Shopping Day in Nunam Iqua, Alaska.
25 01 2009
I went shopping the other day. I zipped into Carrs on the way home from work, picked up some salad stuff, a couple loaves of bread, a box of Wheat Thins, and a few sweet potatos. The gas station was across the way, and I filled up at $2.33/gallon. Then I headed back to the car that was still warm, and was home in about 10 minutes. I pulled into my heated garage and brought the food inside. I wasn’t worried about loading up because I can do this again tomorrow, and it’s not really an inconvenience.
That’s what my day is like when I need groceries, and it’s probably not too radically different from many reading this. As a matter of fact, if I ended the post here, you’d all probably be saying, “Yeah? So what?”
So, since we’ve been talking quite a bit about rural Alaska lately, I thought I’d share with you a great diary by Mudflatter Ann Strongheart who lives in the village of Nunam Iqua. Here’s what her day is like when she needs to go grocery shopping. Anyone who has lived in rural Alaska will be able to identify with parts of Ann’s story, but urban dwellers and those out of state – prepare to be astounded.
January 24, 2009
Today my husband and I decided to travel the 25 miles to Emmonak to get groceries. Here is what getting groceries entails in Nunam Iqua.
We got up and had to build a fire as the house was getting chilly and we had run out of stove oil a couple of days ago. Then we made coffee, using water that we had packed the night before from the watering point across the village. We took a 30 gallon Rubbermaid trash can (our water bucket) that we use STRICTLY for water storage across to the other side of the village and with two tokens (tokens are one dollar each) we got 20 gallons of water. We went across by snow machine towing our sled with the water bucket in it. Once we filled it we carefully brought it back across to our house and then lifted it out of the sled and up the steps into our porch and then into the house.
After having coffee my husband went out to chop firewood to keep the house warm. First he had to start the chainsaw and saw the logs he had gotten from across the river and then split them into the right size for our woodstove. While he was doing that I checked to ensure our baby sitter, my sister-in-law, was going to be able to come up to watch our 18 month old daughter, Cecelia (CC). It’s too long of a ride to take our baby with us during the winter and it’s too cold also.
My daughter, Cecelia, woke up and I changed her diaper make a mental note that I HAD TO REMEMBER to get diapers we are getting low. Then I made her breakfast. I felt bad because we had run out of bread and canned/dried fruit for her so her breakfast was dry cereal, cheese, and some 100% fruit juice gummy snacks plus a sippy cup full of very very diluted grape juice with her liquid vitamins in it. We don’t let her have anything but milk and water during the day because I worry about her having too much sugar.
As she was eating my husband was finishing up chopping wood. My sister-in-law arrived with her two daughters to watch CC. During this time our power had gone out in the entire village while they worked on the generators. So we had to keep a close eye on the wood stove to keep the house warm.
My husband and I then started on putting on our winter gear. Long johns, sweatshirts, down snow pants, double layer coat, cap, neck warmer, goggles and heavy duty gloves. We let my sister-in-law know which way we were going to travel and then we went out and checked the snow machine over. Then we hooked up the sled my husband made out of plywood and 2” x 6”s and started up to Emmonak. We left Nunam Iqua at 1:30 p.m. We decided that the short cut trail was safe to travel on and going through the short cut would save us about 2 miles of traveling. The temperature was at 25 degrees when we left with a wind coming from the North. So with the wind-chill the temperature was about 15 degrees Farenheit. We had gotten several inches of new snow and there was a lot of powder on the trail and lots of snow drifts. After we had traveled about 8 miles on the short cut trail we came to the Yukon River.
My husband was driving and I was riding behind him. Usually, we would take two snow machines as it is safer to travel that way, in case one breaks down but with the high cost of fuel we couldn’t afford the gas to take both our snow machines. When we got on the Yukon my husband had to keep a close eye out for overflow. Overflow is water and holes in the ice. It is caused by the tides, when the tide comes in the ice rises and cracks and water seeps through the cracks and sometimes even makes dangerous holes that a snow machine could break through.
