“The Hell With Sarah Palin” – An Update from Emmonak
29 06 2009
~~Chum salmon drying. Emmonak, Alaska June 2009
Last week Governor Sarah Palin sent a series of messages from her Twitter account regarding the subsistence fishing situation in Western Alaska. “Good news!” we were told.
AKGovSarahPalinGood update re Rural Advisor John Moller’s recnt Emmonak trip, great news he reports; we’ll twitter assuming press won’t pick up good news.
John Moller was in the Western Alaskan village of Emmonak to discuss the topic on everyone’s mind – salmon. Salmon are the primary subsistence food, and primary income source for residents of the Lower Yukon River. Big problems, starting with the mismanagement of fisheries have caused a catastrophe. Not enough fish last summer meant not enough food, and not enough income for fuel, supplemental food and supplies during the harsh winter. Luckily food drives, donations from around the country, and support from churches was enough to keep the villages of the Lower Yukon from total disaster. But that was just one season of many. And this is another.
Anchorage videographer Dennis Zaki, who works for CNN, visited Emmonak last winter to document the plight of Native Alaskans that came as a direct result of last summer’s disastrous fishing season. He wanted to go back this summer to follow up, and get a sense for how things might look this winter. He made a trip, funded as the last one was, by donations from private citizens whose hearts were touched by the heartbreaking story of fellow Americans in dire circumstances. They became informed of the situation through a host of Alaskan blogs, and stepped up to the plate so that the story might go from isolated rural villages, or local Alaskan story, to the national media. CNN picked up the story last winter.
June is almost over, and news like this from the governor came across the Twitter wires just minutes after the previous one.
AKGovSarahPalinJohn Moller just returned from Emmonak, reports 50% of residents have subsistence needs met already, others confident they can do the same.
Last week Palin Tweeted that Emmonak had 50% of their subsistance quota. I’ve heard all around town that that was false. So this morning I took a poll around town. Out of 66 people polled, 5 said they have met their quota. 51 said they have less then 50% of their quota. The limited time of the openings are making it hard to fish.
“Half of Emmonak residents do NOT have their subsistance quota, and according to nearly all of the residents I’ve spoken to, they have no idea if they can get their quota. Tribal leaders are angry at this false statement by John Moller.
There is a high level of anxiety because the Y1 district could close to fishing at any time. According to Fish & Game, 75% of the kings this year have already made it upriver from here, so any chance of making money off them is slim to none again this year. Kings go for over $5 a pound, chums go for 50 cents. You can see why fishermen are not in a good mood. With only a 4 hour opening tonight for chums the fishermen that make their living from the sea, which is nearly every family in town, are going to only be able to catch just a small amount of fish. And that’s assuming there will be fish there tonight. There could be no fish.”
These people get pissed when I tell them what Moller said about 50% having their quota.
Three people told me they can’t fish because they don’t have money to retrieve boat parts at the Post Office. They can’t make money because they are commercial fishermen and with the fishery closed to commercial fishing, can’t get a loan until it opens.
Frustrations are running high, and village residents are fearful of what the coming winter will bring. It is only a couple months away, and every fish that swims past, and every check that doesn’t come, and every Seattle factory trawler that dumps its salmon bycatch overboard dead, brings Emmonak one step closer to collapse.
Meanwhile, from the governor’s Blackberry, all’s well in the land of magical thinking.
AKGovSarahPalin John also met w/CNN reporter while in Emmonak & shared welcomed GOOD NEWS of region…as a result, highly unlikely interview will air : )
[A version of this story is posted at The Huffington Post - HERE. Please go comment and Buzz it Up for wider exposure.]
June 30th, 2009 at 8:40 AM
MissSunshine–she may think she could run against Lisa M (although she says she has no such intentions…), but I think there is NO WAY Alaskans would choose her over Lisa at this point. Lisa has been given lots of very powerful appointments in the Senate over the past few months (including the recent elevation to the 5th most powerful position in the Senate Rs organization), and Alaskan have a visceral opposition to voting out powerful politicians, esp. in our Congressional delegation, Stevens aside.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Governor Palin continues to weave her fairy tale existence in Alaska. I understand why the people in these areas are nervous. Gino knows they aren’t at 50% catch rates, she’s just playing games as usual.
