Return

Thursday afternoon Colin and I were sure to make certain that the school knew we were leaving Friday, since the office was also the communication with the plane picking us up. The conversation almost everyone brought up when we mentioned we were flying out Friday went something like:

"Who you flying out with?"

"Grant."

"PFFFFT."

"..."

"They never fly on time, shoulda taken Shannon's. Or Dena'ina."

And thus we knew how important air travel really and truly was out there. In the winter, it is the only way to get anywhere, unless you drive snow machines, but the cost of gas can easily outweigh the cost of a plane ticket. 

We also learned that there was a reason for the response we got every time we mentioned Grant Aviation. They are periodically late, or simply not flying when the weather is iffy. We asked to make sure we got on the earlier flight just in case the weather got bad, and the earlier flight got there almost at the time the later one was supposed to.

A five hour stay in Dillingham was better than a day or more in New Stuyahok, so we got on the plane and made our way back home. I have a family friend in Dillingham that I had hoped would host us for our layover, but we all have to work, and the story is the same out there. She was busy, and we had no way to get into town from the airport unless we wanted to pay for a taxi.

So, we spent our five hours napping, eating, and lacking internet. Colin got creative and played games on his computer he didn't know he had. I plowed through a good portion of my book.

Colin examining a fish during our five hour wait in Dillingham.

Thinking back on the experience, I think it was everything it needed to be, as a guide for myself to know whether or not I would be prepared to teach out in Rural Alaska. I got to see the teachers who struggled, and the ones who did well. I saw the community and the school in different lights, and I saw that it could be really tough living in that situation. I am not sure if I could commit to it, but the experience was great, and I loved being out there. Perhaps teaching wouldn't be my calling, but I would love to have a job that takes me out to these places.

Place Based

Wednesday, March 20th

I helped skin a beaver in the Yup'ik class. I was first just observing, as Justin, the Yup'ik teacher showed one of the boys what to do. It seemed that only a few were interested in what was going on. The girls were especially disinterested, but it was strange to see how quiet everyone was, even if they weren't involved. They weren't chatty or distracting necessarily, but clearly not interested in what was going in. After a while Justin asked if any one else wanted to try and I volunteered. While I've never skinned any animals before, I felt pretty confident with it and did an alright job. This is something I've always imagined being squeamish about, but always remind myself that it is not that unnatural or scary. It's part of any hunting.

Removing stretched beaver skin after it's been dried. 

Using traditional tools that students would have made in the class beforehand, we skinned the beaver and laid the skin out to dry, and be stretched. They would not tan the skins in the village because of the cost, but would instead send them to a tannery. I felt that this was the perfect example of both traditional knowledge and learning, mixed with contemporary tools and resources. Justin and his father trapped the beavers themselves and many of the students were familiar with at least some of the methods of preparing an animal for eating or skinning.

Student skinning beaver with traditional tools.

I got to know some more of the women of the village that day. Not elders, but the mothers and middle aged women who were involved in the school and the tribal council. It's a shame almost everyone I had gotten to know left to Anchorage or Dillingham for the weekend. It took a few days to really break the ice with the locals, but the teachers were still a little distant on Wednesday. I feel like more has been learned from the natives than from the teachers, which was unexpected, but still great.


Spending the night in a large school alone has a creepy vibe to it. For the first two nights I was in the downstairs Special Ed room with my own cot and bathroom. Next door, in the Home Economics room, the Teacher Mentor, Kat was staying. I got to talk to her more about rural teaching and why we had been getting a weird vibe from the people there. We were not very well informed of our duties and expectations before we arrived, and had no contact with the school, so it left us in a strange situation where everyone thought we knew what we were doing, when we had no idea.

Spooky Hallways and Netflix

This was also the day that one of the teachers, Chuck, approached both Colin and I about our stay. We explained to him our situation, and he sort of took us under his wing for the afternoon. He was an interesting guy, and very knowledgeable about teaching in Rural Alaska. He spent about 10 years all over the state, and told us of his experiences as we walked to the Airport after school that day. Out of all of the teachers, he was the most enthusiastic man we met. He was single, he had little in terms of family outside the state, and he seemed to have a free spirit vibe about him that made me believe that some people are just meant for this type of job. 

