Alaska is one of the most diverse places I've ever been. It was amazing to be immersed in something that I wasn't used to, especially when there was such rich culture. Kotzebue is a town of roughly 3000 people, the majority Inuqiat, Alaskan Natives. One our first day we were greeted by one of our preceptors old friends from when she lived and worked in the area. He was an incredibly nice and funny man, he welcomed us warmly and even drove us to our hotel with our luggage. This generous and kind nature was found in many other locals that we met. Towards the end of our first night in Kotzebue we were watching the sunset on the sound and a local man came to dump some snow over the wall and conversed with us. He told us about his life, the town, and how he is a Native dancer. We ended up speaking for about 30 minutes before we needed to go back to our hotel to do a conference with the other Alaska groups.
Our group went to the Cultural Center in town and learned about the different languages in the area and the lives of the Alaskan Natives in the area throughout the seasons. There were displays that provided education of traditional methods of catching salmon and recordings of Alaskan Natives on how they would hunt whales.
The Manillaq Healthcare Center was very culturally aware of the people they served. I observed several people using words from the patient's native language, they provided interpreters, and they displayed local artwork in the hospital. The image below are Inupiat words for several body parts.
Our group also had the incredible opportunity to be invited to someone's house to look at their fur. A local woman who sold furs in the hospital invited us to go to her house. She walked us to her house and explained her process once we got there. There were so many different kinds and she explained that she sometimes traded with people further North if she wanted furs they had and vice versa. She used various tools to manipulate the pelts and sewed traditional clothes like parki's. She offered us coffee and pastries while she told us stories. And even more generously, she gifted our group with Polar Bear and Sea Otter keychains before we left Kotzebue.
Kotzebue is truly a special place with trusting and kind people. I really hope that I'll be able to visit again.