iUncle Nayukuk Casual Man--Angered Auntie
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
Copyright, 1963; Howard Rock
"1 can die of exasperation on ac
count of that man in there," said
Aunt Mumangeena tensely, half to
herself and half to me. "I wish
something would happen to jolt
him out of his miserable laziness!"
She was hurriedly loading the
sled with our camping gear and I
was helping. Uncle Nayukuk was
in our sod igloo looking for things
he could not find. He had also
taken an unusually long time to
dress. Aunt Mumangeena was ef
ficiently and quickly gathering the
things we would need at the Kuk
puk River grayling fishing grounds.
Journey Begins
My aunt and I started to hitch
the seven dogs for a short trip to
the north beach where my father's
Umiak was. Mumangeena had per
suaded my parents into letting us
Use it. but had made a promise that
we would take good care of it.
“We’ll take good care of it and
we'll bring back plenty of fish for
ell of us." she had promised. They
had made arrangements for some
young men who had gone up the
river helping their families to take
the umiak back to Point Hope.
Just as Mumangeena finished
hitching the last of the dogs. Nayu
kuk came out of the igloo. "You
have been a great help this morn
ing!” snapped Mumangeena sar
castically. “If you want to ride to
the beach, mother here will drive
you.”
I winced at hearing "mother."
After all, I was a big boy of nine
years old. I had been named after
my grandmother and Mumangeena
never wavered from calling me
that, even when I became a young
man of fourteen when I left Point
Hope to go to school. If she were
alive today, there is no doubt she
would have continued to call me
“mother.”
I drove the team to the beach
while my aunt waddled hurriedly
behind. Nayukuk walked oasuallv.
We dragged the umiak down to the
water’s edge and loaded it, includ
ing the sled. Mumangeena had
planned to stay through the month
of November “so Nayukuk can trap
foxes."
Ideal Weather
It was still early in the morning
and the people in the village were
just beginning to stir. There was a
light breeze from the southeast and
the water on the north beach was
calm with only gentle swells roll
ing. It was ideal for traveling.
A long line was tied about seven
feet back of the bow on the right
side to a plank seat and a brace
of the umiak. The other end was
tied to the team. When everything
was in readiness. Mumangeena said
to her husband, “You better stay
with the team on the beach and I’ll
steer the umiak. The dogs might
get tangled up.”
Let your ‘mother’ do it for a
while, ’ Nayukuk said quietly. I
was so taken aback that I almost
shouted. ‘Don’t call me ‘mother’,
Uncle Nayukuk!”
Mumangeena sputtered. She
looked as if she was about to ex
plode or tear her hair out.
1 found myself tending to the
team on the beach. The start was
rather fast and I had to run holding
on to the line just behind the team.
1 kept going like that on the soft
gravel for about a mile and then
I became exhausted. My endur
e.nce hod not yet developed.
Easy Way Out
At my aunt's bidding, Nayukuk
beached the umiak and I got on.
Aunt Mumangeena made little sym
pathetic noises and said. ‘‘Mother,
you are getting to be such a big
belp. That’s more than I can say
for that one back there.”
Before we knew it. Uncle Nay
tikuk paddled the umiak backwards
Rnd turned it parallel with the
beach and shouted, “Mush!” We I
had a good leader and the team
responded and moved forward and
the umiak with it. Mumangeena
put hr'r hands to her face. She
looked as if she was about to break
down and cry.
Trying Her Patience
Thus we traveled for about
twelve miles until we reached the
inlet leading to the mouth of the
Kukput River. Once along the way,
the dogs spotted a squirrel on a
bank nearby and made a mad rush
for it. The sudden pull of the line
beached the umiak abruptly. Nay
ukuk jumped off quickly and
straightened the team out. He came
back to the umiak and got into
his position to steer. I was surprised
when Aunt Mumangeena didn't say
a word. Her expression told me
that she was trying powerfully to
keep from making an outburst.
The usually garrulous Muman
geena was very quiet. It was plain
that she was keeping her pent-up
emotions in check. Nayukuk was
in his usual element, silent and re
ticent. I didn't make any noise
either. I felt that if I shattered the
silence, it would be too much.
From time to time, I glanced
back at Nayukuk. He sat in his
steering position, seemingly calm
and relaxed. He smoked his pipe
as he steered the umiak. He looked I
as if he was contented. He was a j
rather handsome man and he looked
good, his black mustache brushing
against his pipe, his hood turned
down off his head.
The current in the inlet was
swift and it made irregular waves.
Nayukuk got off and got behind
the team and helped pull while
Mumangeena steered. When we
reached calm water in a small bay,
we beached the boat. Nayukuk
loaded the dogs in the umiak and
we paddled across the small bay
close to the mouth of the river
and landed on the north bank.
