LECTURE NUMBER 1

LECTURE NUMBER 1: ALASKAN NATIVE TALES

Lecture # 1 Sky watchers the First Financial Astrologers. The Sun, the Moon, and Alaska. Native story tellers used the movement of constellations to tell time and these stories were the basis of yesterday's survival economics as well as today's agriculture industry.

I've notice a few of you have fallen in love with our state. You are welcome to buy some land and if you are broke after this trip we do offer homesteads at the Fairbanks land office.

The source of the information in this lecture began with the Inuit creation myth. The handout gives you the website where you can find the full text of Inuit story plus other references.
Alaska has two seasons: Getting ready for summer and Getting ready for winter.

Visitors always ask about our midnight sun and our endless nights and how we adjust.

Alaska is the least desirable state for Amateur astronomers. Statistically the odds are against you. 200 days per year are overcast. All sorts of events interfere with a good view of the stars. Summer, winter, the aurora Borealis and bitter cold. If your hobby is astronomy and you have an excellent telescope, store it in Texas and plan to visit it during the Winter holidays. Most Alaskans claim to be very sorry that in 1959 Texas became state number two, but Alaskans concede that the stars at night are big and bright and Texans still have the best view. That's it everything else is bigger and better in Alaska.
Alaska sky's change sometimes rapidly and sometimes the storms are endless. A white out snow storm can last a few days or a few weeks.

Everyone asks how do Alaskans deal with 24 hours of darkness. We don’t we go to Hawaii. Well, I go to New Orleans the food is better and they celebrate every holiday with fireworks, a parade and a round of parties.
In Homer winter solstice means 4 hours of what the natives call daylight a better description is twilight. ( oh the definition of a native is someone who has lived in Homer more than one calendar year). Natives have one goal and that is to stay another year. They will move heaven and earth and Ebay to raise the funds to make it through the winter. In fact the Internet has made getting through the winter almost easy.

The creation myths The Inuit have a very long creation myth that has scattered survival instructions one is for telling time without the Sun.
Inuit are Eskimos. During the previous century they inhabited the coastal areas from Anchorage around to Pudoe Bay. They prefer the name Inuit. Eskimo means people who eat raw meat and is a rather derogatory term in their language.

This part of the world is truly the twilight zone. I have always been able to tell time by the position of Sun. I did not know that it is possible to tell time at night by the position of the handle of the big dipper until I read the Inuit creation myth.
The constellations we all know the best are the Big and Little dipper also known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. On clear nights you can observe their position in the sky and know the time. Time of night is very important. If you are a night watchman without a watch you can tell time by the position of the Big Dippers handle.

The last star on the handle of the Big Dipper gives the time during the night It points west in the evening then when it points straight up it is half way through the night then east it will soon be sunrise.
This was a case of reading a myth, knowing by logic it was true, but I've never stayed up the entire night looking at the stars. My astronomer friends gave me the address of a NASA kids site to verify this little tidbit of information.

The sky map is at www.kidsastronomy.com. Their program moves the constellations around according to the time of night.
Alaskans don't want you to get lost and they know your magnetic compass points north east, therefore they adopted a state flag to help you find your way around the state. The flag for Alaska illustrates the Big Dipper and the North star.
A Flag design contest was held back in the old days when Alaska was a territory. The result is that Alaskans have their own special hero whose story is similar to Oliver or even Harry Potter.
John Bell (Benny) Benson was living in an orphanage in Seward. The native resident of Chignik 13 year old John Bell Benton designed the Alaska flag in 1927 for the territory of Alaska. Benny's design was the constellation of the Big Dipper and Polaris against a blue field. The flag is sort of a magic sky map. An illustration of how not to get lost in the Arctic. It describes how to find North, and shows how the Big Dipper points to the North Star. No, the North star isn't that huge in comparison to the other stars but it is extremely important.
Polaris is the outermost star of the handle of the little dipper. Sailors and travelers in all ages have used the star to find their way in unknown territory. An Islandic priest suggested to pilgrims traveling to Palestine in 1140 a way to find its latitude. Israel is around Latitude 32 as is Palestine Texas. Here is the technique, lay down on with your toes point directly at the North star. Bend your right knee up to about a 45 degree angle and rest your right hand, thumb pointing up, on your knee. When you reach a spot where the North star seems to be resting on the tip of your thumb, you're at the same latitude as Jerusalem. Ancient mariners had a similar technique for every island in the ocean. Once you found the proper latitude for your island, you maintained that latitude until you ran into the island.

The North Star is true north and is known as a circum Polar star. Another way of checking to be sure you have identified the correct star is to find the Little Dipper. It is the last star on the handle of the Little Dipper. The North Star alias Polaris is not a very bright star and it changes from bright to dim in irregular pulsating intervals. Inuit legend suggests that a blinking Polaris is a precursor of westerly winds that bring winter.
The stars in the Northern sky do not seem as numerous and as bright as those in the lower 48, specifically Texas. The Milky way is directly overhead in the Alaskan skies. This adds to the light pollution. The stars do not stand out against the blackness of the sky because the sky is not black. The Aurora which is always present and the phenomena of night airglow prevent the weakest visual stars from being seen and the brighter stars do not stand out.

At Barrow on winter solstice noon there is a glimmer of twilight and then you search again for the dipper weather permitting. Most of the winter it is too cold to bother. And there is the perpetual ring of light that when activated becomes the aurora.
It is never really dark here even in winter.

