Berry Picking in the Bush and Much, Much More...

Dancing at Teacher Eskimo Dance

I never thought of Helen as a very talkative woman, but after yesterday, I learned that this Native woman has many, many wonderful stories to share about her life growing up in the village. Just about every weekend since the school year started, she has taken my roommate out berry picking with her and her husband, and yesterday they asked me to come along as well! It was loads of fun and I have much to say about it, but unfortunately, my camera battery died. So, before sharing about my berry picking experience, let me tell you about the Teacher Eskimo Dance and the Jr. High Cross Country meet.

Father and Son dancing, Wife in the back

A bunch of teachers and Natives dancing

At the end of the first week of school, the village held a Teacher Eskimo Dance like every year to meet and greet the new teachers. We were told it would start at five and be a potluck, but by the time we went up to the T.C. (Tribal Council) building, it was almost seven and so it turned out to be more of a snack table. The new teachers introduced themselves and then we sat and talked to people while watching the dances. Two teachers, who are married and have two beautiful children, danced, and had their older son, who is about two, dance with them. It was super cute to see him getting into the culture and dancing with the Native people, and they seemed to enjoy it as well. I was able to see many of my students from last year and talk to them. I also danced in a couple of the songs. I'm not very good at it, but it is lots of fun to try to follow along. My favorite dance we did was the last one, the "Snow Machine" song. The dances describe what the song is talking about, so for this one (which is a little more modern of a song) we were moving as if we were on a snow machine. It's movements are fairly simple, and by the time we left I had it down.

Me Eskimo Dancing

St. Mary's bus; Jr. High Cross Country Meet

Kids heading out for cross country

Yesterday was supposed to be the Jr. High Cross Country meet in St. Mary's. We were all prepared for it, then, on Thursday, the cross country coaches got a phone call saying their plane would be there by noon to get the kids! Fortunately, they were supposed to be back that same night, so they didn't have to rush home and get clothes, but they did have to rush to make sub plans for the rest of the day. One of the team members that was in my class last year asked to borrow my camera, so I was able to get these pictures without going myself. One of our boys got second place in the meet, which was very exciting. The High School Cross Country meet is SUPPOSED to be next Saturday, but after what happened this week, no one is going to be surprised if that changes.

Just a small amount of the berries I picked

Net all set up :) Last picture I took
before my camera died

Lowering the net for fishing

So, now to berry picking yesterday. Growing up we had some blackberry bushes that grew along a fence line down the dirt road we lived on. When I thought of berry picking, that is the picture I had in my mind. However, the berry plants here grow close to the ground. To pick the berries, I sat and scooted from one area to the other. They are also quite small, so even though I picked what felt like a lot of berries, I only managed to fill about half a gallon of a ziplock bag. My roommate filled her 1 1/4 gallon bucket to the brim. It was lots of fun and very peaceful. It did, however start to cool off and sprinkle on us right before we finished up. We went to two different spots very close to the village of Nunam Iqua. One was already occupied by another Native from our village and her daughter. It also had lots of bugs so we went across the river and picked on the other side. While we were picking we saw an otter swimming in the river, it was cute. Before we settled in to pick berries, we set up a net to catch fish. Helen told us while her husband was setting up the net stories her grandmother had told her. She said in her grandmother's day, people were buried in the fetal position, and when they started burying people laying down her grandmother was upset. Her grandmother said, "Why bury them laying down, that's not how they were born!" I thought their way of burying people sounds like a good idea, but I guess that's just me. We didn't catch any fish during the day, just a couple of willows. Before heading home for the night, however, we met up with some friends and had a campfire going. One of the men had a son who had caught a seal that day, so they gave us the two of the livers. We cooked them up next to the fire and at them. They were really good! The Natives were teasing me and my roommate saying that we need to eat more Native food and then we won't be so cold. We sat around the campfire talking and laughing for a while, then took off to see if we could find some seal before it got too dark. We had seen a seal on our way out berry picking before we set up the net earlier in the day, but he had gotten away. By the time I got home I had made the decision that this was my favorite day I had had so far living out here. It was a wonderful time. I hope to get to do it again next weekend. Maybe next time my camera won't die on me!!