I am Eskimo!!!

The other day I was criticized for my blog name “West Coast Eskimo”. The guy just assumed that I was not part of an Eskimo tribe and told me to go to hell, that I was racist and the term “Eskimo” was a cultural appropriation. So, I went and looked up the term “Eskimo” in the English dictionary. It turns out that “Eskimo” means “eater of raw meat”. The Oxford Dictionary defines Eskimo as “a member of an indigenous people inhabiting northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and eastern Siberia, and traditionally living by hunting seals and other Arctic animals and birds and by fishing.” 

In all honesty, my family and entire tribe DO eat raw meat. I am not offended by the term at all. My husband and daughter love dried black meat (oogruk aka bearded seal). We also love dried fish. My daughter goes crazy over muktuk (whale blubber, even when it is raw). Raw meat is good in some forms. Nothing wrong with it.

Eskimos are providers. Eskimos are leaders. We subsist for our families. Some of us are cut off from the rest of the world in our little communities in rural Alaska. Eskimos share with one another. They look out for their family, friends, neighbors, and all of the village kids. Eskimos survive harsh winters, but they are smart about it. They utilize what they have in their area to stay warm. They make parkas, mukluks, malaqis, mittens, and other clothing articles with furs of locally hunted animals. Eskimos feed their families local food (seal, seal oil, salmon, caribou, moose, crab, herring eggs, muktuk, etc) to offset the high costs of food from the store. 

I do not understand people who get offended for being called Eskimo. If someone called me an Inupiaq, I would feel just the same. I do not differentiate the two. The Canadian Eskimos prefer to be called Inuit. The Northern and Northwest Alaskan Eskimos are called Inupiat. Others are called Yupik. Really? We are all Eskimos. We are all related in one way or another. Get over it!

I will keep my blog name as West Coast Eskimo because I am proud to be Eskimo. I may only be half Eskimo, but I am Eskimo nonetheless. I will always be an Eskimo as long as I shall live. And my children will know that they are Eskimo as well and their children and their children’s children. So, for those that find offense to the term, Eskimo, so be it. Eskimo defines who I am: who my ancestors were. My ancestors did not find offense to it. Why should I? 

The cutest little Eskimo in the boat! :)

Iron Dog 2018

It’s that time of the year again! Iron Dog racers pulled into Unalakleet yesterday. Reuben’s friend, Casey Perkins, is running Trail Class and is staying at our house. He pulled into town just after 5 pm. Last night after 4 am, two Pro Class teams came to stay at our house as well. We were expecting Scott Faeo and his teammate, Chad Gueco, but we ended up housing another team as well: Jordan Starr and Joshua Plumb. I feel bad that they are sleeping on the couch, but it is better than sitting at the garage. All of the guys were very friendly and helpful. Casey grilled chicken for dinner and even did the dishes! Sure made my day! :)

Casey Perkins of Team 21 at the Unalakleet checkpoint. Joseph Etageak is checking him in.

It’s always fun to listen to their stories about the trail. Casey was telling us about how one Pro Class team has flown up rigs to several checkpoints just to use for parts. Now that is determination! The racers’ gear was soaked from the overflow so our dryer was pretty busy. Casey asked us where our winter went. Haha! He said there was lots of snow up until Kaltag, then BAM it was nothing but wet trails. I can’t imagine the trail between Unalakleet and Nome. With all the high water and wind, it has to be pretty bad.

The Iron Dog officials put all of the racers on mandatory hold due to severe weather around the sound. All racers will be stuck in Unalakleet until tomorrow morning. I am not complaining because I like the company.

When I went to pick up Casey at UNC Garage yesterday, three other Trail Class racers pulled in. Their rigs were beautiful colors. I went to compliment one of them about his purple rig and he explained to me that it was for Pancreatic cancer awareness. His teammates drove light green and light blue rigs covered in “Be Alive”. The racer driving the green rig just recovered from Lymphoma. The racer driving the blue rig was running for his mother who had passed away from colon cancer. They call their team “Be Alive”. I respect that.

Jerrod Vaughn racing for Team "Be Alive".

Since I have to work, I made breakfast early and left it for the racers. I didn’t want to wake them since they had been up past 4 last night. Every time the Iron Dog and Iditarod teams pass through, they are all I can think of. The whole town comes together to greet the teams as they pull in, even at odd hours of the night.