It was one long week, over in Platinum. Long, but sooooo much fun.

It’s August 16th, year 2007… about a month since the program ended. And a month and two weeks since Platinum. I’m a little late, I know. But better late than never, right?

When we first landed, the weather was b-e-a-utiful! At least I thought so until one of the residents passed by using a down-coat, a hat, gloves, and boots. I turned to Alessa and asked, “Am I supposed to feel cold?” We unloaded the chartered caravan, loaded the truck, and turned to Martin for our next set of instructions. “Now we walk to the school.” We had so much going through our heads after he said that. “We have to walk?” “How far is it?” “Will I get a blister? [Alessa had never gotten a blister before in her life]” “I knew I should’ve ran away last night.” “What’s going on? I wasn’t paying attention. I’m lost!”

So we started walking. The truck passed us. Isaiah was sitting in the back. We were jealous… until we saw the dog. When we first spotted a dog it was from afar, and it looked like a bear. We were afraid. This dog looked exactly the same, big, black, and furry. But this time, we weren’t afraid. We were laughing. It ran extremely close to the front right wheel of the truck our gear was in with it’s nose practically touching the wheel. Jup [Angelica Afcan] and I were laughing so hard we could barely walk. Jodi [Jodi Friend] and Sister [Tiffany Andrew] were laughing as well, though I’m not so sure what they were laughing at. Perhaps it was the dog, perhaps it was the girls laughing next to them, perhaps it was the size of the Post Office… I’m really not sure. What Alessa [Alessa Poe] and Oz [Oscar Perry] were doing, I’m not sure at all. I was too busy laughing.

We had been walking for a minute and half and Martin said, “There’s the school.” We all looked up from what ever we were doing and saw a red building with blue trimming and a basketball court, the biggest building in the village. From it’s looks, we automatically decided that this was a place that we did not want to stay. Little did we know, we’d be calling this school home within the next few days. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

So far, I’ve gave you almost every detail of our first half hour in Platinum. From here on, I’m unable to do so. [You’re sighing with relief]. What I am able to do though, is give you highlights of our trip.

We got there on Sunday the 15th of July. That day, the group unpacked and attempted to make ourselves comfortable. I never truly became comfortable until that evening. Jup, Alessa, Oscar, and I had walked around the northern part of the village looking for the stores. They’re all closed on Sundays, so we went back. Jup and I decided to do something crazy-fun at this moment, but first we had to change and get the camera we were assigned for the rest of the program. After we’d changed into appropriate clothes and got our camera [Number “H”], we went for a little walk. As were were landing, we saw a big, cadet gray, liquidy substance less than a quarter-mile from the airstrip. No one knows how excited I was to see that. So… we were walking on a little path we found that goes from the airstrip to the liquidy substance, talking about our day, things we’d wish to accomplish, just life in general. Then we got there. Ooooo babee, the first few steps in were COLD! Then we got used to it. You should, at least I hope you should, know by now that I’m talking about the ocean. For the longest time, were just in up to our thighs. After we got used to that, we decided to fall back into the waves. Some advice: never leave your mouth open when going into the ocean [SALTY!!!].

Platinum is a small village with an amazing history of helping Alaska growing in many different ways. It has a platinum mine of course about ten miles away from the village. Gravel is always being shipped back and forth from the mountains to the edge of town which is probably five or ten mile trips back and forth from seven to seven. There are two stores with enough food to keep your thirst quenched and tummy’s fed. We hiked the closest, but highest mountain, Red Mountain with the hight just under two thousand feet. Kayaked around the village from the bay and came around from the ocean and back on to the beach which was about six or seven miles and about a four hour trip but all was worth it. The tour of the mine was great because we learned that their once one of the largest cranes of its time and got to walk around in it. We also got to see every building the same way it was almost seventy years ago with the exception of remodeling and new or improved vehicles to mine the operations every summer. After all the days work is done we get to cook or dinner is served by Carol which is amazing cook and always have something new compared to our usual foods we eat at home(casa food)…well anyways were about to head out to take a steam so i’ll keep updating the blogs sooner or later

