Winter in Tuluksak

It's been a busy few weeks in Tuluksak with a basketball tournament, community-wide Thanksgiving feast, and the start of real winter weather. 

The basketball tournament was put on by the school as a fundraiser for the food for the Thanksgiving dinner. I volunteered to organize the tournament, and while I don't want that job again for a long, LONG time, it was overall a successful event. There were four men's team and three women's teams who signed up to play in the tournament. Each player had to pay a $10 to play. We also charged admission and opened the student store to sell food and drinks during the games. 

People in the village LOVE basketball. We had around 200 spectators come out and they were able to watch some very "spirited" games, but also a high level athleticism by the players--I was impressed by the level of play. The pace of life is different in the village, so both days games didn't actually start until the players showed up over an hour after I had planned to start. Being a fairly punctual person I had to actively practice patience, but once things got rolling I enjoyed meeting new people in the village and spending time with others I knew. 

The teams didn't have any uniforms, but these guys know each other so well they always knew who they should be passing to. 

The crowd was mostly students. I think some of them ate their weight in freezies and popcorn over the weekend :)

While we waited for the teams to get ready, we let the kids play some short games. They were really fun to watch. 

This game was boys vs. girls. Tutus and socks welcome

Unfortunately, we had an eventful end to the tournament. During the last few minutes of the men's championship game, a Village Police Officer (VPO) came in and informed me that there was someone shooting at people in the village and we needed to lockdown the school. So, when the game was over everyone spent an extra hour hanging out in the gym while we waited for the State Troopers to fly into the village and take the man away. The shooter fired 13 rounds but no one was injured. As stressful as it was, I am thankful that many of the kids in the village were safe in the gym while that was going on. 

Two days after the tournament, the school hosted a Thanksgiving meal for everyone in the village. Thanksgiving dinner in the village is called the Quyana Feast because quyana (koy-yawn-nah) means "thank you" in Yup'ik. At the feast, the teachers served turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn and pumpkin cake to over 350 kids, adults and elders in the village. It was a bit crowded and chaotic, but overall a nice event that helped to promote school and community relations. 

The line for food snaked through the gym and then into the cafeteria called the "Hall of Elders" because of the photos of community members that adorns it. The Hall of Elders also features a dog sled, kayak and some fish traps.

Students from all grade levels decorated tables with Thanksgiving art that could be taken home by the community. Our high schoolers wrote things they were thankful for on the table cloths which included basketball, Slim Shady, family and even teachers!

The door decorating contest this month was about character traits. The trait I was assigned was "thoughtfulness." After a couple of google searches for inspiration, my students and I put together a "snow thoughtful" door complete with snowflakes with ways to be thoughtful written on them. When we were done, they were all annoyed with my snow puns, but our door got first place, so it was "snow" worth it :)

The weather the last couple of weeks is finally meeting my Alaskan expectations with high temps in the single digits and a covering of snow on the ground.

The hill in front of the school has become the most popular place in the village since the snow fell. It's an ideal sledding slope with stairs "attached" for when it gets extra slippery and you need to make it back to the top.

The hill has been used so much it has been compressed in some areas into ice lanes that the kids don't even need sleds to slide down. 

The weather has created some great winter walking conditions. 

 The river isn't frozen enough to take a snow-go on yet, but the sloughs are which has opened up some new territory for Birkie and I to explore. 

Although I just had a very restful break at Thanksgiving, I am counting down the days (10) until winter break when I will leave the village for the first time since August. Birkie and I will be spending time in Anchorage and Seward and I'm really excited to see some new parts of the state and to be back in the "real world" for a bit. 

Birkie would probably rather stay on the couch with her bear over break than have to fly in a plane again, but once we get to Anchorage I think she'll enjoy the dog parks and glacier hiking. I know I'll enjoy internet, pizza and probably a couple adult beverages. 

I Wish Every Week Was "Culture Week"

This week was "Culture Week" for high school students. During this week, community members and elders came into the school to teach students traditional and practical skills. Our regular class schedule was put on hold so that students could complete several projects and have lots of time to interact with the elders. An intensive like this has not happened in the school for a long time, so myself and the other high school teachers didn't quite know what to expect or how to plan. Overall, it was a great success with some wonderful things being made and lots of positive experiences for the elders, students and teachers. This week was absolutely my favorite week of my teaching experience here thus far. 

