Since arriving to Nash Harbor, we have hiked, swam, fished, steamed, prepared an excavation site, set fish traps for research, and witnessed incredible scenery only found in this majestic area. Being here, we never really know what to expect; a sudden weather change or a red fox burrowing nearby camp. Other surprises are really unexpected considering the isolation that encompasses our camp. Just hours ago, entering the peaceful waters of our vast natural harbor, the Iver Foss emerged through the fog wall marking the ocean line. The ship, on its way from Seattle ferrying supplies for the Red Dog mine above Kotzebue, slowly made its way farther into the harbor. It

finally came to a stop just a half a mile from our shoreline campsite. Three of the six crew members made their way to shore in a launch for a chance to walk on solid ground. Most of the campers visited with the crew members and listened to the stories they shared about their voyage. The crew members took the rare chance to go hiking around the lands and ancient ruins of Nash Harbor as we went to our evening class. We took a break from class when the crew members returned and snapped a group photo. With two weeks remaining of camp, who knows what other ships may make their way into Nash Harbor, and add to the list of incredible possibilities this program has to offer us all. –Daniel

Hello my name is Felicia, and I am from Hooper Bay on the west coast of Alaska. I live with my mom and two younger brothers, who are 15, and 8. My parents separated two years ago, and it was really hard! But I moved on and lived without my dad ever since then. I was at school and I heard about this camp from a teacher of mine. It was kind of interesting so I filled an application out and a couple of weeks later, I heard that I got picked. I was really excited, and my mom didn’t really believe me at first until she heard the message. I wanted to see how it was. Well, what I really enjoy is watching other students fish, and taking pictures of them fishing. I have been taking walks on the beach, reading my Bible and kind of doing homework, helping out the cook, washing some dishes for her, going to my classes, and taking some notes on Fisheries and Anthropology. And just having fun out here. That is the best part of Nunivak Island.

Traveling to Nash Harbor was an adventure in itself. We left Bethel on a small plane, flying for roughly 40 minutes to almost the furthest point west in the U.S. Upon landing I realized what I had gotten myself into. It was like stepping back into May. The temperature was at least 10 degrees colder and it was raining. We drove from the airport to the dock where we loaded all our gear onto a boat. The boat was to take us 40 miles or so to Nash Harbor. The ride was very similar to a roller coaster. For almost an hour we bobbed up and down. Many got sea sick, but I enjoyed it.

When we first arrived at Nash Harbor, my thought was how beautiful it was. We’re located at the farthest inland point in the bay, giving us a view of the whole harbor. Right next to our camp is a fresh water stream that flows into the ocean. On both sides of us are huge bluffs that have almost sheer drops into the ocean. There is still snow located at the top of these bluffs. We have participated in many outdoor activities in the few days we’ve been here, including hiking, setting fish traps, fishing, fish dissecting, and my favorite…swimming.

Upon returning from a hike, my friends and I were burning up. It was actually hot! So I sarcastically suggested that we go swimming. Doug and Daniel surprisingly agreed to enter the freezing water. So we changed and forced ourselves to enter the water. It wasn’t bad after your feet and legs went numb. The water was only up to your thighs throughout the lake. After playing for what felt like 20 minutes we decided to head back. We left the initial lake, and had to cross the last stream to get home. Even though the stream was only knee deep we thought, to make it worth while, we would dive in. So I went first and dove. As soon as I dove in, my boxers came off! I struggled to stay submerged enough that no one could see my family jewels while also trying to pull my underwear up! I regained my posture but now I was freezing after being under ice cold water for at least 5 seconds. So I took off towards shore. Not aware of the rocks underneath, I tripped and once again engulfed in the freezing water. While this was going on, my friends could not stop laughing! I admit, it was funny.   –Kyle

