Ilisaqativut: “We All Learn Together”
“Our language comes from the land.” “Our language tells our history.” “Our language… tells us who we are.” These are reflections from a language class profiled last month on KNOM.
As Iditarod Has Changed, So Has Its Relationship With Its Native Roots, Mushers Say
Longtime Bethel musher Pete Kaiser surmises it’s become more difficult for some in smaller, rural communities to manage an Iditarod-caliber team. “It’s really not a hobby or anything else, it’s a lifestyle, and it requires my time 365 days a year. And when you have other things going on like family and kids, you kind of need a job to support this job. It gets very complicated.”
Keeping the Inupiaq Language Alive, Through a Website
It’s now possible to learn basic Inupiaq online, thanks to a graduate student at the University of Alaska–Fairbanks.
Leadership Summit Keynote Urges Hope, Resolve In Native Community
Jorie Ayyu Paoli delivered the keynote address at the Kawerak Leadership Summit in Nome. “Our community — we’re like the willow,” she said. “You can cut the willow down, you can cut it back, to try and get rid of it, but if there’s even a shred of root, it will re-grow and thrive.”
Nome’s Rescued Walrus Calf Transitioning Away from SeaLife Center, Possibly in Near Future
“Walrus calves typically spend one to two years with Mom, learning to be a walrus, and we can’t possibly replicate that,” Dr. Carrie Goertz with SeaLife said of Aku, the young 180-pound walrus calf being cared for at the Center.
Unalakleet Psychologist Receives National Award for Work in Rural Psychology
Ray Michael Droby was awarded the 2017 Excellence in Rural Psychology Award from the APA, for his more than 20 years of providing mental health services in Nome and the Bering Strait region.
In Utqiagvik, Inupiaq Class Feeds (and Intensifies) the ‘Hunger’ to Learn
“This is what we need: we need our children, our future generations, to speak Inupiaq.”
Shishmaref’s New “Language Nest” Immerses Toddlers in Inupiaq
Hattie Keller, the newly appointed Inupiaq Director for Kawerak, says they have hired two staff members to teach a group of young children at Shishmaref’s language nest.
Talking Inupiaq
KNOM listeners are learning the Alaska Native language of Inupiaq, one phrase at a time, thanks to Nome elementary teachers Annie Conger and Josie Bourdon and producer Lauren Frost.
Deejay Niviaaluk Brandt, in Her Own Words
“I am interested in sharing my (Inupiaq) culture and its approach of human respect for everyone and everything.” Meet KNOM community deejay Niviaaluk Brandt.