Wk 05 On the Move...
Date Posted: 3.19.2007
Location: 64º5'N 165º4'W
Nome, Alaska, United States
Weather Conditions: Sunny 15° F (-9°C)
The Polar Husky gang is getting a little more than antsy. Having trained since fall to be ready to pull the loaded sleds, sitting around for a couple of weeks once the dog truck is unloaded is not exactly their idea of fun (not ours either, we admit). The handlebars on the sleds are collapsed so that they stack easy for loading in a plane and they are wrapped for their protection, so taking them for a spin is not really an option. Instead, Paul has been able to use a 4-wheeler these past few days and has hitched up two teams a day, taking- the Polar Huskies out for a run across the ice on the Bering Sea. "Pretty amazing location really, if one starts thinking about it," says Paul.
The Bering Strait is the only place on the globe where two continents and two oceans meet - Asia and North America and the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, respectively. And if that was not enough, the strait also straddles the International Dateline. Last week, we mentioned that Nikolai was sitting in Chukotka, 19 hours ahead of Paul in Nome, which means Nikolai is on a different day than Paul. "It's a bit funky" says Mille. "A bit like a time warp - a man-made time machine! We could sure use one of those right now - warping us to a time where we have our permits in hand." Supposedly, that will happen on Monday. On Friday, we were told by the Russian authorities that they will let us also know on Monday when we will be permitted to fly the two planes across the strait to Providineya, the expedition starting point.
Now, one might ask... Why don't we just unwrap those sleds, tie on the handbars, load up the sleds, hitch the teams, and go across the strait? Since when have the Polar Huskies needed 'air lifts' to get across anyplace where there is a wide open stretch of ice or snow?
That's just it. The Bering Strait is not exactly "a 50-mile stretch of ice." One of the reasons we are getting very antsy - and a little nervous - for every day going by without being on our way across this ice, leaving out of Providineya, is because the ice of the Bering Strait is "on the move." It is always on the move. Paul explains, "Where water flows through any narrowing of landforms, it will result in a strong current. When you are dealing with two forces on each side of a narrow like the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, you can imagine there is a tremendous force of power building up through the Bering Strait. The violent powers of crushing ice and the forces of the current in this strait are so overwhelming that it is an extremely dangerous to try to cross."
By now, it is pretty clear that just getting permission to enter into Chukotka, Russia is no easy feat. Well, it is beyond difficult to get the permission to enter on foot (or dog team!). Last year, a British and a French American team pulling a pulk with their supplies did succeed in crossing the strait. But, as they approached the land of Chukotka, they were arrested and thrown in jail because they did not enter Russia through a border crossing and did not have the permissions needed from the Russian authorities!
So, on that note we will just wait patiently for that final permission to land by plane and leave it to these two gentlemen - and anyone that comes after us - to be "the first to cross the Bering Strait" - in the winter time, that is.
To say that they were the first to cross the Bering Strait any time of the year is not entirely correct, though. The Natives on each side of the strait have been traveling back and forth when conditions permitted for a very long time. The first known people to do so did it about 12,000 years ago. But they used a bridge. A bridge? "If there was just a bridge, we could zoom right across it" says Mille with a grin. Well, lately there has been some wild talk about building a bridge across the strait to connect the two continents. Indeed, there used to be a bridge, called the Bering Land Bridge. The Native people of Chukotka, the Chukchi and Yu'pik, have traditional legends that tell about a time when the Bering Strait was water, then land, then water. Not long ago, scientists figured out that this is more than a legend - it's true!
During the last Ice Age, the sea levels were much lower and a land bridge connected the two continents of what is now Asia and North America. "Calling it a bridge, though, is like calling Australia an island," says Aaron. He continues, "Beringia, as this bridge is also called, was a thousand-mile grassland stretching from Siberia to the Alaskan coast -- a country nearly as large as what is now Alaska, full of woolly mammoths, mastodons, and bison. Hunting those herds, the Chukchi people first crossed Beringia's plains and made it as the first people to travel to North America!" Mille adds, "The first time Europeans found the Being Strait and Alaska was in 1728 - and it was by a Dane like me, by the name of Vitus Bering! What is often not told, though, was that Vitus Bering had been expelled from Denmark, so he was working as a ship's captain for the Russian Czar. The Russians then called Alaska theirs and that's how Alaska was first Russian before it was sold to the U.S in 1867."
For many years, there was very little (if any) connection between Chukotka and Alaska, even though many Yupik families had relatives on each side of the strait. This was because of the Cold War between Russia and the United States. In the last seven to eight years, though, that has changed. Paul has been lucky to meet a few people in Nome that are actually from Provediniya, where we are trying to get to! One is Elena, who is working with Paul on setting up flights and getting the permissions correct. Another is Nadeja who, with her husband Victor, have been so kind as to open up their home for Paul since he arrived with the Polar Huskies. Since we are not there yet, Paul asked Nadeja if should would tell us about her life in Chukotka. Nadeja was not comfortable with the cameras or with being recorded, but she was happy to talk about her life while Paul took notes fast and furiously.
Born with the name "Raktugie," Nadeja's father was Chukchi and her mom Yupik from Naukan, which is in the eastern part of Chukotka. Nadeja's parents divorced when she was very young and she then lived with her grandmother. They lived a traditional life, in a round home from walrus hide - a yaranga. Her grandmother taught her the most important thing was their Native Yupik values. This was about respect in the order of: Elders, nature, animals... all things are to be respected; do not waste anything!