Patience

Tuesday, March 19th

The Sunrises were pretty amazing

The teachers who have connections out of state seemed to be less enthusiastic than those who are from Alaska. I got a strong vibe from many that they were ready to leave. Not particularly because they did not like the people here, but because they felt too isolated. I know that one may be leaving because of disagreements with the district policies or expectations, but it seems like there are other reasons as well. From what I understand there are about 6 teachers leaving at the end of this school year, most of which leaving in pairs because they are married, but that cuts the staff down by about a third.

The Yup'ik classroom was huge.

And so was the wood shop.

And the metals shop

The Yup'ik Studies class was the best experience I had in the school. I got to see all of the age groups, and also see how the teachers interact with students. Both are native Yu'pik speakers and they are very well connected to the community, likely related to some students and friends to others. I feel like they were more successful because they can connect with the pre teen and teen students. The subject area is also really interesting, and relative to them. While most parents speak to their children in English, the Yup'ik language is still spoken and understood between the elders.


Speaking of elders, I had the interesting experience of seeing how involved the community is with this school. In the morning, some women come to the Yup'ik room and sit, observe, and work on their own projects silently. It's amazing how quiet and patient they are, and I think I have a lot to learn from that. The elder men often sit in the cafeteria and observe, and also get lunch provided just as the students do.

The school has amazing facilities for vocational training. Welders, woodworking tools and equipment, and the space to work on all of it is just amazing. The school is huge for the population, but it's obvious that not all of it is being used, mostly because it is not fully integrated. The school is practically deserted after 4 pm.


Something I learned by the second day was the awareness of patience. While the younger generation may not have it with many things, the older generation is extremely patient. I adore the way the elders can simply sit and observe. I feel like a child when I'm sitting and fidgeting and unable to just sit and observe like they do. I realized that the pace of life here is different. The need to fill a day from when you wake up to when you go to bed is non existent. I can't speak for the families in town, but I feel like the pace of the school day is pretty loose and not rushed.

A few more things to note:

for being a 45 minute flight away from the coast, it is mighty windy here.

The local teachers were no more welcoming the second night.

I keep hearing about how great this school is and how involved it is with the community. But the vibe I get from some teachers is a little disheartening.

The students had gotten to know me and by Tuesday and the little ones have gone from the confused and curious stage to the 'I'm going to hug you and let's play tag!' stage. I began to think that I would like to be with the younger ones rather than the old ones. More energy and willingness to learn.

The Middle of Nowhere

The Airport at New Stuyahok 

Monday, March 18

4 AM came far too early after only getting a few hours of sleep. The excitement of a plane ride, no matter the destination or length of journey is enough to keep my mind going for days before actually leaving. The plane left Fairbanks at 6, and I left my apartment with a backpack, a tightly packed sleeping bag, a neon green carry on suitcase, and a box of produce(ten pounds of carrots, two pounds of mandarin oranges, and a bag of apples). The overall plane ticket, which cost around 1000 dollars was covered by the university, as well as 100 dollars to spend on food to either take with or purchase in New Stuyahok.

Just North of Dillingham

A few things about the flights:

-You can't read much on a 1 hour flight when it's a digital format.

-Small planes are loud.

-Anchorage is gorgeous from above.

-Alaska is very big.

-You are very small.


I spent a total of about an hour in Dillingham, and from the help of a woman named Kris, Colin and I found out where to go to catch our last flight in the bush plane. Kris would come to be one of the most helpful, if not overly optimistic people in this trip. As a teacher mentor, she travels constantly around the villages to help first and second year teachers adapt and adjust to the rural setting. The pilots and staff in Dillingham referred to New Stuyahok as "New Stu" more often than not and I was beginning to assume that that was what it was called. I soon learned very differently. Everyone in town, particularly students and parents say "Stooyuck"

The Airport happened to be about two miles outside of town, which was alright, if you had a ride to and from. Turned out no one really noticed the two confused passengers of the plane helping unload freight and mail and Pepsi were the two student interns the guys in the truck were probably there to pick up.

After the truck and the plane were both gone, we were left with Jackie. The everything man. The man with the four wheeler and a trailer full of mail and Pepsi. And there we were, standing in the middle of South West Alaska as the plane buzzed off into the distance.

"Were you s'posed to be on that?" He asked through his scarf, his runny nose making a bit of a mess of it.

Colin and I looked at eachother. "Uh, no. We're supposed to be here."

