The Calista Elders Council announced a recent grant from the National Science Foundation to work with elders and community members in coastal communities from the mouth of the Yukon Delta south to the mouth of the Kuskokwim.
This four-year project builds on CEC's partnership with Nelson Island villages between 2006 and 2010, during which elders shared close to 1,000 place names and their stories, including historic sites, hills, rivers, lakes, even underwater channels.
Elders feel strongly that young people need to know these names to keep them safe while traveling.
"That's the reason those places have names, so that a person may know where a village or river is located. Based on someone revealing that name to him, although he doesn't have a map, he can go there and know where it's located. But if he doesn't know some areas, he won't know where he is located," said Peter Matthew of Chefornak.
At a village meeting in April 2009 village representatives voted unanimously to make the website open to everyone to learn from and to enjoy. You can view the Nelson Island Place Name website at http://mapserver.eol.ucar.edu/best. All these stories, and more, have been carefully transcribed and translated by Alice Rearden with the help of David Chanar and Marie Meade.
At an April meeting, Paul John spoke about the role of documenting traditional knowledge in gaining respect for Yup'ik ways.
"If white people see these books, they will think, 'These Yup'ik people evidently are knowledgeable about things and know how to take care of their affairs independently through their traditional way of life.' Like the African-American who has become president, our young people will be able to carry out their desire to independently practice their way of living. These (books and maps) will prepare our younger generation for the time when they will start to take care of their own affairs," said John.
This new National Science Foundation project will allow CEC to continue the work begun on Nelson Island. Last month CEC director Mark John, Ann Riordan and language expert Marie Meade visited Kotlik, Emmonak, Alakanuk and Nunam Iqua.
During village meetings, elder experts worked with maps and provided close to 400 names for their area. This summer CEC staff, village elders, young people, and participating scientists will travel throughout the delta both to continue mapping and to learn more about the delta environment.
This summer, CEC will also be partnering with Calista's Land Department to hire a student intern to learn about the ARC-GIS mapping program and help put all the new Yup'ik place names on a map. This is an opportunity for a student to learn new skills while passing on priceless traditional knowledge.
Representatives from the Caninaq area as well as Chevak and Hooper Bay are also participating in this project. The hope is that the next four years will see a map created that shares place names and environmental knowledge all along the Bering Sea coast.
Work on Nelson Island as well as the work we are beginning on the Yukon Delta would not be possible without the support of many dedicated people and the organizations with whom they work, including Steve Street of AVCP, June McAtee and Michelle Pearson of Calista's Land Office, Tom Doolittle of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Hajo Eicken and Uma Bhatt of the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks. All of these men and women have donated their time and expertise to the Calista Elders Council to help us better understand what elders have shared. We could not do what we do without them. Elders have so much to teach, and we have so much to learn. Quyanaqva!
For more information, contact Mark John, CEC executive director, at mjohn@calistacorp.com or Ann Fienup-Riordan, CEC anthropologist at riordan@alaska.net.
For information about Calista's summer internship program, see Calista's website at www.calista.com.
Ann Fienup-Riordan is an anthropologist with the Calista Elders Council. This story is posted with permission from Alaska Newspapers Inc., which publishes six weekly community newspapers, a statewide shopper, a statewide magazine and slate of special publications that supplement its products year-round.