Alaska trip

Return from Unalakleet - 4/9/04

The village itself is actually besides the point. Living away from the crowds and over development of cities is part of it. Living near the natural resources that sustain life is another.

One local man trapped 15 wolverines this winter. "Amazing, since they are apparently so rare," I was told. I am not entirely comfortable with this train of thought. What can one man need 15 wolverines for? Unless he shares the furs with the rest of the village to trim parka hoods and such. I can believe in the value of wearing fur at -50 to -80 deg F (without wind chill!!!). The fur keeps your face from freezing. Wolverine is best because snow and ice will not stick to the fur. I can see the need for subsistence living here -- with the costs of basic items in the store!

Shampoo $4.50

Cheese $3.99

Crackers $4.59

Hot dogs $7.00

Eggs $2.79

Chopmeat $3.49/lb

Apple juice $4.59/quart

Milk $6.99/gallon

Sugar $6.50 5/lbs

Wash cloth $5.49

I could go on and on...

I am also concerned with conservation. I don't <i>know</i> how many wolverines are out there. Can this village of 600 deplete the local populations? The Yup'ik say this is a free country and they should be free to live as their ancestors did. Fran eats wild bird's eggs. What birds? Are they enangered? There are international laws to protect migratory birds' nesting sites. Can 600 people over-hunt here? I don't know.

The restaurant at Brown's Lodge serves chicken-egg omelets for breakfast and hamburgers for lunch. I imagine that most of the whites who live here eat the beef, pork, and chicken packed into the freezer section of the store along side the Freschetta pizzas and Marie Calendar's frozen dinners.

On the up side, I had a great time talking with Fran Degnan (although I was disappointed that I did not end up getting to meet any of the other knitters.) Fran is an inspiring and fascinating woman who is passionate about preserving the environment with both renewable and non-renewable resources for future generations. She lives the traditional Eskimo Subsistence lifestyle, yet seems perfectly well suited to moving into the mainstream American culture when necessary to stand up for Native rights in Alaska. Meeting her was the highlight of my trip to Unalakleet.

(Plus she is a terrific knitter!, more on that later...)

<img style="border: none;" alt="" src="http://domanddonna.com/alaska/data/upimages/donnaandfran.jpg" />