Yup'ik word of the day--pamyua

pamyua (BUM-yoo'a): (n): tail (of an animal); tail-end (of a song); (v) encore

That dance was awesome! Pamyua! Pamyua! Shake it, baby!

NOTES:
Yup'ik Eskimo dance is not complete without the pamyua. When used in the context of dance, it literally means 'encore.' So, if you ever want to see a group 'do it again,' yell 'pamyua!'

'Pamyua' also means 'tail,' when talking about an animal. I once saw a fox on Nunivak Island with no fur on its pamyua--apparently a work of parasites.

There's also a really cool Eskimo dance group called 'Pamyua.' They're world-famous Nates from the Bethel area. Check em out, www.pamyua.com. I know a few of their songs even! pamyua.

its all about the presidents

here are some short shout-outs to some of the presidents of today:
- pres. bush, you're a terrorist. why stick your nose where it doesn't belong? you can't liberate a country when they don't care to be liberated. you can't save the world--at this point, you're a main contributor to chaos and death. the hasty decisions made in the comfort of your plush office is causing blood and mayhem among our young troops. you're better off as a world-citizen fishing for bass in good ole' ta'xess.
- pres. nicholai, i have a lot of respect for you as a person, but as top dog of my poor ass native corp., your performance is not very good. you seem to be doing things right, but you're not doing the right things man! seriously. what's there to hide in good ole calista? the good ole boy club with the board will soon be liberated with new, young blood. soon, we will go in and infiltrate....haha! one more thing: any new c-list celebs scheduled to visit the a.k. on my shareholder money?
- pres. peltola, you da man! i miss walking in your office and talking about hunting stories and guns. the next one on my list is a cz 527 varmint, in a .204. i know, i know, the bullet does some major exit-hole damage, but you can't beat 4100 fps. i've learned alot about great leadership from you. thanks gene.

Yup'ik word of the day--elisngaq

elisngaq (LIZ-ng'uq): learned; smart

Gee whiz, that Sindy! So elisngaq! She knows how to drive in Ankritz. And she never even get lost. Oh, maybe two times only! I wiss I was as elisngaq as Sindy!

NOTES:
The word 'elisngaq' comes from the base word 'elite-', which means 'to learn.'

They're not joking when they say reading will make you elisngaq. I recently bought Wired magazine. There's alot of cool information in there.

'Elitnaurvik' (LIT-now'gg-vick) means 'a place to learn.' elisngaq.

finnish style meat cutter

last night i went to a workshop to learn how to butcher reindeer, sami-style. The Reindeer Meat Science and Processing Workshop was taught by Mr Heikki Muhonen from the Sämi Educational Centre in Finland.

i took notes and learned a few things. here are a few things:

- before you butcher the animal, try to leave the meat on the bones for at least 24 hours. this will help tenderize the meat and age it. aging it will keep it more juicy and give it a 'stronger' taste.
- lymph nodes; cut out the lymph nodes right away. they're in the 'underarm' and on the neck. the lymph nodes are part the immune system, and when punctured, can stink up the meat.
- back strap; between the 9th and 10th rib, cut through the ribs to cut off the neck part. after you cut this off, you can eventually cut out the backstrap.
- blood; cut the blood off the meat. i wasn't too clear on the reason, but blood is not good for the meat, perhaps for taste reasons.
- backstrap; hold down the sinew and cut away the backstrap. as you're holding down the knife, cutting away, pull the sinew at the same time.
- ribs; cut on the left side of each rib first, then cut the other side to save the 'rib meat blanket.' (if you're right handed, cut on the left side; vice versa for lefties)
- temperature; don't cook above 145 degrees F; don't overcook. this is the inside-meat temp.
- upper neck is the chuck roast. peel away the meat from ribs and cut away.
- on the legs, cut the bone OFF the meat, not meat off the bone.
- shoulder meat is good for jerky and dry meat.
- on the shoulder blade, first cut around the high parts of the blade, then cut blade off the meat.
- hindqtr; cut into 4 pieces.
- inside loin; this is on the inside of the hindqtr; it makes for good steak. the inside loin is heart-shaped.
- hindqtr; after inside loin is off, cut bone OFF the meat.
- sirloin; also called the 'french woman.' looks bulbous and it has a knee cap.
- meat that has alot of connective tissue is good for stew meat.
- meat that has less connective tissue is for steaks or roast.
- bones make for great soup.
- scrap meat is good for the grinder.
- knife; when cutting meat, its easier to turn knife around, versus moving legs/meat around.
- outside loin; this is the last part of the leg to be cut off.
- backstrap; cut steaks at an angle.
- neck; good for stew meat.
- outside loin; good for dry meat or roast.
- inside loin; this is the 'best part.'
- bones; freeze them first, then cut them up for soup.

it was great to learn the commercial way of cutting up meat. i was told these techniques are good for all game. moose, musk ox, 'bou, reindeer, deer, etc.