When I arrived in Nash Harbor, I noticed the immense beauty that surrounded the place. Since I have been here I have hiked, fished, listened to lectures, set fish traps, eaten, read text for homework, slept, sung songs in the tent, fantasized about the arrival of Martin, caught fish, not caught fish, drank homemade mocha, and steamed. When I first arrived in the village of Mekoryuk, I found out that my bottle of shampoo had exploded inside of my bag, so I spent a good time wiping it out, and cleaning my stuff off. An extremely oceanic boat ride followed, during which I fell asleep more than once . Today, right before we went out to check the fish traps, we all got dressed in our “neck” waders. Posing for one final picture, I finished tying my water shoes and headed out the class tent door. Noticing the rest of the group about 500 feet ahead, I ran into the water and follow my “neck” wader-wearing cohorts, thinking it’d be faster than walking on land. As my legs submersed in the chilling water, the waders scrunched up around my legs as the water transfered its pressure. The waders, a refrigerator, with water as its freon. I noticed the blood freezing in my veins, as circulation slowly ceased in my legs. I slowly walked out of the water, following Douglas. Douglas started running ahead, and I did the same, feeling the rushing feeling of life flowing back into my legs. As we crossed a small stream filled with natural gas, we arrived at our final destination. Dispersing about, everyone pulled their fish trap out of the water to check the amount of fish trapped within. To my dismay, my trap contained no fish, and neither did about half of the other peoples. Two traps contained 1 fish, which we had to identify. The identification process ended up taking about 30 minutes for one fish, which ended up being a plain old Dolly Varden. The other fish was a blackfish, so it was easy identifiable. After about 40 minutes of identifying the only two fish caught out of the 11 fish traps that we had set, the group departed. Ben, T.J. and I stayed behind, fishing. I am proud to declare myself as being the first student to have caught a fish thus far(not the first fish caught, I have to give Ben© that achievement). After about 30 minutes of fishing once the group had departed, Ben declared we should leave, besides my hands were dead cold. Once we had arrived back at the camp, I took off the Size Large Hip Waders that I had been wearing the whole time, and basically stuck my hands into the stove. –Dimitri

Wow! Has it really been almost a month since I’ve updated the Talent Search Blog! Things have flown by so fast. We just finished up our second camp. The kids have been learning about robotics, science, writing & reading, career exploration and of couse what would the Talent Search camps be without KAYAKING! Weeks 1 & 2 were filled with 29 students each from 16 different villages (including Bethel). This past week we had KYUK come over and do a story on the Robotics class. I’ll post a link to the mp3 file when we get a copy. The students are having a blast and once I get all of the kinks worked out I’ll start having some fun to! I don’t have alot of time know, but next time I’ll add some pictures for you to check out!

We have been here for a few days now and it is pretty cool, literally. I have noticed that it is about 15-20 degrees colder here than in Bethel. You can see your breath for a large portion of the day. The wind doesn’t help either. It reminds me of winter, how we are all dressed up. Every hike we go on we need to wear our hats and gloves, or realize that we should have. There is even still snow here! With all the fog, rain, and cold it is hard to dry our gear. I really hope that it warms up a bit.

Today during our free time Kyle and I walked down to the beach. Having never explored the cliffs that are just around 100 yards from our camp we decided to take a look. When we got there we found that we could, with timing between the waves of course, slowly make our way along the bottom of the cliffs. After shedding a couple of coats and a rest to watch the Sea Gulls dive bombing fish just a few feet away, we made it to the end of the cliffs. We took another rest and started heading back. We came back at the end of the day and found that the low tide had uncovered an entire beach where we had previously been hopping from rock to rock and getting wet. I thought that it was funny that a couple of hours ago we had been clinging to the rock face and hoping not to fall in, and now we were walking on a huge beach. I hope that we can find more fun places to explore. –Doug

I think this is an amazing place. I never thought Nash Harbor would be so hilly, and so rocky on the tundra. I like it here, there are a lot of activities to do. We hiked on the tundra and fished in the streams for Dolly Varden. Well, that is the only kind of fish that we caught. We also took a steam during the evening. I thought it was OK, one of the science camp students really liked it. I took pictures and videos of a fox that recently came by. The second time I recorded it I told the fox to head back to its food and eat, and because I scared it a bit it happened to listen to me. Recording a fox was a great experience. I also had an incident with the outhouse bathroom. I was locked in there by someone or something for about twenty minutes. While I was trying to call for help, the smell in there was horrible. Finally, another student from the camp saved me from the nightmare in the outhouse.

