First and foremost i'm sorry for taking so long to post on my blog. These weeks have been busy as ever and I have not had a free weekend yet! Some exciting things have happened in these two weeks. I was able to attend a professional development conference in Anchorage for four days! It was great to be at a conference of likeminded people and it was a pleasure and privilege to go. That being said, it was the first time leaving my classes in the hand of a substitute. How nerveracking! Thankfully the students were great during my absence with no incidents. On our way to anchorage we had to stop in Nome. After taking off again we had clear skies and luckily I was able to get some great pictures of Denali and the Alaska range from the plane.
Upon returning to the village I was approached by my principal asking if I could start setting traditional snare traps with my inupiaq crafts and cultures class targeting fox. We have a huge problems with fox that have moved into the village and may carry rabies. Of course I said "set snares? Hell yes I can". Well I have never snared before in my life but decided I would teach myself. It is great how much you can learn from the internet and reading. After researching and talking to some elders I was able to set some wire snares up in trails around town that the foxes are using. I am concentrating my efforts around the school first, then I will spread to the community. I have caught 3 foxes so far! I am very proud of myself. Of course all of the students consider me a master trapper now, worthy to mentioned with names like Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett! Well...who am I to change their views? Along with teaching trapping I am also teaching skinning. We are teaching case/tube skinning. The foxes and other animals that are skinned in class will be tanned and used for hats, gloves etc. The students are really enjoying these activities and they seem to be learning a lot! These kind of projects are right in my wheelhouse as well. I really enjoy doing these projects and they are part of these kid's culture. We are also teaching them how to possibly make some big money when they are older. Last year a trapper in Norvik made $30,000 last winter by just targeting martin. Hmmmm sounds tempting......
Wrestling has been going very well. I took the team to Buckland last weekend and we went 25-4! I am so proud of my wrestlers. They have been working very hard and it was excellent for them to be able to preform in a hostile environment. It has been a very challenging season for me. Trying to coach grades 4 through 12 with varying skill levels is difficult to say the least. The most important thing is that the kids have had a lot of fun....and we have been winning ;). This weekend we travel to Noatak for the 4th-8th grade championships. Maybe it's just the coach talking but I think every wrestler I put on the mat could be the district champion! Stay tuned to my blog for updates.
Unfortunately I haven't had too much time for myself but during school I was finally able to start a pair of mittens for myself. They are going to be very warm and hand sewn! I have also made beadings to adorn the outside! This is what I have so far. I love skin sewing and beading. I have always had a crafty side (tying flies, building rods ect.) but since I didn't bring up that stuff this fills my need to be crafty.
It is amazing how fast I have acclimated to the weather. It has been sub zero most days and now I consider any temp around 0 "warm"! This next week is supposed to bring temps to -20 so we will see how well my mittens and hat hold up. I am guessing they will be toasty warm. I still need to get a better pair of boots. My boots are said to be rated at -40 but there is no way! My feet got chilled at -10 ice fishing the other night. Ridiculous! So that is the last necessity I need for deep winter. Luckily the boots i have are good enough to go back and forth from school and travel but not for long excursions out in the country. We have had bright sunny days, except it gets light at 10 am and dark around 5:30. I guess there is one more necessity, A good head lamp! I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I will try to not let so much time go between posts next time. Thanks for reading and take care.
Upon returning to the village I was approached by my principal asking if I could start setting traditional snare traps with my inupiaq crafts and cultures class targeting fox. We have a huge problems with fox that have moved into the village and may carry rabies. Of course I said "set snares? Hell yes I can". Well I have never snared before in my life but decided I would teach myself. It is great how much you can learn from the internet and reading. After researching and talking to some elders I was able to set some wire snares up in trails around town that the foxes are using. I am concentrating my efforts around the school first, then I will spread to the community. I have caught 3 foxes so far! I am very proud of myself. Of course all of the students consider me a master trapper now, worthy to mentioned with names like Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett! Well...who am I to change their views? Along with teaching trapping I am also teaching skinning. We are teaching case/tube skinning. The foxes and other animals that are skinned in class will be tanned and used for hats, gloves etc. The students are really enjoying these activities and they seem to be learning a lot! These kind of projects are right in my wheelhouse as well. I really enjoy doing these projects and they are part of these kid's culture. We are also teaching them how to possibly make some big money when they are older. Last year a trapper in Norvik made $30,000 last winter by just targeting martin. Hmmmm sounds tempting......
Wrestling has been going very well. I took the team to Buckland last weekend and we went 25-4! I am so proud of my wrestlers. They have been working very hard and it was excellent for them to be able to preform in a hostile environment. It has been a very challenging season for me. Trying to coach grades 4 through 12 with varying skill levels is difficult to say the least. The most important thing is that the kids have had a lot of fun....and we have been winning ;). This weekend we travel to Noatak for the 4th-8th grade championships. Maybe it's just the coach talking but I think every wrestler I put on the mat could be the district champion! Stay tuned to my blog for updates.
Unfortunately I haven't had too much time for myself but during school I was finally able to start a pair of mittens for myself. They are going to be very warm and hand sewn! I have also made beadings to adorn the outside! This is what I have so far. I love skin sewing and beading. I have always had a crafty side (tying flies, building rods ect.) but since I didn't bring up that stuff this fills my need to be crafty.
It is amazing how fast I have acclimated to the weather. It has been sub zero most days and now I consider any temp around 0 "warm"! This next week is supposed to bring temps to -20 so we will see how well my mittens and hat hold up. I am guessing they will be toasty warm. I still need to get a better pair of boots. My boots are said to be rated at -40 but there is no way! My feet got chilled at -10 ice fishing the other night. Ridiculous! So that is the last necessity I need for deep winter. Luckily the boots i have are good enough to go back and forth from school and travel but not for long excursions out in the country. We have had bright sunny days, except it gets light at 10 am and dark around 5:30. I guess there is one more necessity, A good head lamp! I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I will try to not let so much time go between posts next time. Thanks for reading and take care.
It warms my heart to see how God is using you there and showing HIS favor as you are learning new things. The fox look good size. Congrats on your trapping skills!!! Be sweet and look forward to seeing you next month!!!! Love you
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