Yup'ik word of the day--Ankritz

Ankritz (ANN-kritz): (n): Anchorage; the biggest alaskan city.

I go Ankritz! I can't wait to go Ankritz! My favorite place is Dimont Shenter! And there's real lots of cars too, maaaan!

NOTES:
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 260,283 peeps within the municipality of Ankritz; among these figures, 18,941 (7.3% of the population in Ankritz) are Nates, Alaskan or American Ind'n.

Bush (or rural) Nates are by far the most excited travelers to the big city of Ankritz. At the Ankritz International Airport, you will find many a happy Nates.

Since Ankritz is such an important place, the Alaskan t-shirt company 'inga for real' created a design to honor the city. The design? 'ankritz, alaska.' You gotta love Ankritz! Ankritz.

what up chief?

the other day i realized that there are too many chiefs and not enough ind'ns here--its pitiful, but i'm not at all surprised. i won't say too much, but i will say that my observation clearly demonstrated an idea that was thrown around in a previous discussion. i saw the 'too many chiefs' behavior in action and its a sorry sight. when you're 'chief,' it doesn't hurt to play 'ind'n' at times.

February 21, 2007

i haven't posted a blog for awhile. every time i thought of posting, i questioned whether or not it was important enough or meaningful enough to do so. maybe i shouldn't think too much or question myself. just write. document. create.

what's happening in my world today? work is going great. i'm still on probation, and i haven't got into trouble yet. not to say that i have an inclination to do wrong at work or get into trouble. i think i'm real good worker, good kine. anyways, submitted my first grant last month. i have another that's due march first. i better get started today. probation ends april 2nd. my benefits are kicked in. gonna buy me a pair of new glasses too.

flying into ankritz on friday. saima's birthday is on saturday, so we're going to celebrate it with friends and fam. it should be fun. can't wait to spend more time with coltrane too. he's getting big! he's fully potty trained now, so its great to know that i don't need to buy diapers. its all about the skivvies now. i'm proud of my son. my good son.

i'm excited about buying little things for my new hobby. i started carving with ross. its fuckin' great. its fun, and i have a great teacher to show me how. i'll be buying the hardware to make earrings (the silver and gold things), some rope for necklaces, and other little handicraft items. black elk leather, beeeeeads, and stoooones. (just like how paul pike says it, too). i'll also be picking up a stereo i found on craigslist. cheap one too, but good one.

hope i can pay off my ripper and get it sent up here. i'd like it here, soon. we need new snow too. badly. i'm excited about new things to come and good things too.

miali, inuits, and eskimo dance

i was in my coworkers office and noticed a magazine/publication with my friend miali on the cover. she was getting tossed on a blanket. the publication was a report of icc 2006 in barrow. the girl can throat sing, speak, and jump too. what can't this girl do?

anyways, it was a great picture book with many beautiful people. i saw some greenland folks in there i met in iqaluit too! i noticed there were many, many pictures of eskimo dancing and other forms of celebration: throat singing, blanket toss, dancing, singing, guitar, etc. i knew i missed out when i saw those pics.

i told anthony that i wanted to join a dance group here, or at least go see some eskimo dancing. he told me to go to point hope. then we started talking about some of the villages in this region who do dance and who don't dance. some villages just outright deny it or oppose it--its sad. anthony mentioned another person saying that was textbook colonization. after this discussion i again went on to question the church's role in this no-eskimo-dancing mentality.

dancing is part of who we are, its part of our make-up. nates who oppose eskimo dancing should unlearn what they were taught. nates who oppose eskimo dancing have some identity issues that need to be resolved--seriously. nates who oppose eskimo dancing should dance. oui! oui!

home sweet home

i'm glad to be back home. one week of bethel, ankritz, funeral, family, friends, more bethel people, parties, and shopping.

arrived sunday on the evening alaska flight. missed a day of sealing with ross. damnit! next time. they caught 5. can't wait to experience winter kotzebue sealing with kayaks. the open lead is 14 miles out.

i have a renewed sense of life in general. more appreciation for it. its a precious thing and we only have one life to make good in this world. kick ass, do good, and leave good vibes whereever you go. no doubt.