Mary and I were wearing our waders, walking back and forth across the stream, bringing firewood to the campsite. Once we finished loading the wood, we decided to check out the old village of Ellikarrmiut. The village was wiped out around the turn of the century, then after that, everyone moved onto the other side of the stream which was then called Qimugglugpagmiut. Walking along the beach we found an easy way to climb up to where all the mud houses once were. We stopped at a mud house that seemed as if it had belonged to a big family. Walking a few steps at a time, we noticed more and more houses in different shapes and sizes. It has been said that these mud houses were built over one hundred years ago with a village population ranging from two to seven houses in a period of 30 years. It was quite amazing to see how the ancestors from the people of Mekoryuk once lived. It was almost as though I was walking back one hundred years in time. Mary and I were able to tell that some families were big, while some were small, just by the shape of the house. We even walked into the “Qasgi” house, which is known as the mens’ house. The mens’ house was where a lot of the meetings took place along with the village feasts and celebrations. It was the biggest house of all. We even pretended we were there, imagining the chief of the village in the back of the room facing the entry way, watching the people of the village dance and celebrate something big. For instance, celebrating a young boy turning into a man after his first catch of a bearded seal. We were dancing and singing, and later pretended to crawl out the entry way, just like they did back 100 years ago. It was a very fascinating adventure. I really did feel as though I walked almost one hundred years back in time.   –Yvonne

My name is Daniel and I was born and raised in Bethel, Alaska. I was among the first students in the start up of the Yup’ik Immersion Program. I was taught and “raised” in the Yup’ik culture for seven years. My bilingual upbringing helped me to advance quickly through high school, where I am a senior. I have been taking college courses at the Kuskokwim Campus for the past two years. My academic interests are in the Math and Science fields and have led me to contemplate engineering as a career choice. I want to go to Nunivak Island not just for the amazing experience, but also to further my scientific knowledge and to be able to apply it through the well-planned program they have established. I look forward to an immensely exciting three weeks filled with interesting classes, kayaking, and hiking trips and am grateful for the opportunity.

I’m Thaddeus J. (Tee Jay) from Bethel AK, a person that loves to play basketball about, every day at Owls Park located in Bethel. I have a bike to ride everywhere I go, trying to stay in shape. Sometimes I stay at fish camp with my parents to help cut fish and wood or do other jobs. This year we get to pick berries there, I usually eat more than I pick. I’m hoping I get into college later on in the future, after I get a little smarter. I’m really not there yet, but I’m willing to be. I really am excited to be in the summer science camp. I want to know a lot of things about science on Nunivak Island, a place I have never been before. I like the free gear that we get to keep if we do well in the classes. I’m excited to go hiking and see the muskox and reindeer. I like the outdoors and the cool air in the mornings; it’s refreshing and it wakes me up. I know I’ll have fun on the Island.

Hi I’m Jenny from Bethel,and I am attending the Nunivak Summer Science program. I am fifteen and I love everything about the outdoors. My favorite thing about the outdoors is observing the wildlife and listening to the ocean. I am very excited about attending this camp because it will be a great experience and it is a fun way to earn college credits. The things that I’m am looking forward to the most about this summer science program are hiking, kayaking and learning about anthropology.I think that you can never learn too much. I have a lot interests that want to explore, most of which have to do with the medical field. I am thinking about becoming a physical therapist. I think that this is a great experience and I am looking forward to spending the next three weeks out here.

