A look back: a village trip in ’08

Travel by KNOM volunteers to the communities we serve has long been an essential part of our mission; thanks to the sponsorship of a regional air carrier, our flights to these communities are usually free. The photos above offer a glimpse into a special trip five years ago, when volunteer Danielle Sylvester ventured to Wales,…

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Elder Voices: Raymond Seetok Sr.

This month’s Elder Voices celebrates Raymond Seetok Sr, a Kingikmiut elder from Wales. Raymond was born in Wales in 1946. A whaling captain, husband, and father, he grew up with twelve siblings in the traditional Inupiaq way. He speaks about the hardships he faced, and Inupiaq lessons his elders and parents passed onto him about…

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Elder Voices: Winton Weyapuk Jr.

At 62, Winton Weyapuk Jr. is a young elder. But he is a wealth of information about the Inupiaq language and marine mammal subsistence in his native village of Wales. Winton’s passion for preserving Inupiaq and the subsistence lifestyle started as a boy, learning how to navigate sea ice in an umiak skinboat with his father, and…

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