"Oh. I guess that truck was for you, then, huh?"

We saw the truck off in the distance, heading towards town.

"I can give you a ride back, I guess." Jackie said, getting on his four wheeler.

It was the beginning of an interesting week.


Things about New Stuyahok:

-No one seemed to know we were coming, at least the people who get freight from the plane did. (The airport is about 2 miles out of town and the truck left without us.)

-2 mile drives on a 4 wheeler can get pretty chilly.

-Everyone in the school was wearing new shoes, Nike was particularly popular among the high schoolers.

-I am a Kass'aq.

-Basketball is HUGE. The boys' basketball team was in state finals so the talk of the school has been the game stats in Anchorage.


On the topic of the school and it's staff, Monday was pretty awkward because it felt as though no one knew what to do with us. I felt that I was either a burden, or someone that did not really belong there. The feeling came and went over the course of the day, but ultimately returned at the end of the school day when everyone was getting ready to leave.
Colin told me how he noticed I was practically throwing myself at the feet of the teachers and staff, asking what to do with the evening after school. The most prevalent response was "Go on a walk downtown" and "there's a store, and a post office." I was kind of disappointed that nothing else was really said and no one seemed to express interest in having visitors. While I know it is not anyone's obligation to host us or tell use what to do with our free time, this is a pretty big school when it's empty, and we are without any contacts to spend time with. The access to internet was an unexpected, and kind of disappointing luxury. I didn't think to bring my laptop, instead opting to bring a tablet, but after an afternoon without a keyboard or music I quickly regretted that decision.
I did not expect the people of the village to be particularly friendly or welcoming, but so far they had the nicest of the people I have met. Though they hadn't offered to show us anything, I feel like they were either indifferent, or pleased to see visitors. The younger students are particularly curious and had been really inviting to me. I feel like I'm gravitated more towards them than the older ones.
The younger ones were certainly more talkative.
Colin and I made an observation that kids are kids no matter where they are, and it is very true here. The middle schoolers were just as difficult as they are at any school, and I'm sure that they are a handful there as well. The older students seemed to be a little less motivated, though I had the pleasure to meet a wonderful girl named Tammy, who is a senior this year. She loves to draw, and was really happy to talk to me about anything and everything. She showed me around and gave me a lot of insight to some of her classes and the people she knows. I was sad to learn she would be leaving Tuesday for a senior trip to Anchorage. I feel like she would have been a very interesting source of information and insight on the town and people here.

Before New Stuyahok

New Stuyahok

Geographical Information:

New Stuyahok lies 53 miles northeast of Dillingham, Southwest Alaska, up the Nushagok river, and lies on its western shore. The landscape is relatively flat, and tundra-like. Rolling hills surround the area. To the west, the Kuskokwim mountains can be seen in the distance, and to the east, the Alaska Range. It lies within the Dillingham census area, and the school district is Southwest Region School District (SRSD).

Cultural Heritage:

Yup'ik culture had influenced the area of New Stuyahok for centuries, but Russian influence, such as the Russian Orthodox church, had been incorporated into the culture when Russian settlers made their way along the south western coast. The village is roughly 95% Native Alaskans, most of which grew up in the village, or in a neighboring one along the river. The elders and other community members hold a lot of power in what happens in the town, and often attend council meetings in Dillingham.

For the most part, the native residents of New Stuyahok rely on subsistence hunting, trapping, and primarily fishing. Through the winter months, ice fishing and trapping is prevalent, and during the summer, salmon fishing is at its peak. There is a small store in town, but for the most part, residents live subsistence. The school provides lunches for all students, and even elders.

Government and Regional Coorperation:

The Native Alaskans of New Stuyahok fall under the Bristol Bay Native Cooperation, based in Dillingham. The Police force, and many other government services are also based in Dillingham. There is a clinic and a public safety office in the village, but there is no hospital or Trooper station.

Education:

The K-12 school in New Stuyahok is about four years old, and named after Chief Ivan Blunka of New Stuyahok. It provides education for all students in the village from Kindgergarden to 12^th grade, and is equipped with modern technology and up to date classrooms and supplies. There are about 160 students total in the school, and the amount of students in each grade vary greatly. Some classes are about five students, while others can be nearly a full class size. The school district that is in charge of it is the SRSD district, which serves schools outside the Dillingham district, but still within its census area.