Nadeja remembers that when she was young, her grandmother never scolded her or was "mean" to her. Instead, she was always praised her. When Nadeja was very young, picking greens, her grandma would always tell her how she didn't know how she could collect greens without Nadeja's help, even if Nadeja only brought her grandmother one handful. Together, they would collect roots, greens, and seaweed in huge amounts, filling their clothing - their "cosspak" (Paul adds he is pretty sure he did not spell that right!). Cosspak clothing used to be made from walrus intestines. Most of their clothing was made from reindeer, and sealskin was also used for pants and shoes. The skins - walrus and seal - would be put into water and washed for a few days and cleaned until it was white. Then, they would dry it by blowing into the skin to fill it with air to dry for days. Then, it was cut into clothing from that.
They built sleds for going down the big hills where she lived. The runners were made from walrus tusks that had been split in half lengthwise. This was then tied to a wood sled and lashed with sinew from a bearded seal.
Nadeja remembers going out in the summer to collecting bumble bees! Inside, one could gather a small amount of honey from them, but it took a long time to catch many bees.
"Women were always busy. If the hunter was getting up at 3 am to hunt, the woman would get up first to get heat going in the yaranga, cook breakfast, and prepare food for her husband heading out on the hunt. After he left, she would have to prepare more skins, sewing for all family members, and making food. In part of the house - the cold part - they would keep food, and they slept on raised beds in the warm areas that were heated by seal oil lamps. The walls separating the cold and the warm spaces were made from reindeer skins. When the hunter returned, the women would prepare the skins and the meat, dividing up the meat according to customs.
Nadeja's favorite food is eraqanguraq - walrus soup. Nadejea remembers, "They would take the meat and the blubber just under the walrus skin and cut it into long strips, adding greens or seaweed. They would then cook this over a seal oil lamp in winter. In summer, they would cook over a fire by hanging a pot, which was done in the cool part of the house. You were to only eat after the hunters and then the Elders - so they got the best pieces of meat, tender and juicy. For Elders that were women, this was because they no longer had any teeth from chewing animal skins to soften them to make clothing and everything else needed. Also, you were to only eat the food closest to you - do not reach over to get another piece: if you did, your children would grow up ugly! The meat and bone between the flipper and the shoulder on a seal was considered special, and if you ate it when you were not supposed to, your arm would break."
What are your favorite foods? Make sure to share your local and favorite receipes in the Culture Zone. Also, make sure to join this week's chat with le Chef on Thursday March 22 at 12 pm to talk about food, culture, globalization, and tolerance!
When she was just seven, Nadeja was moved to the large community of Provideniya where she was one of two Native students at the boarding school - this is where she was taught to speak Russian. In Chukotka, Nadeja spoke St. Lawrence Island Siberian Yupik. There is also the Naukan Siberian Yupik language; they are not dialects, but different languages, explains Nadeja - just like Chukchi is its own language. Nadeja graduated from school and then went on to get a teaching degree. After teaching for 28 years, she ended up being the principal of the boarding school. In 2001, Nadeja moved to Nome and married her husband Victor. She now teaches at the Nome Belz school as an instructor of St.Lawrence Island Yupik culture and native arts, teaching students about the traditional way of life and their Native culture.
From what we understand, much of how Nadeja describes life in Chukotka is still the way of life 50 miles across the Bering Strait in Chukotka. It used to be the way of life not many years ago in Alaska as well. Nome is a pretty big "town," for being this far north. Actually, with more than 3,500 people living there, it is considered a city. Originally a "gold town" back in 1901 and with more than 20,000 visitors a year, it is not your typical "Arctic community." But to many, the traditional connection to the land is still an important part of life - hunting, trapping, and living off the land.
Unfortunately, one of this week's Polar Husky Superstars, Freja, was a little too much on the move this week and had a close-up encounter with just that. Freja has been hanging out with Paul wherever he goes the past week because she was in heat and was better off not being with the rest of the gang. Freja is an incredible lead dog, not least because she is very fast, brilliantly smart, and - well, she likes to explore and be on the move. One morning, Freja decided it was time to do just that. Paul immediately was calling for her and looking around but couldn't find her anywhere. Minutes turned into hours and Paul was calling on everyone from the police to the local radio station to find her. Helpful people would call in, from here and there, that they had seen a beautiful white husky right here... then there... then here. Just being within 15 minutes of her sightings, Paul had no luck. Then, all of a sudden, there were no more phone calls. We first put out a $500 reward for her return, then a $1,000 reward. Still nothing. We were devastated. Something was really not right. Rarely has Paul been as relieved as when a trapper tracked him down with Freja in hand.The trapper had gone out to check his trap line when, to his horror, he found Freja in his trap. He immediately realized that she was the missing Polar Husky and he most kindly brought her back to Paul. Very happy to see Paul, Freja's one front paw is swollen and Paul is hard at work bathing it, putting on hot and cold compresses to reduce the swelling. Hopefully, he can get her back in tip-top condition to head out on the expedition trail ahead where, Freja - with her sweet nature, speed, and smarts, will lead the teams.
Just like Freja, this week's other Polar Husky Superstar, Lightning, is a hunter at heart who loves explore. She has not quite earned the rank of being a lead dog, but Lightning certainly shows all the potential. When she was three months old, like the rest of her littermates who are all brothers (Good Thunder and gang), Lightning went out to stay for a few months with a family. In this way, the puppies get used to other people, kids, and lots of stuff - a change of "culture." The kind family that invited Lightning into their home adored her, except for the two older tiny dogs that were already members of the family. Lightning pretty much immediately took command. She would entertain herself by hunting the little dogs down, grabbing onto each of their tails and a little hair, swinging them in the air the best she could! It was decided that Lightning better return to the Polar Husky kennel to spend some more time with her mother, Rubi, to learn some Polar Husky manners. Today, she is incredibly affectionate and loving - though she still is not afraid to take command like a lead dog needs to do. Mostly running in point right behind the lead dog, Lightning shows respect for her elders. However, she is always looking around, listening with pointed ears, loving to be on the move.
