Point Lay Biographies: Portraits of four elders unveiled to launch new curriculum; there is cake, Eskimo dancing

As is customary at virtually all Iñupiat gatherings, the evening ceremonies began with an invocation. Nora Itta delivered it. Readers from places other than Point Lay might be wondering what the standing yellow and black papers are for.

The papers are veils and underneath all but one stand separate portraits of four Point Lay elders, both living and dead. Under the fifth is an enlarged reproduction of a book cover incorporating all four portraits. The elders were interviewed by Yvonne Yarber in the late 1980's on behalf of the Minerals Management service. They told the histories of their own lives, and the history of Point Lay as they had witnessed and heard about it.

Jana Harcharek, the Director of Iñupiaq Education for the North Slope Borough School District, first read the Point Lay Biographies document produced by MMS years ago. She immediately recognized the value of the biographies to all students on the North Slope. In time, she obtained permission from Yarber and MMS to repackage the biographies into a book suitable for North Slope students.

The book is now published, but until this evening, very few people had seen it. The first to get the opportunity would be the community of Point Lay.

In her presentation, Jana was preceeded by NSBSD Chair Debby Edwardson and Superintendent Peggy Cowan.

The first portrait to be unveiled was of the late Dorcas Neakok. Dorcas was born in Kiana. As a young woman, she married Allen Upicksoun, a widower with "many childrebn" and settled into Point Lay, built by a coal mine. Dorcas and Allen had four more children of their own and then he died. Warren Neakok then looked after Dorcas and her children. The two married and had six more children of their own.

In the 1950's, the village nearly emptied. Several residents were sent to Outside cities such as San Francisco and Chicago as part of the Indian Relocation Act and others left to move to Barrow, Point Hope and other places. Only Dorcas and Warren remained to hold the village site for the day Dorcus knew would come and her family and community would return.

Before Point Lay could get the bowhead quota to allow the village to resume hunting, they had to prove whaling was part of their tradition and history. Dorcas had described her participation in a whale hunt in a letter she had written decades before and so was able to provide the proof.

She also talked about whaling when she spoke to Yvonne Yarber to do her biography:

"Tony Joule got a crew together for each of those boats. The open lead was way out so they had to travel far. I don't know how many miles out they had to go. You couldn't see land from out there - only the mountains way to the south. Maybe twenty-five miles? They each got a whale but it was tough work.

"They cut the whales in pieces in the water because there were not enough people here to pull them out. There were over a hundred people but that wasn't enough for those big whales. Everybody went out to help except a few woman taking care of the babies back at the village. We had to cut fast so the whales wouldn't get smelly."

Lily Anniskett, daughter of Dorcas and Warren, holds the portrait as other family members gather behind. As she recalls her mother, Lily weeps a little bit.

The portrait of Amos Agnassagga, who was born in Point Lay, went Outside on the Indian Relocation Program and served as Mayor for many years and was the lead hunter in the village's annual beluga hunt which takes place every year about the Fourth of July, was unveiled last.

I have not yet read the entire biographies, but for this post I found the online, MMS version and quickly pulled out a quote each from all four. Amos recalled his grandmother:

"I grew up with my grandma Tunuallak when I was smaller. She was a special person to me, a little lady, and very friendly. She made me lots of skin clothes. That was good, I was never cold. you know. I used to hunt ptarmigan for her quite a bit before school in the morning and after school. I learned how to handle a rifle to hunt sea animals and caribou when I was very young. Matter of fact, I grew up doing that, going out with my dad. I used to do a lot of walking. It was good for me.

"I'm glad I had a trapline to walk - even my father and grandfather - the people them days used to walk quite a bit in the summertime. Nowadays you don't see any of that. I'm glad it happened that way though. It was a good education."

All four portraits, unveiled. Next to Amos is Pualu Paul Tazruk and beside him, Kate Peterson.

After a time of famine in Alaska, the government introduced reindeer from the Scandinavain countries and Tazruk was born near Point Lay, out with with reindeer herders about 1915. In his biography, he recalled an encounter with two polar bears:

"My uncle had also told me, if a polar bear starts after me, keep going away to it's right. He said the left arm of the polar bear is very agile. It would use that arm to slap or grab me. It uses it's left to hunt animals. The left arm and rear are very strong. They are just the same. 'Remember, stay to the right if a polar bear starts going after you,' my uncle told me. I put that information in my brain."

His uncle had also told him, "With this spear, if a polar bear is making you weak, poke the polar bear in the eye if it goes after you." As the two bears came after him:

"I thought of his words, just when I was getting hot. When the polar bear tried to hit me again, I poked it in the eye. It started going around in circles. I found out I had punctured the eye and burst it. After remembering what my uncle had said, I poked the other bear in the eye with the spear. When they were both going around in circles, I walked over to my rifle and shot them. I was safe. I was not injured, even though they were trying to maul me. I killed both of the polar bears using my spear in their eyes."

Kate Peterson was born in Barrow and spent most of her growing up years in the Prudhoe Bay - Beechy Point area. She moved to Point Lay when she married her first husband, Dan Susuk:

"I had nine kids. All of them saw their grandma before she died - even the youngest one, Jack. Six boys and three girls. There was Robert, Jimmy, Roy, Ione. Mattie, Rhoda. Alec, and two Jacks. My first little boy Jack died so I made another one, same way with Robert. They kept me busy all the time. I cooked big pots of soup, washed dishes, washed and sewed my kids clothes. There was no washing machine, just a washer board.

"I hung the clothes in the house until April when it started to warm up outside. I made their mukluks and parkas, mittens and hats. As my girls grew, they helped me with the dishes and learned how to sew. I'd give them a candy bar when they were done and they'd get happy. The boys would shovel the stairs and clean the qanitchat (Arctic entry) and shake the blankets outside. They always obeyed me but not my husband. I'd go to the store first and get candy bars. That made them happy.

"I miss those times. My boys left me and passed away. They always helped when they were growing."

Holding posters of the book are Dorcas's daughter Marie Tracey and Lily Anniskett, Allen Upicksoun - who is like a brother to Amos, Pualu's daughter Bertha and Kate Peterson's son-in-law, whaling captain Julius Rexford.

Special cakes, featuring the portraits, were baked, photographed, cut and eaten.

Bertha Tazruk often danced to the drum beat of her late father, Pualu. Sometimes, she danced with him. After the cakes were cut and eaten, the village held an Eskimo dance. Bertha danced alongside her father's portrait.

Watching the dance.

Dance drummers. Two groups performed.

Families and friends of those honored pose with their pictures.

The books will be available in all the schools on the Arctic Slope and will be used as a curricullum to guide students who will go out into their communities to do elder interviews themselves.

Comments

[Donna Huff-Ahvakana]

I am so grateful that our elders get to have their stories published. Most I think are my relatives and I have never had the chance to get to know many of them. I've met some but not many. I was raised in a Children's home away from my family and home and treasure the times when I meet relatives and hearing stories about my grandparents. Quyannaq!
My material grandparents were Tony and Annie Joule. My paternal grandparents were Eva Siutook and C. Paul Huff. My parents were Vera Mary Joule and Alfred William Huff.

[Alaska Pi]

This post made tears run down my face.
These stories. What a treasure.
For everyone, family, friends, neighbors...