We crossed the Yukon and traveled another 5 miles where we passed Alakanuk and headed another 12 miles to Emmonak. We arrived in Emmonak and went straight to the Alaska Commercial Company Store. We got there at 2:45 p.m. We were surprised when we got there because when we left Nunam Iqua we had ¾’s of a tank of gas which is normally enough to go up and back. But this time when we got to Emmonak we had less than a ¼ tank of gas left. Due to there being so much powdered snow and drifts on the trail we had used much more gas than expected. So now we were going to have to get gas before we started coming back home.
We went into the store and bought our groceries. Here is a list of what we bought:
$ 8.99 —- 2 lbs Raisins
$ 3.10 —- 2 boxes of Jiffy Blue berry Muffin mix
$ 6.99 —- 1 bag generic cheerios
$10.25 —- 3lb Coffee creamer
$ 4.72 —- 8 packages unsweetened Koolaid
$17.34 —- 6 cans of fruit cocktail
$10.76 —- 4 cans vegetables (2 peas 2 beans)
$13.35 —- 1 large jar of Mayo
$ 6.45 —- 1 one pound box spaghetti noodles
$10.35 —- 5 lbs white rice
$13.40 —- 4 boxes of rice-a-roni
$ 4.49 —- 1 can spaghetti sauce
$ 5.00 —- 4 small cans chili
$ 8.95 —- 12 cup a noodles
$11.98 —- 2 loaves generic bread
$ 9.95 —- 6 rolls of Toilet paper
$12.90 —- 2 – 2lb boxes of pilot bread
$ 6.99 —- 5 lbs fresh potatoes
$ 5.99 —- 18 eggs
$ 3.81 —- 1 quart cottage cheese
$ 7.99 —- 1 pkg string cheese
$ 6.38 —- 2 pkg blue bonnet margarine
$ 3.99 —- 1 pkg frozen stir fry veggies
$ 9.15 —- 1 dozen frozen corn on the cob
$ 7.41 —- 1 pkg oven roasted turkey (for sandwiches)
$ 6.19 —- 1 pkg sliced ham (for sandwiches)
$14.78 —- 2 pkg Kielbasa Sausage
$11.42 —- 2 lbs ground beef
$22.36 —- 5 pork chops
$16.38 —- 2 pkgs Johnsonville Italian Sausage
$19.58 —- 2 pkgs Tyson IQF frozen drumsticks
$ 9.79 —- 1 pkg Tyson IQF chicken thighs
$ 6.49 —- 6 rolls generic paper towels
$82.55 —- 1 case size 6 Huggies diapers (144 diapers)
Total including tax
$409.26
The groceries were packed into 3 boxes plus the box of diapers. We took this out and put it in our sled and wrapped it with a tarp and tied it down so it wouldn’t slide around. We then went to the Emmonak Corporation Store Deli and shared a plate of fried shrimp and French fries and a can of pop totaling about $16.00. We left the Corporation Store and went to the Tank farm to get gas before we headed home. We bought 6 gallons of gas which cost us $43.50 but we were relieved because we had been hearing the rumors that Emmonak’s gas might jump to $9-$11 a gallon so we were happy we only had to pay $7.25 a gallon. We also bought a quart of oil for the snow machine and that cost us $10.85 with tax. We called my sister-in-law and checked on CC and told her that we were on our way home. It was 4:15 p.m. We left Emmonak and headed towards Nunam Iqua. It was starting to get a little stormy and snowing some and I was very happy that we had our GPS with us in case the storm got any worse. The storm did get worse and white out conditions were setting in we would have lost the trail if we hadn’t had our GPS with us showing us where to go. We had had the GPS tracking our route to Emmonak on the way up so it enabled us to follow our same trail back to Nunam Iqua and avoid any overflow.
When we left the Yukon and started on the short cut trail we stopped to stretch our legs and warm up a bit since the wind shifted a little and was coming from the east. My husband knew that there was a River Otter house close by and he walked over towards it. He found it all right because he fell through the snow as he stepped on its tunnel and ended up waist deep in snow. I laughed as he crawled out and then he asked me to come over and look. At first I hesitated thinking I don’t want to end up falling into its tunnel but then I followed his steps and walked over to look at it. The tunnel was huge and it was really neat to look at. The River otters here can reach up to 6 feet long and this ones tunnel was impressive.
We started up the snow machine and started again towards Nunam Iqua we saw a fox but no moose. Usually we see moose but because of the storm they were in the trees. (Ok when I say tree’s they are more like bushes, but the people here call them trees) We saw lots of moose, rabbit, and fox tracks along the trail. We arrived home at 6 p.m. Where we unloaded the sled and unpacked the groceries.
