then drive home to Wasilla, so that I would have two days to square things away and maybe get a little rest before getting up early Friday morning to make the six hour drive to Tok.

But I think now that I will stay here, mostly on the ice, until tomorrow night. 

I have just come in after three days on the ice to recharge my camera and phone batteries. I will head back out, shortly.

Today, btw, begins the time when the sun remains above the Barrow horizon 24 hours a day, from now until August 2.