Nayukuk unloaded the dogs and
arranged them.
There was smooth ground for a
lengthy distance up the river but
Mumangeena said. “You better
stay with the team from here on.”
“I’ll do that when we get to the
high banks,” replied Nayukuk.
Aunt Mumangeena didn’t say a
word but she gripped the gunwale
of the umiak hard.
After going about a mile, we
reached a deep, narrow channel
with rocky beaches on each side of
it. The current was swift and the
dogs ashore were pulling hard.
Nayukuk and Mumangeena helped
the team by paddling.
Death Fight
All of a sudden, the dog to the
right of the tandem next to the
leader pulled toward the water and
disorganized the team. We didn’t
know whether he wanted a drink
of water or wanted something he
saw on the beach. It was a fatal
move for him.
As soon as it happened, the leader
spun around, fangs bared and
pounced on the dog. The dogs be
hind rushed forward and joined
the fight. In seconds, there was a
wild melee of fighting dogs. It
started with loud growls. As it
progressed there was no longer
growling and all we could hear
was loud breaths of the viciously
fighting team. It meant only one
thing—a fight to the death. Dogs
reared, each one closing its terrible
fangs on the other’s neck or ear.
The dogfight stopped the pro
gress of the umiak, of course, and
the swift current made it difficult
to handle. The current caught the
bow and swung it outward from
the shore. Nayukuk worked frantic
ally and tried to head it toward the
beach. The current against the
umiak pulled the fighting dogs in
to the water but that did not deter
the fierceness of the battle. Blood
began to run down the current
from the fighting dogs. Rasping
Kayayeaktowlook Remembered Man Who
He Angered When Both Were Children
By Paul Green
Nome, Alaska
Kayayeaktowlook was about six
or seven years old and his sister was
two years younger than he. Both
their parents had died at Kivalina
;o they were taken to Point Hope
by their uncle and they were both
raised there. While growing up,
Kayayeaktowlook used to play with
the Point Hope boys.
One time they were playing tag.
The boys used to have a belt made
out of some kind of wolverine hide
or with a wolf tail on it. They wore
*he belt over their parkas and
around their waists. One o fthe boys
had a belt made out of a white fox
tail.
Broken Belt
Kayayeaktowlook went after the *
boy with the white fox tail and ran !
after him and tried to tag him. He i
---,
Snapp Leaving;
Brady Is New
Times Advisor
Thomas Snapp. who has been as
sistant editor and technical advisor
of the Tundra Times since its begin
ning will soon be leaving for the
lower states, and has been replaced
by Terry Brady, according to Editor
Howard Rock.
Brady was recently with the Fair
banks Daily News-Miner and be
fore that was with the Anchorage
Daily Times. He was also once Unit
ed Press International press corre
spondent for the Fairbanks area.
Snapp, who plans to continue his
iournalistic education, is also a
former News-Miner writer, and for
the past three years has been an
Alaska correspondent for Time, Life
and Sports Illustrated magazines.
Snapp has also worked on the Bris
tol (Va.) Herald Courier, the Pacific
Stars and Stripes and the Air Uni
versity Quarterly Review magazine.
He plans to return to Alaska next
summer.
Brady originally came to Alaska
to work in the fire control section
of the Bureau of Land Management.
He has traveled extensively in In
terior and Arctic Alaska.
tagged him on the white fox tail and
broke it. The Point Hope boy got
mad at Kayayeaktowlook and got
him scared. Kayayeaktowlook never
j forgot how he was threatened by the
boy.
When they were grown, Kayay
I eaktowlook and his sister went back
j to Kivalina. The man married a wife
and the woman married a husband
j from Noatak.
One spring Kayayeaktowlook
went over a portage to Cape Lis
burne above Point Tope. He left
his brother-in-law and his sister at
Kivalina River. He took his wife
along and they spent the spring at
Cape Lisburne and w-aited until the
ice went out. After the breakup,
skin boats began to come from
Point Hope to hunt caribou along
the coast.
Close Watch
Kayayeaktowlook watched them
closely thinking he might see the
man who got angry with him when
they were boys. Later, Kayayeak
towlook saw another boat coming
up the beach. He sat while the boat
came closer.
A man was steering the boat and
a woman was on the beach towing
the boat with long line of rawhide
thong. Finally. Kayayeaktowlook
recognized the man in the boat as
the same man who had gotten mad
at him when they were boys.
Kayayeaktowlook stood up and
walked down to grab the towline
and started to pull the boat in. The
man in the boat noticed who he
was.
Quiet Revenge
The Point Hope man called his
wife to come to the boat and she
came to her husband. He said to his
wife, “Give some muktuk and meek
eegak to Kayayeaktowlook.”
