On top of the world: what is life like for Eskimo teens on St. Lawrence Island?

Have you ever wondered what tomorrow looks like? If so, you might like to visit Edward Ungott, 12. Edward lives in Alaska, on St. Lawrence Island. On a clear day, he can look across the Bering Sea to Russia, only 36 miles away. Where Edward stands, it is today. For anyone standing on that other shore, it is already tomorrow.

Edward's hometown of Gambell is only a few miles from the international date line (see map, p. 15). If he decided to hop in a boat on a Saturday in summer and take a short ride westward, he would reach the spot where Saturday becomes Sunday. He could spend Sunday afternoon fishing, then sail home--and back into Saturday!

Not for Sun Worshippers!

This time of year, though, boating is out of the question. St. Lawrence Island isn't far from the Arctic Circle (see pp. 8-11). "The sea is frozen," says Violet Apatiki, 14. "There is no hunting, no boating. But there is crabbing--through holes cut in the ice." Where Violet lives, the Bering Sea freezes in mid-November, and doesn't start breaking up until late May.

If you can't stand cold weather, don't visit the island in winter. This time of year, temperatures average -7[degrees] to 11[degrees]F. If you wait for summer, the average temperatures are 38[degrees]F to 48[degrees]F. A really hot day is one in the low 50s. You probably wouldn't do much sunbathing, anyway. Precipitation falls 300 days a year, adding up to about 15 inches of rain and 80 inches of snow.

Edward and Violet come from a long line of people who have known how to live in a harsh climate. Like more than 96 percent of the island's population, both teens are Yupik. Their ancestors arrived on the island from Siberia more than 2,000 years ago. Today, as then, the Yupik are experts in surviving the cold.

When most people think of Eskimos, they think of igloos. But residents of the island live in one-story houses. Igloos made of ice are used only as emergency shelters.

Historically, the Yupik livelihood was hunting sea mammals, such as seals and whales, and trading the fur and meat. Some Yupik still hunt, to provide family and friends with meat, blubber (fat), and skins used year-round.

Edward has gone seal hunting, using an aluminum boat and a rifle. But Bobby Ungwiluk has helped catch much bigger prey. Now 18, he has been boating since he was 11. "I helped bring in a whale when I was 13," Bobby tells JS, "and another one when I was 15."

Whenever a boat crew strikes a whale, nearby crews rush to help bring the whale to shore. The whole village shares in the work--and most of everything made from the whale's body.

What's for Dinner?

Whales are part of a traditional Yupik diet. The Yupik eat the whale's skin as well as its meat and blubber. They also eat seabirds, salmon, seal meat and seal oil, and walrus meat and skin. "I like walrus skin!" says Violet.

Violet's family and other islanders can buy bread, milk, hamburger meat, and canned vegetables at the town store. But such items must be flown in from the mainland, along with mail, medicines, and other supplies. That makes them expensive. So islanders often eat what they hunt or can pick themselves, including greens and berries that grow wild. If you visit, try some Eskimo ice cream! It is a mixture of greens, seal oil, and berries.

To most Americans in the "Lower 48" states and Hawaii, St. Lawrence Island might seem strange and forbidding. But to kids like Edward, Violet, and Bobby, the tundra is simply home.

A World Away

St. Lawrence Island is 100 miles long and 25 miles wide. It has two villages, Gambell and Savoonga. They are only 40 miles apart. But that can feel like a world away because the island has no roads and no docks, so travel between the towns is usually by plane--the same as between the island and mainland Alaska. In town, people get around on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or snowmachines.

Like Savoonga, Gambell has about 700 residents, and one school for students in grades K-12. Edward's grandparents often take him to school, but he knows how to drive an ATV. Violet lives close enough to walk.

Kids wear the usual things to school: jeans, T-shirts, sweatshirts, and sneakers. They have thick-soled "bunny boots" for walking on ice, and snow boots for deep snow.

Sheltering Wildlife

In 1881, a famous naturalist named John Muir visited St. Lawrence Island. He described it as "a dreary mass of granite and lava of various forms and colors, roughened with volcanic cones, covered with snow, and rigidly bound in the ocean for half the year."