Here are some photos from the week:

The week began with elders talking with students about why their culture, and listening to those who know it, is important. They told some stories about the old ways, gave some advice on what to do if you are lost in the woods and reminded students of Yup'ik values. These values include being welcoming to everyone and helping take care of everyone in the village. 

After listening to some stories, the students split into groups of boys and girls. Traditionally, the women and girls do certain jobs and the men and boys do certain jobs. We honored this tradition and spent most of the week in separate groups. 

The girls began their week by cutting fabric to make qaspeqs (kuspuks) which are traditional over shirts worn by many Alaska native groups. 

The elder women cut the fabric for the qaspeqs from memory, without using any patterns. They instructed the students to watch carefully so they can learn to do the same. 

After cutting the fabric, it was time to sew. Some girls hand sewed parts of their qaspeqs, but most used the machines. 

Final fittings!

After mostly watching the first day, the girls became confident seamstresses as the week went on.

The girls also spent time beading. Some made jewelry and others beaded designs onto leather, traditionally called skin sewing. 

I have done some beading before, but not at the same level of difficulty that my students were capable of. A couple of students very patiently taught me a new bracelet pattern. One of my favorite parts of this week was seeing how proud students were when they were sharing their knowledge with me. 

I'm thankful that my mom taught me some basic sewing and beading skills so I could sometimes keep up with the skilled ladies around me. I was able to make a couple pairs of fleece "thank you socks" for the elders. Unlike them, I was very dependent on my paper pattern. 

One of my favorite photos from the week.  Great grandma and great granddaughter making gifts for each other. 

The boys also had a busy and productive week. They made fish traps out of willows, uluaqs (curved blades used for cutting meat), manaqing (ice fishing) sticks and carved spoons and bowls. 

Preparing the willows for the fish trap.

Learning how to assemble the trap. 

Using modern tools to make traditional bowls. 

On our final day, we made moose soup! The moose meat was donated by our principal. The girls used uluaqs to cut the meat and vegetables. 

Busy group of ladies finishing projects. 

We made huge pot of moose soup. There were still leftovers after the entire high school had some. The rest was given to a family that lost an elder on Tuesday. The man who passed was the Uppa (grandpa) of several of my students. It is a Yup'ik practice that when someone dies, the body stays in the home for a week before the burial. During this week, the village visits and says their goodbyes. The family is not allowed to work, cook or clean during this week so the village brings them food and helps them with chores. 

On Friday afternoon, we had an assembly where the high school students shared their hard work with the rest of the school. 

The girls looked beautiful in their qaspeqs! 

Our assembly ended with Yuraq---Yup'ik dancing and drumming. 

It is going to be tough going back to "normal teaching" on Monday, but I'm hoping to incorporate some more activities into my lessons that the elders can help with. They have a very powerful presence when they are in the school. The high school is planning to have more culture intensives in the winter and spring. 

Today was the first snow in Tuluksak! Although it will probably melt, it was nice to see. There were lots of kids out trying to sled by the school. I am looking forward to more snow, and the ground freezing so the muddy conditions will be gone for a while. 

Snowy school

Birkie is happy it finally snowed too. We had a great sunny and snowy walk.

With the snow, comes the worry that days with running water are possibly ending soon. I have a LOT of water stored, but also have a system ready if I need to melt and filter snow this winter :)

Water, "Witchcraft" and Western Ways

Water

Today was a school day.....and a Saturday. Water complications on Thursday resulted in school being cancelled after first period, and a make-up day today. Lack of water also caused a late start last Friday. There are several factors that have contributed to water problems thus far including clogged pipes, leaks and poor welds, but the most common issue has been the individual in charge of the water being unreliable. I don't know for sure if the cause of this unreliability is kass'aq hatred, laziness, lack of sobriety, or a combination of these, but I can speculate that when the temperature lowers, not having water flowing through the pipes regularly will cause some serious problems. Last year, the school and teacher housing were without water for 6 weeks, but life carried on with honey buckets and bottled water being flown in. This year we are not allowed to have school if there is no water, so some school employees are a bit anxious thinking about how a lengthly school closure in the winter might impact our contract days and summer.  

