Alaskan Seasons

Alaskan Seasons

          

         Technically there are four seasons. In Alaska, it seems more like two; winter and summer. Everyone who thinks about Alaska thinks; snow, ice and cold. Many people from the lower 48 states also think; igloo’s and total darkness, but we sourdoughs know the truth about the real Alaska. 

          First of all Alaska is just like every other state. We have subdivisions with houses and garages. We have gas fireplaces and flushing toilets. We also have electricity. My family and I moved to Rochester, NY in 2004 when the Coast Guard transferred us. Our cars had bright yellow Alaska license plates that got a lot of attention. Every time I went to the grocery store someone in the parking lot would ask me about Alaska. These plates got me more attention than Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie get when they’re out and about. Elderly men and women would strike up small talk about the cruise they took, about how beautiful it was and how they can’t wait to go back. So many people asked me if it was dark all day long. This question started to annoy me. I mean, why would anyone live in a place where it was constantly dark? Hello…… Another question that surprised and baffled me (and was posed by adults) was, do you guys live in like, houses or are there only igloos? I never quite understood the motivation for this question, but the person always seemed quite serious. 

          So, this is why I wanted to point out that Alaskans live just like everyone else. The biggest difference is the fact that we seem to only have two seasons, in reality there are four, spring and fall are just not really noticeable. This happens because about the middle to end of April, we will get temperatures around 50 degrees in the daytime and 30’s at night and the snow will melt. While this is technically spring, these temperatures are also likely in the summer and in the fall, and snow can fall at any time. Summer temperatures can range from 45-75 in the day and 35 and up at night. I grew up in Alaska. I have lived here for 24+ years. When my husband and I moved to New York it was my first taste of what real seasons are like. In New York the springtime is the most amazing time. The cherry trees are covered in fragrant pale pink blossoms and there are daffodils everywhere. The Magnolia trees are in bloom and only these trees can outdo the Cherry blossoms with beauty and scent. There is the most wonderful perfume on the breeze and magnolias are a truly beautiful flower. They come in white, pale pink and fuchsia and they seem to be everywhere in Upstate New York in the Spring. Living in Rochester, NY made me yearn for a real spring in Alaska.

          Fall in Alaska is also less than amazing. While the trees change colors and the sight is quite nice, it happens far too early for my taste. The end of August and into September is Alaska’s fall. By October we have snow and freezing temperatures. This lasts until April, and then it’s a muddy cold, spring again. 

          By far the best of the Alaskan seasons is summer. Even though we have mosquitos the size of small birds in numbers much like the population if India, Alaskan summers are wonderful! The days seem to last forever and the weather is mild with an occasional hot day. We get a lot of rain toward the end of the month but summer is great. There is so much to do outdoors in the summer in Alaska. We hunt, fish, fish, fish, hike, bike, camp and just have an all-around super-dooper time.  

For information on visiting Alaska  check out www.travelalaska.com

Contemporary Alaskan Writers

Velma Wallis

Alaskan, Author, Inspiration

               Velma Wallis grew up in Fort Yukon, Alaska in a family of sixteen. Wallis struggled to find her own voice, her individuality, and her strength in the face of adversaries like alcoholism, depression and the pressure by peers to follow in her parent’s footsteps. Though she struggled and fought through many years of life, Wallis overcame and began writing down her memories for all to read. Her books are a tribute to her life, her beliefs and her culture. They are treasures and I have truly enjoyed reading all of them. Wallis wrote “Two Old Women,” “Bird Girl and the Man Who Followed the Sun,” and “Raising Ourselves,” a memoir. 

          The excerpt from “Two Old Women” called “Let Us Die Trying” is a testament to the power of women. In a culture where older women were not valued because they were thought to be worthless, two old women discovered they were stronger than they ever believed. This idea is a contemporary one, the idea of women’s rights. Female empowerment is the theme in this tale and it shows readers a more modern mentality. A way of thinking that moved the world forward, not just Alaska.