Wouldn’t it be great if the native corporations of Alaska orchestrated a RECALL, or even mentioned a recall, in response to her ongoing attempts to create more divisiveness between the rural and urban areas of this state?
June 30th, 2009 at 9:05 AM
I’ll commit to collecting signatures should anyone initiate a recall. I think a recall would send the message to the rest of the country that the State of Alaska has had E@#nuff! Wouldn’t look good on her resume would it now? I became extremely agitated at the Peeps last winter during the Emmonak crisis. Their comments on the ADN made me ashamed that our Governor would send out her scripted ones to create divisiveness on ADN.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:31 AM
I think SP will challenge Mark and Uncle Ted will help her…just a threory
June 30th, 2009 at 9:35 AM
My outrage continues. Everyone here is outraged. Politically, it’s the lies that hurt GINO.
But on a human level, it is so much more; it is her (and let’s face it, many, many other Alaskans’) utter disdain for the people of the Lower Yukon, their way of life, their culture, their traditions, and their human needs. That makes me sick at heart.
There must be a way to spread the truth, turn this into an issue that will not only hurt her politically (let’s face it, there are plenty of issues that can and will do that), but help the people who are being ground into the dirt.
If there is one way that I would like to see life in these villages change, it would be for them to be able to use modern technologies to communicate, to enable their activism, to get their message out and mobilize help outside of their villages. In short, reliable broad-band internet access that is affordable and available to all, and the assistance they need to learn how to use it!
In many parts of the world, telephone usage has exploded in the last decade, not because of more land lines (there still aren’t reliable land lines), but because of affordable cellular service. This has helped small business, helped allow people to stay in touch with their families if they have to leave their homes, helped to fuel political change as they are able to communicate with the wider world.
The villages need to push to “leapfrog” to the best new communications technology out there. Not everyone will necessarily adopt it, but the option needs to be there! My opinion, but I really do believe that modern communication is key.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:45 AM
So John Moller is on personal leave? I’ll take bets that he’s fishing. Tis the season.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:48 AM
QuiltAK–true that! And you know how important it is to get all your fish for the year…
June 30th, 2009 at 9:53 AM
OK I have comment on the video of Moller and Gordon Westlock Sr posted on the State site:
First off Mr. Westlock was telling Mr. Moller that he was coming down to get one more King for his BUCKETS. His salt fish buckets he puts away for the winter. He told Mr. Moller that he puts away three 5 gallon buckets of SALT FISH.
Ok definition here… SALT FISH: King Salmon that is filleted and cut into strips, then they soak them in a salt brine, then they are hung to dry and smoked. Then they packed into 5 gallon buckets.
SALT FISH is not a large part of what most put away for the winter. Mr. Gordon NEVER said that he had enough fish dried for the winter. There is an obvious communication gap and misunderstanding on Mr. Moller’s part. I really think he was putting words into Mr. Gordon’s mouth.
I think if someone would have been there and had the conversation in Yup’ik the outcome would have been totally opposite of what was displayed in that video.
JMHO,
Ann
June 30th, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Alaskan Sisu Says:
I’ll commit to collecting signatures should anyone initiate a recall. I think a recall would send the message to the rest of the country that the State of Alaska has had E@#nuff!
————
I’ll sign the damn thing (and I don’t live there) to finally get her out of the running…off the map! If everyone waits for somebody else to initiate the recall, it’ll never get done….you could be the hero that saved the planet!
June 30th, 2009 at 9:59 AM
p.s.
Depending on the size of the family they usually put away anywhere from 30 to 60 gallons of dried fish. Dried fish are packed in barrels ranging from 5 gallons to 55 gallons. After they have been dried and smoked (NOT INCLUDING THE SALT FISH) they are tightly packed into these drums/buckets.
So if you take into account that most put away 15 to 20 gallons of Salt Fish and an additional 30-60 gallons of Dried Fish (usually chums) that’s a lot of fish. A rough estimate would be that it takes about 80 to 100 fish or more depending on size to fill a 45 gallon drum. That’s what we are guessing from putting away dry fish last year.
So that gives you an idea of how many fish are needed for the winter.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
I’ll commit to collecting signatures as well…RECALL!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
June 30th, 2009 at 10:05 AM
I will send $$ to help you in an Recall Effort. I am not in AK, but I would donate!
June 30th, 2009 at 10:09 AM
To paraphrase a very funny gentleman: There’s “lies, damned lies, and then there’s Sarah Palin.”
