After a three month exodus, we returned last Saturday to Arctic Village. Unlike last year we knew what we were getting ourselves into. The pilot remembered our names and wanted to hear all about our Summer adventures. As our Cessna rose out of Fairbanks into thick cloud cover I began to reminisce on what I had left three months before. Suddenly the clouds cleared and the vast tundra began to look familiar below us. The mighty Yukon River marking the halfway point. Numerous ponds growing smaller as the flats turned to rolling hills and finally the splendid Brooks Range loomed in the distance.
As we landed in Arctic Village many familiar faces greeted us at the airport. I was a bit surprised at first not to see a larger greeting party, but discovered many families were "up mountain" hunting or in Fairbanks for the State Fair. The village looked the same, but much greener then when we left. Arctic Village has received an unusual amount of rain this Summer. Our friend and colleague Linda picked us up from the airport in the school truck. I hopped in back with the luggage. Jack and I proudly waving to passersby in chariot like style.
Unlike last year, we didn't start the year with Science Camp. Instead the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG) had an annual meeting all week. The gathering brought in Elders and Chiefs from all the surrounding villages- Venetie, Fort Yukon, Beaver, Stevens, and the big village of Fairbanks. The event provided a forum for a series of discussions on everything from subsistence hunting to alcohol and drug abuse, as well as preserving oral history and caring for elders. I took my students to attend several of the meetings. The week concluded with a youth specific talking circle in which all my students expressed their concerns and shared ideas with the council about the future.
Due to the hectic nature of having so many out of town guests in Arctic, we decided to take our students on a hike today. To the East of the village is Dachunlee', a sacred mountain where many families set up hunting camps in the Fall. I was so proud of everyone, even the First and Second graders walked almost all the way up the mountain. We ate lunch and toured several of the hunting camps. While the older students and I climbed to the upper ridge, Gretchen remained in camp with the younger students pulling squirrels from traps and cleaning them to eat.
In total we hiked 10 miles under gorgeous blue skies. For some kids heading out to hunting camps is a common occurrence, for others this is a special treat as they usually get left in the village. One student was ecstatic about the hike, saying it was only the third time in his life he had climbed this luminous hill overlooking the village. He couldn't remember the last time his Uncle had taken him to hunting camp, but he knew it was when he was much smaller.
I feel like the year is off to a good start for me. My classroom feels much more setup then it was this time last year. As a second year teacher I'm overflowing with ideas to integrate into my lesson plans. Monday really marks the first full day of classes at the start of a full week of school. I have a feeling with dozens of charter flights leaving the village today, it will seem empty this weekend. With most of the out of town guests departed I'm really praying the focus becomes getting kids enrolled into school and kicking off the academic year.