Hello again! This week, we are on our vacation here in Platinum. We have 2 more days to go until we get back to Bethel and continue our course. So far, our vacation is going well, and we’re having a lot of fun. When we first got here, we thought this village was so small but beautiful. On Monday, we kayaked 6 miles on the ocean, and it was fun. When we got back, we swam for a few minutes in our dry suits…but i got wet. Tuesday, we hiked up red mountain and it wasn’t all that bad. It was so much fun, but I was really tired. It was awesome being on top of a mountain. From where I’m from, there’s no mountains and that was the first time I actually got up to the top of a mountain. I guess I could call myself a mountain climber now. That hike up to the mountain was 4 miles and it wasn’t that bad going up and down the mountain.  Wednesday, we went on a tour at the Platinum Mine a.k.a. old platinum.  It was fun to see all the old buildings and things in the buildings.  We saw many different things at that place.  Anyways, overall, i think hiking was the most fun!  The next time I visit, I wanna see a bear because we only saw caribous so far.  For next years bridging students, my advice would be to bring good hiking shoes.  :D  ~Tiffany~

The job that I’m working in is at the Bethel Family Clinic, and my supervisor is LeTisha Guinn.  Some of the people I work with are Meredith, Bryan, Tess, Debbie, and Theresa.  What do I do? What I do there is check on the charts from the years before, and sometimes do PECS on the computers.  Sometimes, we get to help or watch Debbie or Meredith see some patients, but everything has to be confidential.  We check the patient’s temp’s and their blood pressures.  Some days, there isn’t that much to do when they don’t have patients to see, or when their provider isn’t in.  The most fun thing about our job is that we get to check some patient’s temp’s and their blood pressures.  Checking some patients made me experience what my mom does everyday at work because she’s a health-aid at home.  I’ve always wanted to work somewhere in the health fields after school, and now I have some experience about it.  I still do wanna work somewhere in the health field so this job didn’t affect of what I want to do after school or college.  ~Tiff~

Right now I’m here in Platinum for a so called vacation. It’s been alright, we’ve done a lot of different activities. We went kayaking, hiked Red Mountain, and also toured Platinum mining camp. The most fun, was probably the Mining camp, because we got to see a lot of stuff that was still there from when the camp was first established back in 1927, i think, don’t quote me on that though, lol. It was cool seeing how everything still stands from when it was first built. We looked into a lot of old buildings and also got to see the dredge. I’m still not exactly sure what it is, but I think it dug up the platinum deposits or something along those lines. I also liked seeing the old tractors and machines and stuff. I got to seat it some of them, which was pretty fun.

Another thing I enjoyed was when we made a fire on the beach and ate yummy smores. They were delicious :D. And while we were down at the beach I entertained myself by making a trail for everyone to follow, it was interesting. Everyone laughed because the trail had arrows pointing where to go, and some even let you go back a few steps and stuff. It’s been fun being here, but lately we’ve been running out of things to keep ourselves busy with. It’s awesome being able to have computers here though, without them I think we’d all go crazy. Today we were waiting to see how the weather turns out so we can go camping. I’m pretty excited because I haven’t gone camping before so it should be fun.

This blog will be about my internship… nothing to do with Fidelity by Regina Spektor.