June 30th, 2009 at 10:21 AM
55 Nan Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:25 PM
About that video, it almost seemed to me that the two of them were having two different conversations. And neither of them realized it. Or something.
*****************
i posted similar on open thread too, but in addition to the blatent attempts to put words in the mans mouth and lead him to say what moller knew sp would want to hear, they were having different conversations also because the man being intetviewd, im pretty sure, is hearing-impared. i dont think thats a blu-tooth in his ear. so in addition to everything else, he was answering the questions he thought he heard, rather than what was asked.
still one-handed typing as injured left flipper heals (actually, sprained thumb and hand – angry ligaments in hand and wrist, and some accompanying tendonitis in the forearm. worst is i cannot actually play my instruments right now. wahhhh! gets a little better each day but must build back srength slowly. have almost no gripping strength.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Here’s my suggestion. Let’s find a way for Alaska residents to counter little miss liar and co’s continual stream of false and self serving tweets. Can we get blackberrys or whatever it is people use to tweet on into the hands of those who are being most harmed by Palin? Starting with the residents of Emmonak. That way they can monitor communications and tweet back the truth to the world.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:07 AM
@claudianyc
The YK Delta just got cell phone service last winter, we don’t have what do they call it…we can’t use cell phones to IM, email or tweet etc…
Can’t remember what they call that service but it’s not available on the Yukon yet.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Elsie, michigander, muppet2 and canadian neighbor:
Sorry for the lack of paragraph spacing. It was late and I was on a rant. I have re-posted here in an effort to make it more readable. I didn’t mean to cause anyone a headache. And thanks for the understanding michigander.
I do not claim to be an expert on the extremely complicated fishing regulations in Alaska. I do know that they are a combination of federal and state laws as well as international treaties.
The things that anger me most in this post are:
#1. people not getting paid for work done. There is absolutely no excuse for this. None. You show up, do your work, they are supposed to give you money..on time!
#2. I am a fairly cynical person when it comes to the way that we treat Native Americans in this country. The government (federal and state) has a loooong history of screwing aboriginal peoples over every chance they get.
The Repubs have a history of preferring big business over the little guy every time. Put those two things together and it is always a recipe for disaster at some point.
I read comments last winter about this from some of the “citizens” of Alaska that were basically calling for everyone who couldn’t handle living in the bush to “just move”. The question was always “move where?” Certainly not to Wasilla…
The point being, the land that these people live on belongs to them. Before Alaska began to be bled dry by “development” (as the powers that be so lovingly call the rape of the land, oceans, lakes and rivers of this state in the name of “progress”) the native people hunted, fished and made it work and even in times of famine, they survived.
We are now facing situations, here and elsewhere, where the number of fish that go upstream have to be carefully counted and regulated to ensure that the fish can spawn or there will not be any fish for anyone anymore. The present problem seems to lie primarily with the “bycatch”. I have no idea which branch of the government controls this.
In my roundabout way I am trying to say that the native people seem to be the first to get screwed. Yes, they signed a treaty that deprives them of special status in terms of subsistence even though they depend most upon subsistence harvest to “subsist”. Where I live, there is a subsistence quota for every resident of Alaska and by god everyone catches their quota. Tell me how many Alaskans actually eat everything they catch. I fill my freezer every year with freezer burned fish from the year before that no one ate. They give it to me for my dogs (don’t get me wrong- the dogs appreciate it). Then they go out and catch their limit again this year. And so it goes.
Bottom line-unlike the native people in the bush who absolutely depend on their quota for food, most of us don’t. But absolutely no politician in Alaska is going to get anywhere suggesting that this change because they would have rotten vegetables thrown at them in public.
It is important to acknowledge that some of the argument is about commercial fishing on the river as opposed to subsistence fishing. It is different. The commercial fisherman make their living by fishing. It can be a lot like farming. When the fish run, life is good- when they don’t, you can’t pay for the equipment and expenses of going to work that day.
Commercial fisherman where I live have nothing but disdain for subsistence. They do not believe that their fisheries should be closed to allow fish to go to subsistence users. It is sort of like water wars in the southwest. Who has first rights to the water required to grow food? Especially during a drought. I am rambling. But it is very complicated.