Hello, my name is Yvonne. I’m originally from a small village located 30 miles down the Kuskokwim River from Bethel Alaska. Because the educational and work opportunities were limited in the village, I moved to Bethel almost four years ago to continue my education.

As soon as I moved here to Bethel, I got a work permit and started working for the school district. When my job ended with the school district, I started working for a local grocery store for over a year. While working there, I was also working for the State of Alaska with the Department of Labor and the Workforce Development. As a student intern at the job center, I was connecting young people and older youth to the high growth energy jobs and teaching younger youth more about them. During the process of learning about the High Growth Jobs, I was also thinking about my future career. Working with energy jobs I was gearing more towards that career direction.

During the whole time I was learning and being a resource for high growth jobs to youth, I was attending the Bethel Alternative Boarding School half the time. One day Martin, who works for the college, came to our school and did a presentation. Math is one of my favorite subjects in School, and Martin’s presentations were mainly about science, math, and technology. His presentations were catchy, and made me think about what I could be missing out on if I didn’t go for the college programs involving the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program.

My uncle once told me that I would be a great asset if I ever started working for the big industries in Alaska near home. One question I had about that was, “Why me? I’m just a girl.” My uncle said it was because ever since I was a baby, they took me out every summer and taught me the land. Growing up with Yup’ik as a fist language would also give me a good chance of hire for a great job. During Martin’s presentations, he mentioned needing local people to work for the science and engineering field, and that was when I took my uncle’s words to heart and applied for these programs.

When I woke up this morning it was kind of hard for me to wake up even thought I slept really good last night though I woke up I got really cold. After breakfast we went to class which started at 9:00. It was our fisheries class. Today I got the cut the fish with my teammates and dissect it. It was really fun!!! After the class we went to go down to have lunch. A little after lunch we went to our Anthropology class and learned about culture, not just our culture but everyone’s. It was also pretty fun! After class we went back to our camp and got ready to go hiking. When I first went up the hill my legs were hurting also my lower back then it got a little bit easier. We seen bones of a muskox,a lot of fur on the ground, big rocks, feathers, graves, snow, and humongous cliffs. When we went back I slept for an hour and came and worked on my paper and other homework! Now it’s less than half and hour to go bed now and wait until the next day!

-mary moe

Hello, my name is Florence Nukusuk and I am from Hooper Bay. I recently graduated from Mt. Edgecumbe High School on May 10th, and again at home in front of my family, friends, and hometown on May 18th. The explanation of my two graduations is that on August 3rd 2006 the high school and elementary burned down at Hooper Bay, including my home. I ended up attending Mt. Edgecumbe without applying to the boarding school, and it was my senior year. I thought I was going to be attending Edgecumbe for the first semester, but, I stayed; due to the fact the school has a good education and more structured activities. As a first year student I did very well both academically and athletically. I tried out for the varsity basketball team and made it as a starting guard/point guard, which is why I stayed the whole year. We took second place at regions and made it to state. I have experienced playing against tall girls; I think some are tall because I stand only 5 feet and 4 inches. Now that I have had great success during my high school years, I am currently enrolled for the fall semester as a freshman majoring in biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I plan to receive a bachelor’s degree in biology. I am interested in the science of life, how species are structured, and what species need to survive, which is why I am highly interested in the Summer Science Field Camp. Besides my interest in science, I love to play sports and do subsistence activities such as egg, berry, and green gathering, cutting fish, and cutting seal. I also love to spend quality time with my family, travel to different places, and meet new people. I love to learn every day.

People call me Bird, the nickname that has followed me since 6th grade. My real name is Chris. I was born in the rainy town of Juneau and lived there for a few years. I then lived most of my life in Haines though I got to experience many other places. That is part of the reason that I am entering the Bethel Summer Science Camp. I believe that this will be a great experience to enter a new part of the world and see what it has to offer. I am greatly interested in the world around us, and in the ways thoughts and webs of ecology merge together to create what we are today. This camp seemed to apply much of that through anthropology and biology, two subjects I want to spend at least part of my life getting to know better. Ever since I was little and I studied birds I knew that animals interested me greatly. Anywhoo, thats about all I can say about me.