But today, tourists are drawn by the island's natural, rugged beauty and wealth of wildlife. St. Lawrence and other islands in the area have become important as protected natural habitats for seals and walruses. (Only native peoples are allowed to hunt them, for their own use.)

Birders are especially fond of St. Lawrence Island. Bird species of both Asia and the Americas migrate to this spot between the continents. Just off Savoonga's shore are the Stobi Rocks, where many seabirds nest. Behind Gambell rises tundra-covered Sevuokuk Mountain, one of the island's several bird rookeries (breeding grounds).

Social Life

The most popular sport in Eskimo communities is basketball. Everyone enjoys playing the game. "It's my favorite activity," says Bobby. Violet prefers cross-country skiing, but she also likes to hang out with friends at the gym (see sidebar below).

For kids and adults alike, the gym is the town's social center. It is a warm place to meet, relax, and play, especially in winter--the traditional time for social gatherings. Kids play some b-ball or just talk, joke around, and have fun.

Most islanders speak Yupik as well as English. So when the day is over and people head for home, you might hear calls of "Esghaghlleqamken!" That means, "Goodbye! I'll see you!"

Words to Know

* international date line: imaginary line that is the internationally recognized time-zones division between calendar dates. West of the line, the date is one day later than east of the line.

* snowmachine: snowmobile; an openair vehicle with skilike runners instead of wheels.

* tundara: a rough, treeless plain that is characteristic of the Arctic; just below the muddy surface, the soil is permanently frozen.

* Yupik: an Eskimo people who live along the coasts and on some of the islands of the Bering Sea. Also, those people's language and culture,

Think About It

1. If you were to visit St. Lawrence Island, what would you most like to see or do? Why?

2. What kind of skills do you think the Yupik need to survive in a cold climate? Would these skills be helpful where you live? Explain.

TEEN DIARY A REPORT FROM THE ARCTIC

"We Hang Out" Life in a remote Alaskan village

My family is not that big: me my three sisters, my brother, our mother and father. (Only some of us live in Gambell.) My father is in Arizona, one sister is in Anchorage, and another sister is in Texas.

Here with me are my sister Chattian, 18; my brother, Michael, 15; and our mother. We live in a two-bedroom house. We don't have a TV, but some people (in the village) do.

I am in the eight grade. I like science class and Yupik language class. I am going to join the cross-country ski team.

I collect teddy bears and letters from my sisters. I like going to the gym to visit with my friends. We usually just hang out and do nothing.

At Christmastime, we do not have a tree or decorations. We just exchange gifts and go to church.--Violet Apatiki

* Objectives

Students should be able to:

* understand and discuss similarities and differences between their own lives and those of kids living on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.

* recognize that there are connections between culture (how people live) and climate (conditions under which people live).

* Background

Eskimo peoples inhabit a broad swath of Earth's Arctic region. Although they have much in common, they belong to many distinct groups living in different regions, with variations in lifestyle, culture, and language (dialects of Eskimo). The Yupik, featured in this article, live along the coasts and on some of the islands in the Bering Sea. Best-known may be the Inuit Eskimo of Greenland and northeastern Canada.

* Critical Thinking

RECALLING DETAILS: When and from where did Yupik first arrive on St. Lawrence Island? (about 2,000 years ago, from Siberia, Russia)

MAKING INFERENCES: Why do Yupik on the island still eat many traditional foods? (The traditional foods can be found growing on the islands, or are caught by hunting and fishing crews. Other foodstuffs must be flown in from mainland Alaska, making them expensive.)

* Activity

HERE AND THERE: Have students--individually or in groups--choose a category of information from the Gambell Profile (URL at right). Then have them track down their hometown's figures for the same category. Ask: How do they compare? Do such comparisons help you "see" the Gambell kids' lives more clearly? Explain.

STANDARD

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* People, places, and environment: Over two millennia, the Yupik learned to survive in the Arctic in ways that continue to shape the lives of the Yupik today.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Guthridge, George, Kids From Nowhere [Alaska Northwest Books, 2006]. Advanced readers.

* Kalman, Bobbie, Life in the Far North [Crabtree, 2003]. Grades 5-8.

WEB SITES

* Arctic FAQ 

www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/ html/resources_faq.html

* Gambell Profile citytowninfo.com/places/ alaska/gambell