The next bottom line is what needs to be done? There is obviously a problem. One of the problems is not even fish. It is fuel to stay warm. Or….if someone were actually thinking, alternative and sustainable power to stay warm so that fuel doesn’t have to be shipped at exhorbitant prices. What I want to know is what the h__l is my government doing about it? It certainly seems that some of the stimulus money could have been used to help with the energy problems (oh I forgot, too many strings-oh—the strings, the strings).
These problems aren’t going to go away. They will continue until people can pull their heads out of their collective behinds, get their poop in a group and do something besides declare the malamute the state dog (not that my malamute minds).
If we actually had a leader– in my dreams– maybe that person could be an enlightened, smart, thinking being who could get the best people together (including the native people) to figure some of this out (or at least get a start). Look at how the people in Eagle are trying to figure out how to best address their tragedy (one step at a time and without it being a recipe that might work somewhere else but doesn’t fit their community). But–Nooooooo.
Sometimes I really wonder why I choose to live here. I am surrounded (for the most part) by uneducated libertarians who still believe that taxes are illegal. They have no idea what taxes pay for and they don’t care. They do care about not having their permanent fund touched. These are the people who think SP is doing “a great job”. Their daughters are all pregnant and unwed by the age of 17 and their mothers are sooooo happy to have grandchildren at the age of 30 something. I don’t get it.
This whole situation makes me sad and mad at the same time. I ask myself, what can I do? Holding our elected representatives’ feet to the fire just seems to burn our hands most of the time. We are the laughing stock of the country because of SP and her goons. If she is as great as she thinks she is, she should get off her butt and get started working on the problems instead of romping through Europe when there is an awful lot that needs doing right here and right now before everything freezes again.
Put your friggin blackberry down and roll up your sleeves Sarah. If you have all of the political clout that you think you have then spend some of it here and DO SOMETHING.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
lovemydogs, you get a great big hug for your rant!! Nobody could have said it better. There are a number of us who cannot “know” how it feels to live in your situation. We want to help, but the reality is that our opinions mean little. We need you Alaskans to tell us what we can do to help, and when we need to butt out and let you alone to do whatever you choose to do. I think you know you can count on us to come running when you holler.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:02 PM
about the folks not getting paid for their cleanup work for Homeland Security.
Not sure how it’s handled in Alaska, but with disasters here in Kentucky, those sort of funds come from FEMA to the state and local Disaster Management/Homeland Security folks to be distributed to the workers.
So…in Alaska, who is holding up the local checks?
June 30th, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Ann, what kind of internet service do you have up there? Is it broadband? I have a link about broadband in remote areas that may be helpful.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/highspeedinternet.html
We need to outflank Palin and company and establish rapid communication. claudianyc is right on! Bill Gates foundation has provided inexpensive laptop computers to third world countries for just this purpose. Maybe we can interest him in helping get it going right off his back porch in Alaska. Come on, Mudpups, let’s put on our thinking caps.
As for GINO. let her lead ,follow or get the heck out of the way!!
June 30th, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Gramiam:
Don’t butt out EVER. We need you. The moral support is what keeps us going.
I am not that saavy when it comes to politics but it seems that a politician’s job is mainly to get re-elected. Or to move up to a higher office.
From what I remember about New Orleans, a lot of the problems were caused by none of the politicians knowing who was responsible for what. And god forbid they should just dive into the muck because they might make a political misstep.
The only way that things get done is for “the people” to do it. We cannot count on our politicians.
We need to be careful that we are sensitive to peoples’ pride and not just being the great white hero coming in to save the day. No one ever wants to admit that they need help.
The secret seems to be helping people to help themselves. Give what we can in terms of money, goods, labor or time, but listen carefully to what people want or request in terms of help.
I, personally, love all of you for the unending support.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Gramian brings up Bill Gates Foundation for upgrading internet access to rural America. Here in my part of eastern Kentucky, the Foundation did indeed provide high-speed internet access and computers to our county library, and continued to provide upgrades.
However, Blackberries, that’s a different animal. We don’t have reliable cell phone service here (heck, most of us don’t even have access to regular over-the-air to an antenna TV or radio, or even cable TV).
In any event, I would encourage those in the villages who do have internet access to take advantage of that by witnessing with words and photos.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Minnesota finally seats a senator and Bill O’Reilly’s head explodes. Priceless!!