I am a Desktop Service Technician and I work with Technology. It’s a branch/department of the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation. We handle 48 or someother villages on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta. If ever there’s any technological problems they’d call in to the Service Desk, or write us an e-mail, and we’d create a call ticket. If any of us can handle it right then and there, then the problem will be solved. If unable to do so, we’d create a call ticket. These can be assigned to different branches of the Technologic Department. Departments include: Service Desk, Systems [RPMS, SMS, Kronos], Networking [Hardware, Software], Telephony [ANY telephone issues], Switchboard [Hospital side, they answer all calls that come from outside the YKHC network]. We recently just gone through a little trouble regarding our CIO. D. Maples used to be our CIO, but he resigned without notice. YKHC is hiring a new CIO for our department, but for now, J. Shawler is our acting CIO. Any other given day he’d be my Supervisor, but for now, he’s my Supervisor/CIO. My everyday schedule, during this internship program, goes like this: wake up, get ready, go to class [College Pre-Calculus with Dr. B. Brown from 8 am to 10 am], have my daddy pick me up for work [10 am to 5 pm with lunch from 12 pm to 1 pm], then head back the The Annex. Free time from 5 pm to 7 pm, during this time I’d usually hang out with the ladies and Oscar and whoever else decided to come and see us. At 7, everyone not in the program would be kicked out for “Study Time.” Willie Myers, our tutor, would help us with the lessons assigned for that day. Study Time ends at 9pm, and from then until curfew [11pm on weekdays and 12pm on weekends] is Free time. I’m getting off subject aren’t I? Back to being a Technologist….

I’d answer phones. I’d be out fixing issues. Depending on the Service Desk’s day schedule, we’d be answering phones or out in the field. I haven’t yet been assigned to go to one of the villages that we support, but hopefully that will happen soon. One of our upcoming projects is to switch over all PC’s from Windows 2000 to Windows XP and Office 2000 to Office 2003. It’ll take us a while because of all the village travel that we’ll have to do.

What I like best about working at Technology is the people. They’re comfortable to be around and usually always have a smile on their face. It’s hard to feel awkward, angry, sad, uncomfortable, or any other negative feeling when you work with people such as the ones I do.

Love life. Just love it.

My title at work is an Engineering Assistant, but I really do a little of everything. My supervisor is Joe Seibert, he’s cool because I didn’t know anything when I started. My co-worker is Albert Swope who is a classmate of mine. He pretty much taught me everything I know. So far I’ve helped rewire the news production room where they make all of the news announcements. I never really realized how much work actually goes into making radio broadcasts. I even learned how to use tools to make audio cables. At first I’d always forget something, so I’d have to start over, but once you get the hang of it it’s pretty easy. Now I also know what tools are what, lol. I learn something new everyday which is pretty fun. The funnest part I would say is when you wire something together, and it actually works when you turn it on :). Another fun part for me was when I got to help out in the News Department and I got to be on the radio. It’s kinda weird hearing yourself on the radio, but I like it. Once I also got to help out with the famous Birthday Line, it was harder then I thought, because you cant goof around. And it was hard to keep myself from giggling. It’s been fun learning new things and doing different things, but I’m not sure I’m into being a broadcast engineer or whatever, its alot of time consuming work, and you have to do everything precise. And I mess tihings up alot, or forget things so it would be pretty hard for me to do, But if your into that kind of work I would recommend it to you because I had fun doing it.

After a month of daily Pre-calculus classes and 10 ta’ 5 work schedules…the College Bridging Students are ready for a break.

So…we’ve landed in Platinum, Alaska…on the east side of Kuskokwim Bay…a quiet (sometimes) hamlet of ~ 50 people…perched on the sandy shores of the Bering Sea just north of the prominence of Cape Newenham.

Lots to do here…hiking, kayaking, visiting the mine…and oh…yes…we do have the internet. No MySpace withdraw for our students. LOL

Stay tuned!

M

I wanted to get this blog started while I was still teaching the robotics classes for the first 4 weeks of students, but didn’t have a chance to do it then. I did create a detailed blog on my own school webpage and you can view and reply to lots of blog entries and photos there. I will continue to add more items like the radio station interviews, more photos, and movies in the near future. The web address for me at my school is www.anoka.k12.mn.us/ovms.mr.keeney

I would really like to have my Talent Search robotics students keep in touch with me to tell me how they liked the summer camp this year. I also want you to tell me how your school year is going once school starts in the fall. It would be nice to know how many of you are doing robotics at your school. I would be glad to give you any suggestions or help with problems you might have in the future. I will be adding more things about robotics to my school website in the future that might help you, or so you can find out about my FIRST LEGO League teams this year.