I made everyone sandwiches. CC was very happy that she got to have canned fruit and cottage cheese with her sandwich. And we were happy we got to have a break from moose and have a ham and turkey sandwich even though we couldn’t have lettuce or tomato on them because I knew that they would freeze on the way back down from Emmonak.
Well that’s what we have to do to get groceries here in Nunam Iqua. If you take into account that we had to use 12 gallons of gas to travel the 50 miles round trip to Emmonak then our total for the day was a little over $500. I hope that these groceries will make it several weeks and I hope the diapers will last until my COD order arrives from Fairbanks Wal-Mart.
I hope this gives y’all an idea of life here in the village!
Ann Strongheart
Photo from loweryukon.org
January 27th, 2009 at 3:37 PM
To attempt to force the native people to adapt to others ideas of what is the “right” way to live; i.e., put down roots in one place, establish infrastructure on the model of the people displacing them, etc., is the height of arrogance.
The traditional way of life of not only native Alaskans but of the native peoples of most of north and south America has been destroyed out of the European’s belief that only cities and monuments constitute “civilization” and that a nomadic way of life is somehow primitive and inferior. ENOUGH!
Cities, and western civilization, may well be some form of monument to what mankind can accomplish. But wisdom lies not in doing all that one can; rather wisdom lies in doing what is right and just. There is no righteousness in locking a nomadic people down to fixed, impoverished lands and expecting them to either survive or decide to join “civilized people” in their cities. There is no justice in making their right to live dependent upon hunting and fishing regulations designed to make it impossible for them to survive.
The cities may well soon die as fewer and fewer are able to survive in an essentially non-human environment. Who will be there to teach them how to live off of the land? Who will show them the way back to balance? Who will be left?
January 27th, 2009 at 3:43 PM
Umm why is everyone blaiming those that live there an not asking why people in alaska pay the most for oil when it comes from there land? Why are we not more mad about the prices of things and Ca. companies taking advantage of these people. If they don’t have the money to feed their people, or heat there house…how are they going to move. Who is going to buy there home? are you saying they should just give it up because you don’t like there way of life?
How are they going to move if they have to fly everything there or shipped it out they can’t get out unless they leave everything. Oh they could sell it but nope wait no one has the money to buy it. They can’t drive out (of some town from what I understand) because there are no roads….hmmm whos job is it to build roads?
just because you don’t l like someones life style doesn’t me that it’s you job to tell them to move…when they can’t or don’t want to move. i presonally don’t get how people can live in a city with all the noise the smells and violence. I think you should all move to the country and there should be space between everyone. doesn’t make me right. it’s just what I think. and if I am not mistake the natives are tied to there land not just by family and history but is there faith to like the native’s in the lower 48?
Well that’s my two cents.
January 27th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Jim Myers….great post! who indeed. How much have some forgotten with the modern stuff out there. Think about the things our own grandparents did.
January 27th, 2009 at 3:52 PM
To Ann; I live in Marshall and if we want good food we will have to go to Saint Mary’s or fly to Bethel. If we go to Saint Mary’s we will have to go about 70 miles one way and was like about 20 gallons of gas round trip. and for that price we will get like 2 boxes of food. A lot of times people just stay home and hope for good food via bypass. There is times there may be good stuff like eggs and what not but will be gone the next day even if they order a lot. That’s the first to go. So I understand whats going on in village life. If people do go to Bethel it is like 250 round trip, then and the price of food, diapers, toilet paper, paper towel, etc. A lot of times there is people that can not get food, fuel or anything and will be lucky they have family or friends that will help them out.
January 27th, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Well said Ann. I live @ Maserculiq, Ak. its sad to hear about food prices and heating fuel when its cheap down lower 48. I was born and raised here. After high school made my living here. I too had to make my choice to buy heating fuel over groceries. Heating fuel here costs $5.97 a gallon plus tax which brings it up to $6.20.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Not to diminish your tough workout of a shopping day, but I see right off the bat ways for you to possibly save some money:
1. Stop using disposable diapers, or use them only at night.
2. Make your own sausages – its easy, especially the “fresh” (uncured) type, like Italian fennel sausage or kielbasa. Certain basic cured meats such as ham and bacon are also very easy to make at home and you can save a bundle. You can make many months supply and freeze it for later use – cheap cheap cheap.
