The "Real" Alaska
Trip Start
Nov 2005
1
5
11
Trip End
Ongoing
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Aniak,
Alaska,
United States
Friday, October 20, 2006
As I neared the Anchorage airport, I realized I had forgotten my camera. In the time that it took me to check in... plus the one hour flight delay... I could have gone home to get it. It turns out that when you fly into remote Alaska, there are no x-ray machines, no security lines, and very little wait. You can show up at the airport 30 minutes before your flight.
The flight was seamless. It was a little prop plane- probably 20 passengers at the most- 2 seats on each side. I've flown in similarly sized planes coming into Durango, CO.
The Aniak airport, on the other hand, was by far the smallest I've ever been in. It was smaller than the half a duplex I live in. Had an office, an entrance/gate exit, a toilet, a desk, and a baggage dump. I stood in the small room with the other fifteen people and the passengers for Anchorage while we waited for them to get our luggage off the plane. Once the passengers from Anchorage left, a woman approached me, asked me if I was the one she was looking for. It turned out to be my host. I had booked a "hotel" with her. After grabbing my backpack, I threw it into her mud-spattered small white truck and climbed into the cab.
boat parking
There were stuffed bunnies on the console. We made a little small talk. She asked me why I was there as we navigated the steel gray mud and gravel streets. Aniak is set up like a high school stadium. Aniak is physically an island- set between the Kuskokwim and the Aniak Rivers. Water water, everywhere. The airport lies directly in the center of the island, around which a mud track runs. The new housing, the native association, and the traditional council are on one side. We were headed to the other side- where there was a newish looking post office, school buildings, telephone building, but the rest of the buildings could have been 30 years old or more. There was a grocery store, a City Hall, houses, a gas station (how does $4.70/gallon sound?), a cafe.
My host showed me into the "hotel" which was actually the house next door to her's. The little house was cute, comfy, complete with satellite television. I actually did have a "roommate" staying in the other room. But he was late to bed and early to rise... of which I was neither. Or at least not as late or early as him. I suppose it was a him.
Anyway.
After settling in, I began working. My first interview was a 1 minute walk behind the house. The rest of the work wasn't as easy. I walked over a mile to one interview- caught a ride back. For the remainder of my time there, I would always begin walking, but somehow end up with a ride. I once caught a ride on a 4-wheeler even- the standard mode of transportation. Great way to travel! I suppose in snow, it changes to snowmachines.
dreary mud road
The entire time I was in Aniak, I was extremely conscious of being the outsider. I saw a few visitors. There is a gold mine being developed about 80 miles away from Aniak- just a short flight on a bush plane. Lot of people flying into Aniak were on their way to Donlin for the gold. About 100 Aniak residents got jobs there. There's not much else to do there unless you work for the city government or you are the lucky one to run the store or gas station or have a bed and breakfast. Subsistence living is the standard. You fish and hunt and gather berries in the summer. Then you make it through the winter to do it all over again.
Villagers were both accepting of me, yet suspicious, distrustful. There were too many "I dunno's" to questions I asked. "Is that cafe open?" (me, asking the girl who worked at the bulk store where I picked up a snack after landing). "I dunno."
You could actually tell the people that left the village on a regular basis, had education, and the people who rarely left. There was more understanding of western culture among them and just a tad less distrust. I suspect that its not as bad as most villages. Aniak is a "hub" (large by Alaskan standards- 600 people). They have a strong history of both native and Western cultures. Their high school team is called "The Halfbreeds" and they will never change it. They will never say its politically incorrect.
Aniak is also the home of the "Dragon Slayers." Apparently, the head of the Dragon Slayers, a Vietnam vet that came up to Aniak for the gold back in the 70's, was cited as a "hero" by his navy daughter...
dreary road2
and Oprah gave him a Land Rover. The Dragon Slayers are Aniak's volunteer fire and rescue team- made up primarily of adolescents, who meet several times a week. I learned the story from someone in town. When I talked to the head of the Dragon Slayers, commented on his very nice Land Rover (which is very nice for Aniak... or for anywhere actually) he said that "Oh... someone gave it to us." Never said who. Never said for what. Said it needed some work. Computer-run Land Rovers are difficult to repair in Aniak. He's thinking of driving it in because it'll cost $15,000 otherwise. Land Rover might organize the expedition. Google Dragon Slayers and Oprah... its a good story. Or maybe its just good because I've been there and met the guy. Met the people. Aniak also has its fair share of politics. The leading groups and families shift around every so often. Oust one group, in comes another. And they don't agree on anything. Some want money from the government. Some want to make their own money.
The husband of the woman who had picked me up was out working on his roof when I had to go to the airport. He had just started working on his roof again after busting his leg dancing. The man has a lot of hardware in his leg... but yet he was crutching around in mud, climbing ladders, putting a roof together.
I headed out of the house and we piled into his newer looking Toyota truck and headed over. As I checked in for the flight, a larger plane gunned its engines and nearly blew the building over. After telling the ticket lady how much I weighed, I waited for boarding and watched the people around me. When the call came, we hoarded out the door and headed up to the plane. The airplane going back was much much smaller. The ceiling was so low, we had to duck to get in. One seat on each side of the plane. The co-pilot/flight attendant looked like a young 20 something and he gave us a short briefing before turning on the recording instructing us on what to do if the plane crashed. Then we rolled all the way down the strip, turned around, and took off. They closed the curtain leading to the cockpit about midway through the flight.
I was both disappointed and glad to leave. There is nothing to do there in October, but wait for the snow. Like I mentioned, I was overly conscious of being the outsider and it wasn't comfortable. I never felt in danger- its not that kind of village. But I didn't fit. I was the only person wearing slacks in town. But on the other hand, Aniak was an amazing place- the water, the mountains in the near distance, the trees and the isolation. It was like when I was in Egypt- it felt like I was genuinely playing by the moment, figuring out what to do, how to do it, experiencing something other than Western European culture and learning a new view of the world.
