"Discover Alaska: A Yupik Perspective"

Wednesday, 30 November 2011 21:04

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William Avugiak hosted a lecture on Wednesday, November 30, titled, "Discover Alaska: A Yupik Persepective." The talk presented a variety of information from different tribes across the Alaskan landscape.

William Avugiak is a junior at the University of Arizona. He originally hails from a small town called Chefornak, Alaska. During the talk, an audience member asked Avugiak how he liked the heat. Avugiak jokingly responded, "I'm having cottonmouth just responding to you."

Avugiak also descibed his little town of Chefornak in a way the audience members could relate. Avugiak said, "Where I'm from there are no Walmarts or Starbucks."

Before attending the University of Arizona, Avugiak was a high school art teacher. Now at the UA, he is studying special education. But in the lecture, he discussed how much he misses home because living there is living "the old way of life."

Much of Avugiak's presentation was an informative session for the audience members. Avugiak covered the different tribes across Alaska, which are divided into two groups: Eskimo Group and Indian Group. Although, Avugiak did touch upon the fact that in his culture, "Eskimo" is deemed as a derogatory term for their people.

Also, a large portion of his presentation centered around his home town of Chefornak, Alaska and his own personal experiences in living and growing up there. Avugiak discussed some of the problems he faced living in such a small town in Alaska. For instance, if he needed dental work he had to fly to a nearby town, Bethel, Alaska, to get it done. He mentioned that the flight was about an hour to Bethel from his town of Chefornak. He told a story of his uncle, who was an electrician and fell down and broke his leg. He had to fly to Bethel, then had to fly all the way to Seattle, Washington to get medical attention.

Yupik is amongst the largest tribe in Alaska, at about 67,000 people. Seal, walrus and salmon are main staples in their diet. Avugiak said his favorite part of the salmon are the eyes and the cheek.

The presentation was as informative as it was interesting to hear the personal stories from Avugiak. You could sense that Avugiak loved his heritage and culture being a native Alaskan. Living in the desert and thinking about life in Alaska is a bit out there, but for an hour, we the audience members, felt like we were there.

Written by Kevin Prosise You are reading "Discover Alaska: A Yupik Perspective" articles

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