Inuit natives invented the Doctor Atkins diet. In fact they taught the good doctor that it was possible to maintain the diet for life.
Gathering food is the number one activity required for human survival North of latitude 59 and up to latitude 66, the boundary of the Arctic circle, hunting and food preparation is 24/7. Except for the berries gathered in summer people who survive by subsistence live by fishing and hunting animals. Winter means Short days and long nights and sub zero temperatures. This phenomena requires planning your food supply, working together as a community or clan and knowing exactly when winter snows are due.
There are 2 seasons Snow months and the rest of the year.
The Inuit developed a method for tracking the seasons. They used a four sided counting stick. A notch was carved in it for each full moon. The first full Moon after the Spring equinox was the starting point. If you looked up at the Big dipper just after the Sun set and the last star of its handle points to the Sun set you could determine that it was probably April. The Inuit year begins with the first Full Moon in April. And their calendar is counted in 4 year segments determined by full moons.
Each month is given an Inuit name according to the food gathering activity.
April means caribou fawns are born
May means snow melting and along the rivers and coast fishing for arctic char and hunting migrating birds.
June means baby seal born also King salmon month
July means begin to use boats also dog salmon eye
August means drive caribou into lake to kill Now is the time to hunt caribou by kayak and bow and arrow also silver salmon eye
September means beginning of ice forming and seal hunting is possible also Fall Chum salmon eye
October means rabbit snaring time
November means catch ptarmigan with nets Now the daylight hours are diminishing rapidly and it is time to travel inland and hunt Caribou
December means carving time
January means short days
February means days are getting long time daylight and seals may be caught through ice holes
March means building with wood and carving for hunting
The level of the ocean along the coast lines has risen during the past few years. (almost 1 foot higher). Ice holes along the arctic oceans are too thin to support the weight of the hunters. The types of fish and Marine mammals living along the coast has also changed. Fishing and hunting techniques are in the process of evolution. Last summer my son brought home a strange fish. Actually I was surprised that my reaction was a bit more irate than if he had brought home a strange girl.
Folks who live in Northern Europe have developed techniques to deal with the climate of the northern latitudes. Oslo is at latitude 59 as is my home town Homer.
Alaska has as much daylight as places along the equator. Theoretically we should be able to grow everything. Which is true as long as you give them a head start and a Greenhouse?
For Today's Greenhouse gardeners. The ultimate Greenhouse is in Manley Hot Springs. The owner of the Greenhouse allows the Fluoride hot springs to heat his greenhouse year round. He grows bananas, guava and orchids. In Homer we have an orchard in the Greenhouse and another fellow grows only tomatoes.
Some people actually grow food that they plant in the ground, those people do not have Moose.
Moose like all vegetables but have not yet learned how to dig up potatoes. I have very wet soil and my son loves potatoes fresh from the garden. He hates digging up the garden but if the Moon is in its final quarter then the ground will be drier and therefore the job is easier.
Mrs. Moose and her twins is a full time residents on our property. She loves to eat. We only tried once to grow vegetables outside. The next Spring we built a greenhouse.
The best method for gardening any where is to plant by the moon phases and the zodiac sign. The Old Farmers Almanac explains and gives exact dates.
March means time to plant seeds in frames for transplanting Leeks, tomatoes, Brussels Sprouts, peppers
April Cabbage Cauliflower, Broccoli
May cucumbers, Lettuce
June
It is unlikely that the soil will be warm enough for potatoes before mid June but you can keep the potato eyes warm in the green house.
If you have very good netting to keep out the Moose you can plant Beets, Carrots peas beans and turnips in an outdoor garden. We can only grow potatoes. These vegetables have to find room in the greenhouse.
July is a good time to gather wildflowers and transplant them in your yard. This saves lawn mower fuel and precious getting ready for winter time.
August begins the harvest and to start next years compost. Late July is the time to gather raspberries and August is the time to gather blueberries. Salmon berries are a native berry and no they don’t taste like salmon
September is time to complete your harvest and to set up the greenhouse for next year.
In Seward you might accidentally see reindeer. After W.W.I the flu epidemic decimated the native population of Alaska and the reindeer lost their shepherds. Many died and others joined the caribou herds. Reindeer meat is lean and excellent but until recently it has been a difficult domestic animal to keep in Alaska. Reindeer are like sheep and require a personal shepherd. Labor is very expensive in Alaska so now our reindeer have cell phones with GPS attachments. Reindeer sausage is excellent by the way and available for breakfast at many Anchorage restaurants.
University of Alaska at Fairbanks has attempted to raise Musk oxen and various folks around the state have tried to raise Alpaca. Plants and Animals do well in some areas of Alaska such as the Tanana and Matanuska valleys. Sitka hybrid strawberry is an example of crossbreeding to fit the climate and the daylight.

Alaska imports about 85% of her food. We need folks who are greenhouse gardeners and able to cater to the many fine chefs around the state. There are dairy farms and people keep chickens for their eggs and an occasional Sunday dinner. If you live by subsistence, It takes about 700 pounds of meat per person per year. If you have a dog it is one fish per day per dog. Alaska has Subsistence legislation that protects the wild life and the traditions of the Inuit. Their diet similar to Doctor Atkins low carbohydrate recommendations has sustained the people for thousands of years with only the occasional interference of natural events such as erupting volcanoes, earthquakes, and Tsunamis.
Kaye Shinker

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