Kaktovik’s life on the edge
The School of Management has many specialized programs that offer students opportunities to excel in the classroom and in their workforce. We pride ourselves on being nothing but the very best. SOM is accredited through the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) with a specialized AACSB Accreditation for their accounting program. The highly sought-after AACSB accreditation with the specialized accounting accreditation has only been achieved by approximately 188 universities worldwide. The Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) program provides students the opportunity to explore a new career in a complex and growing field. “The program provides a balance of theory and knowledge along with a practical application in individual and group efforts,” said Claudia Swanson, a graduate student in the Master of Security and Disaster Management program. “I have especially valued the distance learning opportunity and in each class, the appropriate use of technology and communications methods…
One woman’s stand-off with a persistent grizzly I am drifting off to sleep in my tent in the Ray Mountains, a little-known mountain range north of Fairbanks and south of the Brooks Range. My 12-year-old Australian sheepdog, Blumli, sleeps at my feet. The arctic sun, still above the horizon, casts a soft evening glow on the surrounding peaks. The wilderness is pleasant and peaceful. After a long day’s walk, I drift into sweet slumber, knowing the next 10 days will feed my soul in a way that only wild country can. I don’t know what awakens me, a slight motion from Blumli, or that internal messenger that says, “Wake up, there is a bear 15 feet from your head.” I am not excessively worried. I’ve seen hundreds of bears, and never had anything you would call a bear encounter. Bears, except possibly polar bears, don’t habitually hunt humans. Our troubles…
Learning from a tree To understand the black spruce, remember it grows from a fist-sized root ball as grey and compact and crucial as a brain. Each black spruce spindles itself straight up into the crack of the cold, stout branches making a skyward scrub from base to apex all winter night. And below that brain of roots lies permafrost, even in summer. This, then, is a tree that keeps ice in mind. I remember meeting black spruce during my move from southeast Alaska to the interior. I was ill at the time, a fjordlands creature with an immune system gone haywire, taking temporary leave from the rainforest and a sabbatical from the whole glaciated coast against which my fevers flared. I went inland, aiming for semi-arid, boreal-forested Fairbanks, where I hoped to find a kind of medicine. It was end-summer when I went, fall-not-winter. The road north took me…
Photos by Serine Reeves
Inupiaq woman’s podcast explores contemporary Native life
The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics have been held in Fairbanks every year since 1961, drawing contestants from many surrounding villages. Gathering to play games and celebrate with storytelling, dancing and sharing of food is an ancient tradition of Native people of the circumpolar north that lives on today through the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics. The games were designed to hone and test skills required to survive in the Arctic. The four-man carry tests the strength required to haul game, wood, or ice for long distances. The ear pull tests the endurance required to tolerate frostbite pain. The Indian stick pull tests the grip required to grab a fish by the tail, and the greased pole walk tests the balance required for crossing creeks on slippery logs. There are many other games that test strength, agility, and endurance. Contests include fish cutting and seal skinning. Some games are just for fun and celebration.…
I always get questions about sunlight when I tell people I’m from Alaska. I have my typical spiel about our vast state, and how it’s different depending on the latitude. In Southcentral we must squeeze the most out of a meager five hours of sunlight in the depths of winter. But come summer, it’s light all day. The sun still sinks behind the mountains, but there’s enough light to function. Occasionally, someone will ask me how I sleep, and I explain that I’m conditioned. As a kid my mom would open our shades sometime in April and wouldn’t let us close them until fall. Sleeping through the midnight sun just became a way of life. But there’s not much sleeping this time of year anyway. Every Alaskan who just suffered months of darkness knows that winter is coming, and they’re determined to make the most of it. June is for…
A Vacation in Southeast Alaska By Michelle Theall It’s the end of April as I type this, and it’s snowing outside my window. Big, heavy, cement spring flakes that melt as soon as they hit the pavement. But June is around the corner, which means adventure is too! Instead of sending our 13-year-old son to camp this year, we rented a place in Haines for two weeks and another in Sitka for two weeks to explore Southeast. I found both places on VRBO, and they both overlook the water, and in truth, they are about three times as expensive as summer camp typically costs us. I confessed this a week or so ago, after booking flights and ferries and a rental car. Funny how things spiral out of control once you put them into motion. We’ll be eating ramen noodles the rest of the summer, but it will be worth…
Road trips along the Seward Highway, outside of Nome, and along the Alaska Highway rank among the favorites.