A Joyful Moment for Savoonga

Savoonga's Brianne Gologergen during the great work and festivity of her community's second whale catch of 2016. Photo courtesy of Brianne Gologergen.

The spirit of Western Alaska — the incredible place your support has allowed us to serve for more than four decades — comes, in large part, from the vibrancy of the traditional Alaska Native culture that thrives in our corner of the world.

It’s a culture we celebrate every day on the air and cover in our news stories. One of our most popular recent stories concerns Savoonga (suh-VOON-guh), a community in KNOM country that recently caught its second whale of the season. As seen in the photos above and below, provided by Savoonga’s Brianne Gologergen, a traditional whale catch is both a lot of work and a joyfully special event for our region. It takes the helping hands of so many to make it happen, with non-stop work continuing for days on end, as workers travel back and forth on the 38-mile trail to the whale camp from their homes in Savoonga. But the fruits of the immense effort are worth it, since everything from the whale’s meat to its baleen are used. And, it’s “so yummy,” Gologergen says.

Thank you for helping us bring stories like these to our rural Alaska communities every day. Click through for more on this story, and for so many others, explore our homepage.

Savoonga whale catch, 2016

Photo courtesy of Brianne Gologergen.

Savoonga whale catch, 2016

Photo courtesy of Brianne Gologergen.


1 Comment

  1. Robert Norman Schwartz, Ph.D. on June 2, 2016 at 5:39 pm

    Unfortunately, my comment disappeared minutes ago, and they cannot be duplicated. The thesis I explained was that God created the earth and its creatures for mankind’s needs. Mankind, created in God’s own image and likeness, was entrusted with the earth, its plants, animals, its waters and its challenges, to serve him in his quest to know, love and serve God while living on this earth. It follows that the creatures of the sea, in the air and on the land have been created to sustain mankind while he is on this earth and living in humble submission to God’s Will. His desire is that mankind seek the goods of this world precisely to sustain his life and his activities, while growing in knowledge and health and while leading a life of virtue and thus becoming more perfect on his earthly journey. He derives his food, shelter, tools and clothing from God’s creation, viz., the plants and animals, the fish and birds, even the insects, and while we humans follow this divinely designed path, we come ever closer to the heavenly light of God Himself, where we are all destined to arrive some day. The only condition is that we follow our conscience, articulated in the Ten Commandments, and interpreted and guided by the Holy Spirit, as noted in the New Testament, which is the record of Christ’s teachings while on earth and including His entrusting the correct interpretation of His Commandments to Peter and his successors.