Please check out this website for recipe: http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage%20recipes.htm#AFRICAN-STYLE%20SAUSAGES-FRESH
3. Avoid store-bought “mixes” like the muffin mix you bought. Make you own bakery products whenever possible.
4. Not sure if its economic or not in your area (it appears to be just about everywhere else), and it totally depends on your price for milk, but you can EASILY make your own cottage cheese using milk, a bit of vinegar, and little heat. Many simple recipes on the internet, which you apparently have access to.
5. Make (and dry if you like) your own noodles out of flour and water – add eggs for egg-noodles. Make pasta out of semolina flour if you can find it. Many easy recipes on the internet. You don’t really need a pasta machine, but having a hand-cranked one can make the process more convenient and more uniform.
6. If you can get tomatoes, onions, garlic, and dried herbs (and the prices are advantageous in your area compared to canned sauce), make your own pasta sauce – easy!! And it almost always tastes better if you do it right. If you’ve never made pasta sauce before, after a few times, you’ll have it down – and you can even can it yourself as it is naturally low in pH.
7. Coffee creamer? Yech!! Please consider buying quality coffee and learn to drink it black. Good coffee doesn’t need to be “smoothed” with cream. However… and I imagine real cream might be quite prohibitively expensive there… If you must, just add a splash of whole milk. If you can find cheaper bulk milk, know that milk can be frozen and stored – you can drink it, use it for coffee, and make cottage cheese.
NOTE: When canning, its handy to own a pH meter (always test a sample at room temp 72F) – otherwise many recipes say to add vinegar or lemon juice to lower the pH “just to be safe”. But I find most of the time it is not necessary to sour the sauce with vinegar or lemon. Basically, you are looking for a pH of 4.2 – 4.5 for spaghetti sauce. Higher pH than that is not safe for a 10-min pressure cooker cycle at 5-psi. Lower pH is no problem, but will only taste a bit more tart. Actually, you really don;t even need a pressure cooker if you got the pH right – you can just bathe the filled and sealed jars in a boiling water bath for 10-minutes.
Heck, I do all the above living in Thailand, where food is cheap (as are disposable diapers) – but it is a matter of availability for the food items I have learned to make at home. The disposable diapers – we use cloth diapers except at night, in an effort to reduce our environmental impact.
Well, I hope this is helpful.
January 27th, 2009 at 7:40 PM
Red Feet: You are proposing that someone in rural Alaska make their own spaghetti sauce using fresh tomatoes in January? Are you completely insane? It’s not cost effective or environmentally friendly for me to do that in January, and I live in Seattle. Plus, did you miss the bit about not getting tomatoes because they’d freeze on the way back home?
That said, I do think it’s pretty silly to live in the bush. Echoing a point above, _I_ don’t get to live where I grew up (SF Bay Area) because it’s too expensive for me. So why should you get to live where you grew up, if you can’t afford it?
And yes, there are just too many people in the world to really be sustainable, but we can choose to live in relatively sustainable places. Seattle has a mild climate, so we don’t need much for heating and we don’t need AC at all. Plentiful water supplies, good farmland nearby, an ocean port. So I chose to live here. (And for those who like solitude, there are many places near Seattle, in the Cascades, where you are quite isolated. If you really need to be more isolated than that, well, you have issues.)
January 27th, 2009 at 8:04 PM
I am sorry, I don’t get it. Why would anyone deal with this insanity unless they really had no choice (i.e., in prison or the like) or were willing to accept the inconvenience. Since the writer does not state or imply the former, I assume the latter. In other words, why not move to Oklahoma or Texas where cheap land and labor thrive and you don’t need a snowmobile to go to the walmart/sam’s club? I suppose the absence of good opportunities may be the reason, but hey, this is the land of opportunity, look at the how far that dimbulb governor Palin has gone!
just asking, salient facts have obviously been omitted for the sake of a good story.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:19 PM
January 27th, 2009 at 9:03 PM
Good heavens. Why would anyone live up there. I thought living in Maine was rough in the winter. This is just extreme. She thinks it’s “too hot” in the lower 48? Maybe in the south.