Kayayeaktowlook called his wife
to bring her wooden tub for the
meat. Point Hope woman took the
wooden tub into the boat and op
ened a poke of meat arid muktuk
and she began to put some of it into
the tub. She asked her husband
how much more she should give
Kayayeaktowlook. Her husband
looked in the tub and said to his
wife, “Give him a little more.”
The woman held the poke on one
end and poured everything into the
tub. She gave the tub to Kayayeak
] towlook and his wife and got off
the boat.
When the woman got off, Kayay
eaktowlook pushed the boat out in
the water. The Point Hope man and
! his wife got underway once again.
The woman towed the skin boat
I with a line made of oogruk hide.
Safely Home
Kayayeaktowlook and his wife
took the wooden tub full of muktuk
and meat and took it up to their
deer skin tent. They now had whale
meat to cat so they stayed there
at Cape Lisburne for a few more
days. They then started to walk
back to Kivalina. They arrived back
to their folks safely.
Kayayeaktowlook was glad to see
his sister and her husband in good
condition.
Stevens To Be
Minto Lawyer
The Indian Village of Minto, 50
miles from Fairbanks, last week
procured the services of an attor
ney. Ted Stevens, of Anchorage, to
help them in protesting state selec
tion in the Minto area and in pro
tecting their property rights.
Stevens is assisting Chief Richard
Frank and the village council to
draw up a new protest, encompas
sing the full area the Minto people
claim.
The Minto people drew up and
filed with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs in 1938 and again in 1961
the complete area they claim but
for some unexplained reason, the
Bureau of Land Management in
Fairbanks only has on file a smal
ler. incorrect claim made up in
1951.
Recently the BLM has published
in a local newspaper a notice of
state selections in the Minto area
and the Minto people have only
until September 7 to file any pro
test tney may have.
Attorney Stevens is offering his
services for the next year to the
Minto people for the token amount
of $1 with expenses being paid by
the Association on American In
dian Affairs.
breaths issued from bared fangs.
Battle Stopped
Aunt Mumangeena began to
scream, “Get the umiak on the
beach! Get the umiak on the Beach!
‘Nayukuk worked frantically but
with little success. Mumangeena
kept shouting. It seemed an in
credibly long time when Nayukuk
finally nosed the umiak toward the
beach. When we got to the shallow
water, he jumped and ran splash
ing to the battling dogs. He took
his paddle with him and started
using it at once. In a minute or so,
he splintered the paddle to bits
but the dogs kept fighting. The
water around them became red
with blood. The belly of one of the
dogs had been ripped open.
When the splintered paddle was
no longer effective, Nayukuk
grabbed rocks and started to throw
them at the maddened dogs. He
knocked one of them unconscious
and soon afterward had the dogs
under control.
Aftermath
The fight had taken its terrible
toll. The dog that had disorganized
the team did not get up but he was
still alive. He laid in shallow water
which was red now with his blood.
The vicious fangs of his team mem
bers had literally torn him to a
terrible mass of slashes and cuts.
Nayukuk cut the trace and pulled
the mortally wounded dog out of
the water. He went back to the
umiak and said quietly. “He will
never heal from his wounds.” He
got his rifle and went back to the
dog and shot it.
Mumangeena got off the umiak
and sat down on the beach. “We
needn't have lost that dog and he
was one of our best.” she said. Her
voice broke and she wept. My eyes
blurred with tears. I also liked the
dog. He was friendly and playful
and he had been something of a
pet to Mumangeena and me. He
was also a hard worker.
Horse Stolen
The team had gotten into a hope
less tangle during the fight and it
took Nayukuk a long while to un
tangle them. Soon we were ready
to get underway once again. There
was no need to prod Nayukuk to
attend to the team on the banks.
He took to the job without com
ment and did it dilligently. He
had “locked the door after the
horse was stolen” to be sure, but he
did his work well and for several
hours.
It was about 8 o’clock in the eve
ning When Mumangeena shouted,
“Let's camp on that beach ahead
of us for the night.”
Back to Normalcy
Nayukuk plodded ahead without
seeming to hear but when we
reached the beach, he stopped the
team and pulled in the umiak. The
dogs were tired and we had been
traveling for more than twelve
hours. We set up a small tent and
Mumangeena fixed our evening
meal. When it was ready, she said,
“Mother, go tell your uncle to come
and eat.”
When the meal was over she said
to Nayukuk, “You better take off
your mukluks so I can dry them
for tomorrow.”
She had begun to talk after a
day of oppressive silence and the
atmosphere became easy. She was
on the way to becoming herself
again after the day’s ordeal and it
was good.
“We have a hard day ahead of
us.” Turning to me Aunt Muman
geena said gently, “Mother, you
better go to bed and take a good
rest.”
CUFF'S BARBER SHOP
"Slll^hSld'SiSwr*
423 2nd Ave.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Cliff Cundy