June 30th, 2009 at 12:59 PM
I have to agree with you about helping people to help themselves. That is what I so admire about Ann and the other Anonymous bloggers. No whining, just brainstorming and a wicked sense of humor in the face of adversity. My kind of people. I don’t have a lot of money, anyway. I live on a fixed and limited income. However, what I do have is time, and a big mouth, and an ability to find out where the bodies are buried and to dig them up!! LOL! That is at your disposal. While you are busy preparing for another winter, what do you need us to do? It is obvious that it will be another freeze or eat kind of winter. How can we develop a system to get fuel and food in place BEFORE it hits the fan. More bang for the buck! Sorry for the “stream of consciousness” but these are my thoughts as I write. Just keep us in the loop and let us know what you want to do.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Yep, John Moller is probably out fishing. He’s a SE gillnetter with two nice fishing boats, the 60 ft ‘Carley Renee’ (1998 build; he’s not listed as the owner, but someone with his permit is using this boat to fish) and 32 ft ‘Mikiah Bay’ (1988 Rozema, beautiful well-fitted luxury fishing boat).
He’s had openers since May, with latest Sun June 28 to Wed July 1. He also holds two Pot Gear permits.
And then there’s that little business of Adak Fisheries and a relationship with Ben Stevens. http://community.adn.com/adn/node/108715
June 22, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JOHN MOLLER JOINS ADAK FISHERIES
Anchorage – June 22, 2007 – Adak Fisheries is pleased to announce and welcome John Moller to our company. John is a life long Alaskan and has participated in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska fisheries for more than 25 years. John spent ten years as the skipper of Bering Sea crab vessels. ~
John joins the Adak Fisheries management team to assist with further development of our business in Adak.”
“Adak Fisheries has loomed larger than might be expected for a small private employer in a town of 60 permanent residents on a closed Navy base near the distant edge of the Aleutian archipelago. The contentious lawsuits between the partners, and between Adak Fisheries and the Aleut Corp., revealed a once-secret option to buy 25 percent of Adak Fisheries held by state Senate President Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage.
Stevens obtained the option from Solberg and then-partner Icicle Seafoods in July 2002 while he served as a director of the Aleut Enterprise Corp., the Aleut Corp. subsidiary that leased the plant to Adak Fisheries. A year later, Stevens’ father, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, single-handedly pushed a measure through Congress that awarded the Aleut Corp. the exclusive rights to millions of dollars in Aleutian Islands pollock. By the time the measure passed as a rider to an appropriations bill, the Aleut Enterprise Corp., with Ben Stevens voting, had already assigned the pollock to Adak Fisheries.
Aleut Corp. officials said Stevens never disclosed his conflict of interest while serving on the Aleut Enterprise board.
Ben Stevens, also was paid more than $300,000 by Adak Fisheries for lobbying, consulting, and, from about March to September 2005, serving as company president…”
Another good read about John Moller’s relationships and business strategies:
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2006/09/01/catalog-of-ted-stevens-actions-that-have/
But I’m just jealous…
June 30th, 2009 at 1:10 PM
Harper’s Magazine article. Long, but worth the read.
Fast fish, loose fish: Who will own Alaska’s disappearing salmon?
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/05/0082490
June 30th, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Holy cats.
Quilt AK – you’re right, he’s fishing
Ann Strongheart – thank you for the “interpretation.” It makes things a lot clearer.
Remember Nick Tucker? He’s not happy:
http://community.adn.com/adn/blog/104297
Nan
June 30th, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Yup, he’s fishing (from: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/142105 )
The governor’s response?
“That was the information from John Moller,” Leighow wrote. “He is fishing today out of cell range. John also said he talked with numerous residents who reported they have taken enough king salmon for their subsistence needs or would by the end of the season.”
June 30th, 2009 at 3:07 PM
Fellow mudpuppies, methinks I spy an iceberg. The Vanity Fair article and GINO’s mistreatment of villagers is hitting the MSM like a bomb. Now Andrew Sullivan is running with the ball. I don’t think Gov. Palin can stop the bus she just fell under.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:09 PM
(((( GRAMIAM ))))))
from your mouth to God’s ear!
June 30th, 2009 at 3:12 PM
CG
All that fisheries connections, is reminiscent of what’s his name… Watts? The former lumber guy put in charge of the Interior during the Reagan admin. Fox & henhouse, basically.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:13 PM
Don’t miss Kyle Hopkins’ post at ADN, as mentioned above by InJuneau:
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/142105
When Sarah tweeted “John Moller just returned from Emmonak, reports 50% of residents have subsistence needs met already, others confident they can do the same”, this information was supposedly based on a statement by Nick Tucker of Emmonak, at the Federal Subsistence meeting last week.