Bird

Hi my name is Mary. I’m attending Bethel Regional High School as a Senior this year. I have lived in Bethel all my life. My heritage is Eskimo,Inupiak,and Cup’aq. I love my parents and my brothers and sister; I am also the baby of my family. I also love my relatives and friends. I have a tremendous amount of cousins. In my spare time I love to play the game of basketball during school sports also wrestling. When I am in the outdoors I like snowmachining,playing basketball,football,baseball, and riding around the area. Right after graduation I want to go straight to college, maybe here in Bethel for my first two years, then go off to a bigger college. My career goal is to work with computers, I want go get my master’s degree and if I have more money then get a couple of more degrees. My motivations for attending the Summer Science Field Camp include that Mekoryuk is my dad’s hometown, and I know so little about Mekoryuk and Nunivak not only that but while we are there, we are going to learn about fish, anthropology, computers, also the outdoors. It motivates me because we are going to go hiking and I never gone before, so that will be an experience for me. Finally, we buried my uppa this past winter and I would like to know more about the Mekoryuk area because my uppa got to know about it. I would like a chance to follow his lead.

I am from Bethel, Ak. I like to be be outdoors camping, fishing, or playing sports. I grew up playing baseball and basketball and going camping with family and friends. I am interested in math and science and plan to be an engineer or architect later in life. I was interested in attending the Summer Science Field Camp because it sounded like a great experience. This camp is right down my alley, plus it’s free. I am looking forward to getting out there and learning more about science, and am glad I got accepted to attend this unique camp.

Hello everyone, my name is Kyle Chavez. I have lived in Bethel all my life, born and raised! I like anything that has to do with the outdoors and sports. Hunting, fishing, kayaking, swimming, running, biking … I could go on and on. My favorite subjects are math and science, but I’m really looking forward to my anthropology class. I’m excited to get out into the field. I like the idea of having a lot of outdoor fun, and this summer science camp looks like the way to go. Sure I’ll miss being home, but I’m hoping time will fly by. Of course there are some great incentives for attending the camp and passing these classes. The gear is top of line and will be a great addition to my personal stash. I’ve also been told that ipods are raffled off for extra motivations. Last but not least, the free college credits that we are getting, if we pass the class of course. Credits don’t come cheap and I’m looking forward to completing these classes and having loads of fun at Nunivak!

My name is Dimitri, and I am attending the Summer Science Field Camp. I strive towards increasing my knowledge in both math and science. I am very interested in global warming and renewable energy. In the future I plan on attending an engineering college. I would like to become someone who helps make our world eco-friendly, efficient, and safe for future generations. What motivated me to attend this Summer Science Field Camp? Well, I was very skeptical at first, considering how long the camp was, and the big chunk of time that it would take out of my summer. But I came through and realized that it would be a great opportunity for me to accumulate knowledge concerning the environment, whether it be biological or anthropological.
Now you know who Dimitri is.

HEYY, It’s me Alessa Poe, from Bethel. A little about me is that I’m 16 years old, soon to be 17 Umm, This past year I attended Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka for the first year ever. This year is my senior year and I’m not exactly sure where I’ll be going to school because I want to graduate at home as much as I want to go back to Edgecumbe again. I love just hanging out with my friends and have a good time. I can be shy but once I get to know someone I’m a pretty awesome person to be around hehe.

This is my first time attending a camp at KUC. Today marks our first week doing the Summer Bridging Program, it was a long week, lol. We take our Pre calc class in the morning and when its over I go to my internship at KYUK. So far I like working over there because everything is new to me, and I even got to be on the radio. So now I’m pretty famous, jk lol. But its nice learning new things and we’ll see how the rest of the camp goes. Later