Kotlik Days 24-28: The End

Well this is it, the end of my pilot trip to Kotlik, Alaska. So I guess I should conclude my Kotlik posts my discussing my final days here. Friday afternoon I met with the two elder’s I have been working with and did some elicitation and listened to some stories they had to tell, which was fantastic, and then we discussed what I am thinking for my next trip out. I also gave them some honey macadamia nuts and Hawaiian pineapple-strawberry tea just to say thank you for all the help. After they left I went down along the river again and did some hiking. Unfortunately the past week or so has been rainy pretty much every afternoon and through the night, so it was muddy, and wet. But it was still a good time overall.

On Saturday I really just spent some time walking around the village and saying goodbye to everybody who is not at camp. I also saw my husky puppy again. He is so awesome, he was quite intent on digging up something up, which happened to be under a piece of plywood that was covered by several inches of dirt and grass. He was cute trying to lift the plywood up, and then failing that digging even deeper and attempting to stick his head under the wood. He didn’t succeed and decided to come say hi to me, so we sat together for a while and played fetch and tug-a-war with a stick for a bit. I was actually talking to some people who came by and they said they were impressed because they try petting him sometimes and feeding him, but he runs off every time someone gets close, so he must really like me or something. :) So I’ve decided to name him nusurtarlicungaq ([nusuxtaxlichungaq] which means “the cute little wild one” pretty much), it’s a fitting name for him. I wish I could spirit him away with me but his adventurous spirit would be stifled on a tropical island. So, instead I hope he grows a long warm winter coat and survives the winter so I can see him again next year when he’s probably much bigger.

Saturday evening then, there was an Eskimo dance at the community center but this time instead of kids doing the singing and dancing it was the elders and the adults. It was really cool, and they did a great job! Eskimo dancing is awesome and each dance is different and goes with each song, so together the song and dance tell a story. The stories can be about anything from moose hunting or seal hunting, or fishing, or taking a bath, or someone’s misadventure, or anything really. A lot of the community showed up, and I was able to say goodbye to people and talk to elders again, while watching them all dance and have fun. All in all it was a great night!

Today then is my last day here, mostly I just made sure my work was all backed up and tidied up, and then packed up my stuff. A couple of the search and rescuers came back a few days ago, so they made me a farewell dinner of spaghetti and meatballs tonight and said I should join them for breakfast tomorrow before I leave. We were joined for dinner by some of the Kotlik Police Department and we talked and had a good time. One of the guys who joined us is on the tribal council and we talked about my project and how the council was excited to hear I was coming out and working with the language because they’d love to have the Kotlik dialect documented as it is different from the central dialect but hasn’t been worked on. So it was pretty neat to hear that they do want me out here and want me to come back. We also talked about the culture and the merging of the new and the old, and some of the problems that’s having (like an overabundance of beavers which is causing a decrease in the number of salmon). Since then I’ve basically just been chilling out and wondering how this could be my last day already! I’ve done a lot of work and had a lot fun, the village of Kotlik is awesome and I love it! But it also feels like I just got here, and haven’t seen or done nearly enough. I know I still have a lot of work to do in my documenting work and I’ve only seen the very tip of the iceberg on this trip. So I will be back, I hope. I still have to see seal and moose hunting, go berry picking, learn much more of the language, make a spear for myself, and so on and on. So It’s been a great time and I’ve made good friends and done good work and can’t wait to come back again!

Tomorrow I leave Kotlik at 11am and head to Stebbins (a 20 minute flight) then head to St. Michaels (a 6 minute flight) and then go to Unalakleet (a 30 minute flight) where I have a several hour layover and I hope I can take a quick hike around the village and check it out for a bit. The St. Michaels region is about half Yup’ik and half Inupiaq, which are related languages but about as different as English and German are, and then Unalakleet is in the lower region of the Inupiaq speaking area). Then I leave Unalakleet and head to Anchorage (about an 1 hour 40 minute flight). And after another layover in Anchorage I leave to Colorado arriving Tuesday morning. So tomorrow will be a busy day of traveling. I kinda wish I could stay here in Kotlik forever but I guess I have my own family and puppy to see :) not to mention tons of work to do with the data I just gathered, and I have to prep for this upcoming semester and all. So like I said I will be back here next year. It’s been a great time and I hope you all have enjoyed reading about it! I’ll probably keep posting to this blog but it will turn to more linguistic-y things and over the semester I’ll document my teaching experiences!

Until then, Piurra!

P.S. I'll probably add a post with a bunch of pictures from this trip at some point within the first few days back in the lower 48. So look for that if you want to see those :)