Nick Tucker flatly denies that he said that, and also denies that it is true.
Sounds like Moller would be wise to just keep fishing. Perhaps he is like many other government employees in Alaska who have been told to only give Sarah good news???
June 30th, 2009 at 3:37 PM
Stranger In A Strange Land – Governor Palin’s video of John Moller and Emmonak elder. No particular reason for this post, just indulging myself. It got under my skin.
First – Mr. Westlock is wearing a hearing aid. I suspect that he’s also deaf in the ear you can’t see in the video.
Second – his first language is not English, although he’s quite fluent. I point this out because there’s a specific thing that happens with deafness and communication in a second language, particularly in intelligent people. There’s a skillful compensation. The person never says, “I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?”
Not really hearing each and every word; but recognizing the subject, we heard every 5th word and intelligently filled in the rest for ourselves, assuming that we knew what they meant. Sometimes the dialogue seems to be lacking and you can’t quite pin it down.
I’ve become quite fluent in my dad’s hearing aid-assisted/English-as-a-second-language communication style.
It’s evident here. Anyone with children in the house will also recognize this. : )
Third – Mr. Westlock has been interviewed a lot. On this subject recently, and probably many others at other times. He’s used to explaining stuff to teachers, school kids, Fish & Game, and had many conversations with curious and interested people. He doesn’t expect to deliver a sophisticated 5-hour lecture, uninterrupted, on Yupik Eskimo conservation, or hunting techniques, or traditional food preparation. He’s used to giving short succinct superficial answers that satisfy the other human being, without the background necessary for a sophisticated thorough understanding. All of our elders are used to that. They patiently answer superficial questions with dumbed-down answers. Sound and video bites.
His demeanour, his addressing of John Moller demonstrates that he is not explaining himself or his “needs” in a traditional cultural fashion. He’s just answering the questions and I think he’s not quite sure what Moller is asking.
Moller is using ‘dumb Native’ talk. He’s not addressing Mr. Westlock in a respectful grandson role context or fishing peer, expecting real education and response; he sounds like one more inspector taking notes by video and wondering where the plane back to Anchorage is.
Ann Strongheart explained the salted fish thing. I’ll add that this is a seasonal variation; a snack, not an entrée. It’s like the pickles that your grandma used to make with the extra stuff out of the garden. So Mr. Westlock has 5-gallon buckets that he’ll need 3 king salmon for the recipe. It’ll last awhile, but it’s not a year’s worth of fish being put up for the winter.
My impression of what’s happening is that the local fish processor and/or Fish & Game are giving out salmon; I’m not clear why or where the fish came from. Perhaps it’s a gesture to community elders.
Mr. Westlock came down to get a fish. Note the use of the term “game wardens”, an archaic term that means anything from Fish & Game to State Troopers and wildlife rangers.
He seems a tad nervous, almost deferential, like he’s either embarrassed to need a fish or to have been videotaped.
Moller asks about his “king needs”. I’ve never heard this term before. Not familiar language in the village, amongst subsistence users or commercial fishermen. Obviously, Mr. Westlock is accommodating, but I believe that he doesn’t know what Moller means, maybe didn’t hear him.
[C’mon, John. Where’d THAT come from? Well, gosh, I’ve got my “beef needs” met, but I might be low on my “egg needs” and “milk needs”. ]
John Moller: “Gordon. Uhhh…come down to, to get a king?”
Gordon Westlock: “I’m short with one king in my bucket, so I came to get one from the game wardens.”
John: “For your salt bucket?”
Gordon: “For myself, yeah. For winter.”
John: “How about your other king needs? Did you get those yet?”
Gordon: “I got three. Three for each one, one five-gallon. Three kings for five gallon. We save for winter for food.”
[Obviously, didn’t hear him and continuing his answer in the context of the previous question. He's trying to explain to him what he's up to.]
John: “So you have your kings for the year then?”
Gordon: “Mmm-hmm.”
[This is what my dad does when he didn’t hear me.]
John: “You do?”
Gordon: “Mmm-hmm, yeah.”
