Ann Strongheart: Please help the Yupik people in Nunam Iqua to get over the winter!

Most readers of the Alaskan blogs will be familiar with Ann Strongheart and the recent tragic event in her family as well as with her efforts to help the Yupik people in Alaska - for a short overview please click here.

Ann sent an email to several blogs and media outlets with an urgent appeal for help. As Palingates was one of the recipients, we are more than happy to publish her appeal and hope that some of our readers will be able to help Ann Strongheart in her efforts.

Ann is very concerned about the situation in Nunam Iqua, a village on the western edge of Alaska ("Nunam Iqua" is Yupik and means "end of the tundra"). In the village, a severe winter crisis with food shortage is developing.

Here is a map so that you can get an impression where the village is located (click to enlarge):

Ann Strongheart has written a blog, explaining the current situation and gives details of how the readers can help.

She writes:

Happy Thanksgiving from Ugashik!! Well Thanksgiving is here and I spent last night not only preparing food for Thanksgiving dinner but also calling every household in Nunam Iqua. I called to not only wish them all a Happy Thanksgiving but also to check on everyone and see how they were faring so far this winter.

Unfortunately I did NOT receive good news. I was able to reach 23 out of the 36 household and out of those 23 families that I did talk to 22 were already struggling and requested help again with food to make it through the winter.

Ice piled up during the Fall Flood at Nunam Iqua 11/11/09

This is due to the fact that on November 11, 2009 Nunam Iqua experienced a Fall Flood. As you can see from the picture above and the one below this flooding wreaked havoc on the Yukon River ice. The flooding brought in massive amounts of sea ice from the Bering Sea that unfortunately is still clogging the Yukon. Several people lost their fishing nets they had set under the ice and a couple of families even lost their boats during the flood.

With all of this sea ice still in the Yukon River at Nunam Iqua it has caused a hardship on the residents. Normally during the winter families will go out onto the river and place fishing nets under the ice to catch fresh fish. But due to the mess of sea ice currently in the Yukon this has become very difficult if not impossible to do now. Fresh fish caught under the ice with nets is a large staple for families during the winter.

Now if y’all will recall this past summer not only did the ADF&G restrict commercial salmon fishing on the Lower Yukon but also subsistence fishing was restricted to less than half of what is normally allowed. These restrictions led to very poor subsistence fishing and lead to families not being able to put away the much needed dried and smoked salmon families depend on to make it through the winter. Additionally due to the poor commercial fishing season a lot of families lost the majority if not all of their income that would normally be generated from commercial fishing.

So now the problems in Nunam Iqua are compounded twice over. Lack of dried and smoked salmon were put away during the summer due to the restrictions PLUS now families are not getting the fresh fish they rely on due to the flooding. This is already causing a hardship on families in Nunam Iqua this winter.

You can see the ice on the Yukon piled up in the background

So again I am asking for your help! I need help with getting food to the needy families in Nunam Iqua. As most of you will probably recall last winter I organized an adopt a family for the winter food drive. I complied a list of every needy family in Nunam Iqua and their addresses, family size and needed items. Then WONDERFUL people from all over not only Alaska but the entire United States and Canada and around the world adopted these families and sent them flat rate boxes of much needed food and supplies directly to their post office boxes.

I have again complied a list of the needy families in Nunam Iqua and I am hoping that y’all will be able to help me get food to them. Since I am wintering in Ugashik this year I will not be able to accept food and distribute it like I did last winter. So this is why I will only be doing the adopt a family for the winter food drive this winter.

If you would like to help and can adopt a family for the winter please email me at nunamiquayouth@yahoo.com I will then match you with a family in need at Nunam Iqua and provide you with their name, address, family size and needs.

Quyana in advance to anyone who is able to help! I will never be able to thank y’all enough for your continued help and understanding in my peoples time of need.

Again Happy Thanksgiving and Quyana Cakneq!

Ann Strongheart

writing in loving memory of my beloved Segundo!

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UPDATE:

If you cannot adopt a family, but would like to make a donation, please also send an email to Ann Strongheart!

nunamiquayouth@yahoo.com

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