up the mountain

After we hosted the Early Head Start celebration cookout, Mildred went back to her summer job leading teens on a Youth Conservation Corp project. She has them clearing trail up the "mountain." Though on this day she had them in town helping at the cookout and kept them there in the afternoon moving books to setup a village library. She sent me off with her co-worker Joel, born and raised in Arctic Village. He works for Fish and Wildlife sometimes, and helps lead the teens in the summer.

We jumped on the YCC rented fourwheeler and headed straight up the "mountain." There were mountains all around, but I would have called this a hill, but they laughed at how the flatlanders from Fort Yukon call it a hill. In any case it was quite steep.

"When it flips jump off to that side. Don't worry about me, I'm expendable." Joel told me at one point. I was poised. But we stayed upright, if only barely.

We made it up to the ridge, and Joel had his rifle out. Everyone in this country has them when they go any distance from town, for bears. I have yet to see one. As we crossed the ridge he explained that this is where his people come hunting, and during migration there are hundreds of Caribou spread across the high tundra. He was ready for any stragglers, and we passed another man out on his fourwheeler with his rifle.

He wanted me to take a picture. "People think I look like a real Gwichiin."
On the way down he told me stories. There are bush people still living out in the land, and they never come to town, but they are there. Once they captured a guy from Fort Yukon, and took him to a cave where they were living, but they let him go, but told him they'd kill him if they told anyone where they were. They'll be able to survive anything that happens cause they still live out on the land. Even Arctic depends on flights, and when 9/11 happened no planes came for over a week. No milk, no eggs, no potatoes, no oil, no gas. No electricity after a while. And it could happen worse. The elders are saying something bad is going to happen and so everyone should be saving things and getting ready for hardtimes. People are listening to the elders.
And over North of the village there is a very high mountain where the Shaman from old times is. And if you go up there, but people are scared to now, but if you did you'd find his beads and magical things.