[He either didn't hear him or he's waiting politely for Moller to clarify. In the previous exchange, Moller talked over him, interrupting what he was saying. That's a typical Western habit irreconcilable with Eskimo good manners. In Yupik, to speak over someone else is a direct statement that you either don't want them to speak or that they aren't saying what you want and you're not listening. Now he's waiting because he was challenged and he's being careful not to elaborate. ]
John: “How about chum?”
Gordon: “Chum – we hang, we hang and dry. That’s our…we just save everything, every bit of it, even the bones for dogs. We have puppy, dog. We save that one.”
“What about chum”, what? A meaningless incomplete question. He’s offering information about chum, answering as if Moller was asking about traditional usage, or what he does with them.
John: “Yeah. Good. So…you’re not going to have any problems getting your subsistence needs this year?”
Gordon: “No.”
John: “Well that’s good to hear, I am really happy to hear that.”
Gordon: “Mmm-hmm.”
Translation: Well, good for you, buddy. Are you really happy? What do you want?
Gordon: “We’re happy that these game wardens they help us a lot, especially now with the ones that needs help. These elders, they call them up and whenever they have fish left over, they just give it to them. There are elders who can’t go out and go get whatever they want today.
Another thing is, some of us, the gas is too high, the gas price is too high and we have to go get whatever they have left. And these game wardens are really happy to give it to us.”
Mr. Westlock gracefully trying to interject some meaning to the dialogue at the end there. Diplomatically thanking the game wardens for giving fish to the elders. Giving Moller a lead-in to addressing the real issues. I’d like to see the footage of what came next.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:59 PM
CG – that’s awesome
I’d forgotten about that mmm-hmmm answer. Same one my dad used to use, for the same reasons! (he’s been gone 25 years now – no, 35!)
How much you wanna bet there is no more footage… Moller got his answers (he thinks).
June 30th, 2009 at 4:04 PM
CG thank you for a very simple, clear and sensible explanation about the Moller video.
From what small store of knowledge I have of the yup’ik culture, it makes sense. It makes me angry think that this man is being used by Moller for purposes of his own.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:17 PM
@dee
Minnesota finally seats a senator and Bill O’Reilly’s head explodes. Priceless!!
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lmao…I don’t know why, but this cracked me up!
probably old Norm, in his desperation, will go federal…maybe his head will explode also too
June 30th, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Professor Geezer Says: I will send $$ to help you in an Recall Effort. I am not in AK, but I would donate!
I second that!
June 30th, 2009 at 4:43 PM
I third it – I’m in
Nan
June 30th, 2009 at 6:46 PM
New here. I appreciate this site and all of you. Visit every day.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:53 PM
welcome CouginPortland
June 30th, 2009 at 8:57 PM
echo Lainey… welcome CougInPortland…enjoy your time here!
i know you will and please step in with comments!
June 30th, 2009 at 9:17 PM
ok, it’s late here in Kentucky and I’m still trying to kick the tobacco habit since April (trust me, it’s hard…)
Anyway, here’s the email I just sent to ADN:
I’m in eastern Kentucky and a reader of the McClatchey Lexington Herald-Leader.
I can not believe that you all are NOT making the salmon story page one while making the Palin PAC begathon “news”.
Shame shame shame on YOU!!!
Get Kyle’s story on page one and talk to Dennis Zazi and those who live in the villages to get the real story about the 50% subsistence that Gov. Palin crowed about in her lame twits from Kosovo (and Moller is now quietly off on a fishing vacation????…give me a freaking break!!!!)
Get some balls and start reporting the NEWS!!!!
BTW, I donated and worked for a pressure washer for Eagle and also sent several flat rate boxes of immediate needs stuff (having been a victim of a natural disastesr here in eastern Kentucky myself).
What has ADN done for the villages? Not expecting you to actually send anything or drive up there to see for yourselves, have you WRITTEN anything? Be part of a grassroots effort?
Now is your time! You have less than two months before winter hammers the villages to do more than Gov. Palin has done all the time she has been governor.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:18 PM
my bad…Zazi=Zaki…it’s late and I should be in bed…
everyone else, follow up on this and spell things correctly…
July 1st, 2009 at 12:28 AM
Start the recall, sure residents in north will sign. I like the new mayor’s ttitude of Anchorager, Government is a service center and I take it means that Government is for the people and by the people. Start rolling on the recall.