"Witchcraft"

Our Superintendent was in the village this week visiting classrooms and meeting with community members. At a school board meeting,  Tuluksak Native Council (TNC) members voiced their concerns about the amount of alcohol and crime that has been present in the village in recent weeks. They said "it has never been this bad." The State Troopers were here twice this week taking people to jail, unfortunately including a former student. It is my belief that there is only so much that policing can do against systemic problems. 

Attendance was also discussed at this meeting. This week was better for attendance in the high school than last week, but it was still very low. Adults in the village really want there to be a school basketball team, but they will not wake up in time to send their kids to school so that they are eligible to play on the team. Last year there was not enough eligible students to have a basketball team.  People in the village decided the teachers were to blame for this, not the parents who weren't sending their kids to school. Teachers are bracing for a similar response this year. 

This "blame game" is a real problem for school/community relations. Another concern discussed at the meeting was brought up by the local Pastor. He stated that teachers at the school were condoning students playing with Ouija boards and the game "Charlie Charlie" (using pencils to talk to ghosts). This is obviously false, but it is a rumor that is circulating through the village and is problematic because many people here believe that these games are very real and very satanic. The belief in these games is serious enough that the Pastor claimed they were to blame for a series of suicides that has occurred recently in coastal villages. 

Western Ways

Recently, I have found myself having to actively work at being understanding of some of the attitudes and practices I encounter in the village. I cannot understand what it is to be Yup'ik or to have grown up in the village, so I am trying to withhold judgement when I experience things I find unpleasant. There are many people here who are kind and welcoming. There are others who hate all white people and make that known. One employee at the post office will not even acknowledge me or get my packages if I am the only one there. She said she was  "tired of being interrupted" (by kass'aqs.) 

The TNC has put a $20 bounty on all stray dogs. I knew that this happens in the village, but knowing is different than hearing. My co-worker witnessed a brutal shooting of a dog right in front of the school. I was told that even dogs with collars that are tied outside houses are not safe during this time, so I no longer put Birkie outside. I understand that population control is necessary. What bothers me is that these dogs are not wild native animals. They were originally brought here by people, and irresponsible ownership allowed their numbers to grow. Some people in the village keep them as pets, but others throw rocks at them and shoot them for fun. I try to remind myself that is it my Western values that taught me to see dogs as pets, but at times I can't help but feel that this treatment of animals in unethical. 

Good Stuff 

As bummed as I was to have Saturday school, I really enjoyed spending time with the 10 students who showed up today. We spent the day watching documentaries, coloring decorations for the "Anit-Bullying Door Contest," making paper airplanes and eating snacks :) The days like today spent with students make all the challenges and chaos manageable. 

All classrooms in the school had to decorate their doors with a Halloween theme showing a "safe school" because October is Anti-Bullying month.

I am proud to say that a student came up with the "Stop a (skele) Ton of Bullying" pun. Still a work in progress, but I really like our door. 

Next week are parent-teacher conferences and a Halloween carnival at school. I am mostly looking forward to both. 

"October is Hard"

Many people told me "October is hard" when it comes to living and teaching in the villages. It's hard because Permanent Fund Dividends mean many students leave for extended periods of time to shop in Bethel or Anchorage. It's hard because alcohol follows the money into the village. It's hard because student motivation dwindles as the effects of that alcohol disrupts their lives. It's hard because weather can be cold and rainy which limits access to the outside world. For me, I've found it hard because things I felt optimistic about at the beginning of the year seem to be unravelling. 

Last week, a good day for attendance in the high school would be when 20 of 39 students showed up. Most days, we had about 15 students. It's frustrating that there is a disconnect between students wanting to do well in school, and actually showing up. Some of the brightest students in our school showed up one or two days last week and on that day wanted to make up all the work they had missed, which is just not a possibility in most classes. I really enjoy my students as people. They are kind, adventurous and funny. Unfortunately, very few of them place any value on education. Or if they do, their parents don't. 