My website has a link to email me, or you can email me directly at paul.keeney@anoka.k12.mn.us

Have a great rest of the summer!
Paul

We started an Archaeological dig this year at the Field Camp. I enjoyed digging quite a lot and would say it was the best experience I had while attending the camp. The laid back management style that Rick Davis presented was very beneficial to my cohorts and I, considering the fact that we would sit every morning and listen to a lecture, we looked forward to digging in the afternoon. The frequent occasion when someone would find something sifting, would be answered by everyone gathering around the sifter or the person and admiring their new found treasure and “Oooing and Ahhing” about it. And our counselor Ben, and his imagination, imagining everything was ancient and had some important purpose. I really had fun digging at this camp.
This is my last blog posting, so thanks to Ben, Martin, Melia, Isaiah, Abe, Elena, and all the rest of you out there that supported this camp, I had an excellent time.
-Dimitri

We had just sat down after hiking seven miles over hill and dale, carrying our packs filled with our tents, sleeping bags and pads, spare clothes, water, and a couple of meals. We were exhausted. We were all sprawled out on the beach next to a stream that flowed into the ocean. Just then, Kyle, Daniel, and I wondered if we could construct a bridge to cross the stream. We looked for a large log that would do the job, but couldn’t find one long enough to span the fifteen foot wide stream. We noticed that there were several enormous logs on the other side. We just needed to find a way to get there. It was low tide, so down on the beach the stream became much wider, but only about a foot deep. We began collecting and hurling large rocks into the water to use as stepping stones. All of us, thinking we had good balance, got soaked from the knees down, with the exception of Kyle, who fell almost completely in. The combination of small logs and large rocks eventually got us across the river. Once across, we began scouting for a log both long enough to span the stream, and strong enough to withstand the weight of a few people. The only problem was that it was too heavy to carry. We quickly found a solution to that problem though. We all would lift one side and rotate the log 180 degrees, until finally, it was lying adjacent to the stream. We then threw the upstream end into the water and let the current swing it around to the other side, where we had helper that lifted it onto the opposite shore. After Kyle took the maiden voyage across we noticed that the tide would soon overtake the bridge and it would drift away. Daniel, Kyle and I concluded that if we surrounded the ends with rocks it would keep the bridge from floating away on high tide. Once the rocks were in place the bridge was complete. That is how the bridge to nowhere was built.    —-Doug

Since our arrival at Nash Harbor we had been waiting for the day to go kayaking. The first couple weeks we weren’t able to due to some difficulties, but the day finally came when we got permission. You wouldn’t think it was the best weather for kayaking, cloudy and cold, but you get surprisingly hot in the dry suits that we wore. For those who don’t know about dry suits, they keep you completely dry with seals around the wrists and neck. We set out on the lake right next to camp and headed for the other end. These 2 seater kayaks get pretty tiring to man, because they are so much longer and heavier than singles. It didn’t help that every time we tried to accelerate we would turn into the wind. We had to change directions after every 50 yards or so. Daniel and I lost a lot of much needed energy because we were zig zagging our way up the lake. Upon arrival at our destination, we happily exited the kayak. It was a lot more tiring than I thought it would be. We sat next to the stream that flows into the lake resting. Then our writing professor ran by us and jumped into the chest-deep stream! We all looked at each other and then immediately followed our professor’s example. We continued jumping in trying different tricks until we couldn’t feel our hands and faces. These are the only parts exposed by the dry suits. They didn’t stay cold for long,however; we quickly warmed up on our trip back to camp. We got back to camp and put all our stuff away. We definitely agreed that this was the best day of the camp. -Kyle

It was just before dinner when our camp counselor Melia pointed out a herd of reindeer across the stream. Although reindeer have poor vision, they have a keen sense of smelling and hearing.The reindeer were eating not too far from where the old reindeer corral was, and decided we wanted to see how close we could get. We quickly changed into waterproof shoes, crossed the stream, walked along the little hills, went behind the fence, and started crawling towards the herd. We were less than a quarter mile away and they were already looking our way because of the dried grass that was breaking while we crawled.