Jack London

Writer, Adventurer, Imagination

Jack London was born in 1876 in San Francisco. He traveled to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush and experienced all the excitement that is Alaska heightened 100-fold. This time in Alaskan history was wrought with adventure, danger, betrayal, and imagination. While London was only in Alaska for a short time he was able to write about Alaska with such vivid detail, leading readers to believe that Alaska seeped into his soul. London’s books are some of my favorite. Children love hearing “White Fang”, and “The Call of the Wild,” no matter what age. London reflects a modern version of Alaska through the writers he continues to inspire. Fiction writers will always be contemporary as they write about what they know and what they experience every day. Their thoughts and imaginations are influenced by what they read and are inspired by. London inspires me and I know he inspires many more writers.

Richard K. Nelson

Anthropologist, Writer, Lover of Nature

Richard K. Nelson is a cultural anthropologist from Sitka, Alaska and a writer. His work has focused primarily on the indigenous cultures of Alaska and the relationships between people and nature. He writes about current people and populations as they come in contact with nature on its own ground. Anyone who lives in Alaska knows that the wildlife is in control. Bears, moose, wolves, fox, rabbits and any other Alaskan wild creature go where it wants and does what it wants. The land is theirs not ours, and the sooner we figure that out the better we will all be. Nelson’s writing is contemporary because he tackles important issues in society. The encroachment of human life on wild lands, and on the lands of indigenous populations of Alaska is a contemporary issue facing us all and Nelson tackles this dispute with originality and intelligence.

Different Cultures in Alaska

   Different Cultures in Alaska

There are many different cultures coexisting in Alaska. There is a large population of Pacific Islanders, especially in Anchorage, but all over Alaska. The Asian population is also quite prominent. There is a good amount of Latino families as well as African Americans. The Alaskan Native population is the culture I see sharing their values and traditions the most often. There are many ways Alaskan Natives share their heritage in our state.

Native Alaskans   

     

In Anchorage the Alaska Native Heritage Center gives local residents and visitors to Alaska an introduction to Native traditions and customs, both the past and present. According to the web site, the Alaska Native Cultural Center is a renowned cultural center and museum in Anchorage, where all people can come to expand their understanding of Alaska's first people. They share the rich heritage of Alaska's eleven cultural groups, drawing upon the ways of life long ago, the wisdom of the elders and the traditions that endure. Their cultural center and museum is located in Northeast Anchorage, Alaska and is designed to enhance self-esteem among Native people and to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people.

 

The centers web site shows a map of the different Native cultures around Alaska and allows visitors to click on each culture, giving them a historical overview of the group. The Native Heritage Center offers school visits for children and lectures and workshops for adults as ways to share their culture with as many as they can. I am proud of the Native heritages in Alaska. It makes our state rich in diverse cultural values that we can learn from.

Polynesians

Historical ties between the Hawaiian Islanders and Alaska go back to the mid 1700's when Captain Cook visited the islands he called the Sandwich Islands, which are now called Hawaii. George Vancouver, an officer on Cook's voyage of the Resolution, made a number of trips between Alaska and the Sandwich Islands that served as a resting place for his crew. The first Hawaiians to locate in Alaska may have been among those crew members (alaskahistorycourse.org, 2004).

The Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander community has been the fastest growing ethnic community in Alaska growing by 75% between 1990 and 2000. This population has been experiencing the largest gains due to the influx of Samoans, a community which grew by 220% during this decade. 

 

Latinos

The immigration explosion of the Hispanic/Latino community in Alaska parallels that in the Western U.S. making the ethnic group the second largest minority group in the state. 

I see these cultures coming together all over the state. In the workplace, gyms, clubs and especially in schools these groups come together to learn more about each other. The best way to do so is through our children, who especially in elementary school are discriminatory and accepting of all cultures and differences. I see children of many different cultures in each school all over the state. While it is important to remember to respect these cultures differences it is also good to understand that everyone just wants to be accepted and respected for who they are. I love that our world is so diverse. It really makes life more interesting and fun!