"Elicarnarqaput makut kinguqliput makut atritnek." /We must teach our young people their [place] names. — Ray Waska, Emmonak, January 2012

Over the last ten years Calista Elders Council (CEC) staff has worked with elders from Bering Sea coastal communities to document Yup'ik place names. This work was initiated and encouraged by CEC's Board of Elders as well as community members. Elders showed a strong desire to teach young people the rich history and named places of their homeland, including camp and settlement sites, rivers, sloughs, rocks, ponds, even sandbars and underwater channels. During our work together community members shared more than 3,000 names as part of three ongoing CEC projects and two previous regional place name projects.

Ayagyuaput Pitekluki Caliukut / WE WORK FOR THE SAKE OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

The elders we work with are dedicated to documenting traditional knowledge, especially place names. They do this for the sake of their young people.

As Denis Sheldon of Alakanuk said:

"Especially if our young people forget about the land and the names and the hunting places and those rivers, it's like they will lose some of their body parts. But if they learn more about their identity, their minds will be stronger."

Alakanuk elder Lawrence Edmund agreed:

"When they travel [without knowing place names], it's like they are lost [in a storm]."

Elders are committed to sharing their knowledge, both through books and on the computer. Emmonak elder Ray Waska was adamant in his desire that our mapping work not be hidden from people but be made available for all to see:

"I'm pushing for this map to be shown to the young people and not kept hidden. Or if they want to see it in school or in a particular class, as you know there are Yup'ik classes in schools, then they can display it on the computer and listen to a person who is speaking over there. That's what I'm thinking, to show it to our young people and not keep it hidden."

Nelson Island elder Paul John explained that sharing knowledge is like sharing food. If it is difficult to obtain in one community, those who have it must share with those who do not:

"According to the traditional teachings, they were told to receive one who is trying to subsist and to help him obtain food without making the excuse that he is from another village. If these [maps and stories] are open [to the public], it will be like that."

WHY PLACE NAMES ARE IMPORTANT

Nerangnaqsaraput yuutekaput, nangerngatkaput / Our subsistence way of life keeps us alive, it keeps us standing

Men and women in coastal communities continue to hunt, fish, and gather greens in the areas surrounding their villages. Knowing the named places where foods are available has always been important for survival.

Kongiganak elder and CEC board member John Phillip (January 2011) explained:

"Since our subsistence way of life keeps us alive, since it keeps us standing, that's something that I teach in my village. I also bring my grandchildren and great-grandchildren with me out to the wilderness; I bring them with me to check blackfish traps and tell them about those places.

Just like that, we especially try to carry on these ways that are most important. Concerning our land, our ancestors told us, "The area around your village is something that you must endeavor to pass on from generation to generation. Inside that land, you can eat as much as you want, taking whatever is available."

Elitaqiyuunateng maa-i una taugaam puukallerkateng kiingan/They no longer recognize places today, but are only concerned about bumping into things

Elders emphasized that knowing place names was important for safe travel. Only by knowing the names could people avoid dangerous places and let others know their location when they were lost.

As Denis Sheldon said:

"When this [map] is displayed, young people will learn it. This map will be of help, and if they happen to encounter danger in the wilderness, if they don't know where that village is, [their location] will be hard to find. But if they know the names of places when they find them, if they need to search for them, their location will be known."

Mark John agreed:

"If our young people learn place names, they won't say, 'I'm heading up [inland].' But they will say their real names, that they will be traveling to that specific place. And if they happen not to return, [people] will know where they are and can search for them."

Piciryaraput alaicetlaraat/They make our customs visible

Elders also shared place names and stories as part of their efforts to ensure that their valued traditions remain visible in this rapidly changing world.

Alakanuk elder Fred Augustine said:

"One day as we are living, people will ask us if we are Yup'ik people, and we will say, 'Yes.' [They will ask,] 'Where are your Yup'ik customs and ways?' They will look for them, but if this [map] wasn't finished well, [these customs] will be gone. This [map] here will demonstrate the 'qaneryarat' [words of wisdom].

If we do a good job recording [place names on this map] the hardships that Yup'ik people will face in the future will be less. This is something to be grateful for."

Tua-i anerteqerrlainarngailamta wangkuta/Because we won't always live

Contemporary elders were anxious to share their knowledge, as they are the last generation to become aware and grow to adulthood in the years before the rapid changes that came with extended non-Native contacts in southwest Alaska. Although there will always be elders, the generation of men and women who as children listened to their own elders in the qasgi (communal mens' house) and home, and hunted and traveled with dog teams and kayaks, is passing away. The stories they share are their legacy.

Benedict Tucker said:

"Since we won't always be alive, I'm pushing this work to continue to the best of our ability. These [teachings] will help them even if they're white people. Continue to move it forward, it will get stronger in the future. As Yup'ik people, our Yup'ik ways, starting from our ancestors, mustn't be completely lost."

Allat-llu elitnaurciqaput/We will also teach others

Elders emphasized that what they shared was for everyone. Through sharing their customs and traditions they hope to educate non-Natives in their unique ways of life, so as to gain their respect. Mark John declared:

"Some time ago, when we asked the Calista Elders Council board, when they spoke and said to display our work to people and not close it off to anyone, I was extremely happy.

I'm also pushing for our work on Yup'ik ways in that way. Our children and grandchildren won't be the only ones we'll teach, but we will also teach others. And through what they've learned, they will have more respect for us."

Caliaput ikayuutnguciquq Yup'iullemta tungiinun/This work will strengthen our Yup'ik identity

Among the most important reasons elders support this work is their belief that knowledge and understanding of the land and sea can strengthen a person's Yup'ik identity.

Denis Sheldon shared:

"If our young people learn more about the land, it will be like we have a stronger identity and our minds will be stronger."

As John Phillip said:

"From the beginning, we were born as Yup'ik people. But a Yup'ik person's Yup'ik identity, being a Yup'ik person like this, and following the Yup'ik way of living, that person is also living by sustaining himself from foods from the land where he is born. That person is living off the land, using his Yup'ik way of being."