As we slowly approached the reindeer , they started running away, so Mary and I stopped for a while. Mary thought situationally and her plan was for us to crawl towards the end of the bluffs, walk on the beach, and then sneak up on them. I took pictures and recorded movies; I then looked over and noticed the herd was at the end of the bluff. There were approximately 60-70 reindeer, there also seemed to be more males than females. They must have been curious and they were not even scared because they did not run when they saw us, they were walking towards us instead of running. The reindeer were only approximately 20 feet away from us. I started freaking out because I thought they were going to attack us. I told Mary “Look, they’re right there!” We observed them, at the end of the bluff smelling towards the ocean, like they were smelling us.

I was about to run off, but Mary pulled me down to stay hiding in a ditch on the side of the bluff. Many things were running through my head; I thought we were going to get attacked by the bulls because their antlers are so huge. I wasn’t going to just stay there and hide like Mary, because I thought we were dead meat. I was holding the camera, and when they started coming towards us I ran, then Mary ran after me. We ran about a quarter mile, stopped, and looked back. They were not even running after us, they were only watching. We both were shaken up. My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding, and I was out of breath. That was when I noticed I had dropped the camera, so we had to go all the way back and look for it. When we started back, and the reindeer ran away. We tried to get as many close photos as possible without dropping the camera. We did not want to be around the herd anymore, so we went back to camp and ate dinner.

After dinner we asked our camp cook Elena if reindeer attack, and she said they did not. Mary and I looked at each other as if we were crazy. Later that night, we asked one of the boat drivers Jonathan if they attacked, and he said they do if they are being hunted with a bow and arrow. The following day is when we left Nash Harbor and got to Mekoryuk then headed out to the airport. While we were waiting for our plane, Mary and I also asked NIMA Corp. member Dale if reindeer attacked, he also said no. Eva and Nicola said when they were hiking reindeer ran up to them, looked at them and ran away; which is what Mary and I could have done, but we were too scared.

Florence

The most fun I had during the Summer Science Camp was going out camping for one night. Our staff members and group went hiking less than a week ago to a place called Bihmayook. It took us about two and a half hours to reach our destination, a seven mile trip. I think it took me and my friend Felicia a little longer because we were the last ones to arrive. The trip gave us all a break from our class work and our essay. When we arrived, we pitched a tent while the staff members started the camp fire. Although we didn’t have a cook but we had these 2 servings of food in a big bag. The staff members boiled the water in a pot with these little cooking stove’s poured it into our bag, waited 15 minutes and ate from the bag. I thought it tasted good because it almost tasted like someone cooked it. We even had hot chocolate to keep us warm. The weather there was cloudy, then rainy practically the whole night. When we were all around the camp fire we were talking, laughing, and just having a good time. The boys made a log bridge across the stream and crossed it without getting wet while some people were video recording. They saw a fish in the stream and tried to kill it with a spear. It was pretty cool. Unluckily they didn’t get it, though Daniel said that he hit it. The staff members said that we could stay out an hour longer than usual until midnight. They watched us and made sure we were all in our tent. My tent partner was Yvonne; she was making me laugh and we didn’t go bed until 2 a.m while everyone was sleeping. When we woke up we had breakfast around the camp fire . After breakfast we hiked back to camp, although some people didn’t walk back including me. We went back by boat and it only took us only 15 minutes to go back instead of two and a half hours. I think the boat ride was a lot of fun because we got wet using a small boat on big waves in the ocean. My face was the only part that got wet because I had on rain gear. When we got back to our camp I helped the cook because it was her 55th birthday. This was the best trip since I have been here.