When I first arrived in Tuluksak, I was told by people that this is a "broken" village, and that it is the "most dysfunctional place in Alaska." I don't think I would describe quite like that, but I can understand how it earned those reputations. Even people who have lived here most of their lives recognize the dysfunction. The Yup'ik language teacher at my school will proudly say how all of her children so far have "gotten out," meaning they have moved out of the village. Some of my students have the same goal. Those who want to stay, are not able to articulate what they see themselves doing in the future. 

It isn't very difficult to trace the roots of this dysfunction. A systemic elimination of culture by the government, regulations that made subsistence practices more difficult, mandated schooling that ended seasonal transient lifestyles, the introduction of drugs and alcohol, availability of modern media that depicts Native Alaskan lifestyles as backwards and no job opportunities to replace the lost hunting and gathering "jobs." What is difficult is to try and think of a viable plan that could improve life in the village. I believe one of the first steps would be eliminating "dominant culture" schools and the non-native teachers who occupy them. 

I don't see any changes happening soon, so I will continue to do the best I can to provide my students with the most relevant education I can. 

Some Good and Not-so-Good Things

I like to end on a high note, so I'll start with the not so good.

Two weeks ago our school had a lock down. We have not yet had a drill practicing lock down procedures, so I'm thankful for the practice I had at North Star. There was a man in the village, likely intoxicated, who was going around shooting at people with a shotgun. At one point he came uncomfortably close to the school. My class and I sat in the corner of the classroom in the dark for about 45 minutes until the State Troopers arrived in the village to assist the Village Police Officers (VPOs) in apprehending the man. Thankfully no one in the village was hit/injured.

Yesterday I was supposed to fly to Anchorage to go to a conference on building resiliency in students. I was really excited; had my sub plans ready, dog sitter ready, big empty bag to fill with Anchorage groceries ready. A"series of unfortunate events" resulted in me still being in Tuluksak. First, our plane was on weather hold so we missed our first flight out of Bethel. Then when the planes were able to fly, the one sent to Tuluksak did not have enough seats for everyone. By the time the plane came back for the remaining 3 of us and we got to Bethel, the last flight to Anchorage for the day, that our colleagues had made it on, was overbooked.  So the three of us spent about a half hour in Bethel airports then booked a last minute charter flight back to Tuluksak. The ultimate bummer.

But! There has been some good stuff happening in this crazy part of the world. I am the student council advisor (at least until our last remaining members become ineligible--a story for another post!). Student council has been helping with planning "Fun Friday" activities where the high school spends time doing "fun" stuff Friday afternoons in an attempt to encourage students to attend. So far, student council has made pizza and cookies for the rest of the high school to enjoy while we watch  movies. I really like getting to spend time with students outside of academic settings, and some  have been really helpful when planning these activities. Here's some photos:

Pizza Chefs!

Student Council made the dough the night before and then all students at Fun Friday chose their toppings.

They turned out delicious! 

We ended up making over a hundred chocolate chip cookies.

After just one burnt batch figuring out how to use the kitchen's ovens, the rest came out perfect!

Our clean up crew did a great job too!

We had lots of cookies, so we wrapped up some with thank you cards and gave them to school employees.

I have my Leadership class make flyers for Student Council meetings. I enjoyed the "simplicity" of this one :)

Here are some more photos of October in Tuluksak:

This is the school's main mode of transportation for people and supplies. Unfortunately, vandalism (especially in the form of rock throwing) is a common past time among children in the village, and the school's vehicles are tantalizing targets. 

My cozy house :) Also occasionally the victim of the rock-throwers

My "yard." Complete with view of fuel/water holding tanks and other teacher housing. 

The Alaskan sky does some beautiful things. I have yet to wake up to see the Aurora, but I plan to next time its around.

Going to school on a clear morning a few weeks ago. Mornings are much darker now. 

One good thing to come out of my failed trip to Anchorage were some pictures from the bush plane. The Kusko (Kuskokwim River) was exceptionally still on this flight. 

The sun was setting on the way back from my brief visit in Bethel. It lit up the delta nicely.