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.”
State Emergency Funds Keep Emmonak Women’s Shelter Open Through June
The State Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault board voted on February 1st to issue an emergency grant after the shelter closed in mid-January. It will provide funds through June 30th of this year.
Perspectives on “Alaxsxa”
A multi-media theatrical production that recently toured Alaska and off-Broadway in New York City brought Alaska Native culture, and cross-cultural encounters in the state from a variety of perspectives, to a broader audience. This collaborative, story-rich, conversation-sparking production was the focus of a recent episode of KNOM’s “Story49.”
Elder Voices: Peter Jacobs
Join Peter Jacobs for a special interview for Elder Voices spoken completely in Yup’ik, recorded just after he was awarded Elder of the Year in 2008 at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention.
Elder Voices: Nancy Walunga
“It’s important to let them know who you are, where you are from, your language. When you get older you will see how important it is. Our history.” […]
Elder Voices: Harriet Penayah, Part Three
This series features Yupik Elder Harriet Penayah. Listen to the previous episode here. Harriet Penayah stays active in her community. The 80 year-old elder teaches children native drumming and dance. She also recently opened up her home to her community’s youth. Savoonga has no teen center. After the “hang-out place” closed down, Harriet saw teens […]
Elder Voices: Harriet Penayah, Part Two
This series features Yupik elder Harriet Penayah. Listen to the first episode here. For most of her life, Harriet Penayah worked as a health aide in Savoonga. She tended to the wounded and sick within her community, stitching up cuts, transfusing blood, and even delivering twins. There were no doctors in Savoonga. No nurses. But Harriet says […]
Elder Voices: Mike Williams, Sr.
Mike Williams, Sr. is a well-regarded man. An Iditarod veteran, Yupik elder, and prominent tribal rights advocate, Williams is the type of musher who draws a big crowd at the finish line, even if he comes in 45th place. He shares some of his stories on the latest edition of KNOM’s Elder Voices. Williams has mushed for […]
Conversations in rural Alaska
A regular part of our mission is to send our hardworking volunteers to the rural, isolated villages in our listening area, especially when events rally those communities together around a particular cause. Last month, volunteers Eva DeLappe and Lucus Keppel visited one of the communities closest to KNOM: Teller, a village on the coast of […]