-mary moe

Nan is our elder from Miqsarmiut, an old abandoned village where she was born and raised. After her mothers death her father took her to Ellikarmiut, which is now called Nash Harbor. When Nanfirst came to Nash Harbor, her son in-law told her that I can understand Cup’ig. She then spoke to me in Cup’ig asking me where I was from. After I introduced myself, some people asked me to ask her some questions. One of the questions I had asked for someone was, “Qangvaq yuurtellrusit?,” which means, “When were you born?” She was born on the 13th of August, 1913. She will be 94 this coming fall.

Since I was the only one who was able to understand Nan, I became the translator. She started telling stories of her father and parts of her childhood. We asked her how the houses looked when she was a little girl. She described how they looked the same way our Nunivak Island books described the sod houses back in the early 1900’s. Then another day, Nan took us up the hill to show us some plants that the people of Elliikarmiut gathered. She pointed out where they’d pick their greens, and how they would eat them.

One day some of the campers and I were hanging out in the cook tent where we were telling funny stories. Some one then asked me to ask Nan if she had any funny stories to tell. She began telling the story of a polar bear that came into her village when she was a little girl. The story of the polar bear goes like this…

One day the chief of the village went hunting at kavirlirpak (place of red rocks) where he set seal nets during the fall time. After catching a couple of seals, he brought his catch home to his wife to butcher. Before butchering the seals, she went to get water from the water hole which never freezes, to feed them. It was their custom to pay respect to the animals that provide them food and clothing. After doing so, she cut up the seals, made seal oil, and stored them in the underground cache.

The chief and his wife had a dog that always got into things. One night when everyone was asleep, the chief’s wife heard something outside. She crawled out of her igloo to check on what was causing the noise. When she walked to the storage cache, she saw cold breath coming from the cache. She was upset and started yelling at the dog saying, “The stupid mutt has gotten into our food!” As she walked to the cache to scold the dog, a polar bear jumped up from the cache and started roaring in her face, causing her to fall back. As fast as she could she got up and ran to the qasgiq (men’s house) telling them that there was a polar bear in the food cache eating all their food.

All the men went charging out of the qasgiq with their spears and sticks to kill the polar bear. They beat the bear till it was dead. When attempting to carry the bear out of the cache, it was impossible since its belly was filled with fresh seal.

After that, Nan’s mother, and other parents of the village would have their children walk out of their igloo to look towards the food cache and sing a song about the polar bear, how it died, and that it ate all the food. And once the song was sung by the children, including Nan, they than would crawl back into their home. Nan gave us all a laugh with her story.

By translating for Nan, I learned some Cup’ig words such as a seal, which in my Yup’ik lanuage we call issuuriq. Nan calls it a taquukaq. There were a couple of other words I learned, although I’m not quite sure how to pronounce them. Translating for Nan has been a tremendously great experience.  –Yvonne

It is difficult to date back how long Nunivak Island has been inhabited, but it is certain that the Nuniwarmiut were among the last groups to be exposed to western society. The Nuniwarmiut maintained to live their traditional way of life even after contact was made in the early 1920’s. Though they left Nash Harbor in 1959, their strong cultural lifestyle is still evident in Nash Harbor.

It is a rare opportunity to camp on such a rich archeaological site for a few weeks. Every day we get to experience the the remains left behind from generations of previous inhabitants. Stone marked graves dot the hillside and artifacts stick out of eroding banks. Every day we walk amongst the ghosts of an ancient culture that managed to thrive unchanged as the world modernized.

-Daniel

During the couple of weeks we’ve been here on Nunivak Island, a common question arose from the campers, “When is Martin coming?” Martin Leonard, the program coordinator and world-class kayaker, was suppose to fly out the day after we left but was detained. The daily response from the counselors to the bombardment of questions regarding Martin’s arrival was, “He’s coming tomorrow.” Tomorrow would come and go with no sign of Martin. Martin was the only person with whom we could go sea kayaking and the constant delays created worry amongst the campers. A belief grew that Martin would not show, but the day before our last day on the island, he arrived.

The next afternoon, Martin took us out for our first and last chance at sea kayaking. We got dressed in our dry suits and partnered up. After inspecting the double seater kayaks and adjusting our foot pegs, we pulled our kayaks into the stream and walked them into the harbor. The kayaks were positioned out of the way of the larger waves as we were helped into the kayaks and inspected for a second time. When everyone was ready we paddled out in to the harbor, sticking close to the cliffs to stay out of the wind. It is an amazing sight to view the hundred foot giants from below. Birds dotted the cliff side, taking flight as we neared. We even spotted a seal lounging in the open waves.

We passed Cape Mohican, the farthest point dividing the harbor from the ocean, and an immediate difference was noticeable. The transition from calm, still water to the ever swelling ocean was startling. Our nerves subsided as we went over the first couple swells. The rather intimidating three to five foot swells were quite gentle as they pulled us up and over their crest down the other side into another swell. After spending roughly forty minutes out on the ocean, the real fun began. Turning back towards camp we were able to surf the swells. A large swell would come up from behind and if we paddled hard and long enough we could surf it and cover twice the distance in half the time. Sea kayaking was by far the most incredible activity this camp had to provide. Those attending next year are in for a spectacular treat, when Martin shows up.

-Daniel Updegrove

Out here in Nash Harbor we have had a fox that has been visiting us.The fox has visited us so many times that Ben named him Charley. Charley is white and reddish. He has a kind of wiry coat, and is small and sneaky. The cook caught him trying to take our fish off of the rack, and she scared him off. I think that Charley is my favorite part of this camp. He comes around the camp at the most random times; last night he was playing in the grass outside of our tent. I wanted to go and watch him but I had to go to bed cause it was late. Ben found Charley’s den, its a little ways above our camp. So far Charley hasn’t been aggressive towards anyone of the people at the camp, he seems to be really nice. Charley even lets us take his picture, and I think that T.J. took a video of him. I really like Charley, I am going to miss him when we leave.

Ben just informed me that Charley, is really Charlene i guess while we were out there Melia saw that she had puppy’s. They didn’t tell us us because she didn’t want us to go and try to play with her puppy’s which I probably would have done. even thought Charlie turned out to be Charlene I still miss her and wish that I could have seen her puppy’s

♥

Jenny

We are digging out artifacts that have been left behind by the Nuniwarmiut people that have once lived here at Nash Harbor. The most interesting find that we have had, was a size 9 boot and some fabric of a spring bed. We see that the Nuniwarmiut people use almost the same clothing and equipment that we use today, but a bit older. The artifacts here such as tools and beads probably were traded from the mainland.

In those days by the late 1800s, the Nuniwarmiut natives were trading glass bead, cloth, iron, and copper bracelets, and iron adze, through the mainland kuskowagamiut people. Although the mainlanders nearely visited Nunivak, trade would go through nuniwarmiut trades that periodically visited the mainland.

The boot that we have found was dirty black, and orange, very old and ragged. It is possible that a young boy or girl had worn it. The boot could have been used for hunting, or picking greens, so the native wouldn’t get his or her feet wet. The boot may have been left behind because it got worn out, or maybe had been given better boots to that person and just threw it to the side.

Fourth week..

Hey this is Jodi. I am good friends with my room mates now. We went bird siting 2 weeks ago and got a tour of the Children’s home up passed Kwethluk. There was no body there and the houses were all creepy inside. It was a lot of fun.

On June 30 we all went kayaking in the Kuskokwim River. We went around this huge Island and stopped half way to visit Alessa’s fish camp. It was fun playing basketball girls against guys. When we got back to Bethel we all went for a dip in the river as a way to celebrate for working our way around the island. The water was freezing!!!

Well I guess next weekend will be awesome! I gotta get back to work so L8r!:D

-Jodi