Life in the Tundra | Journey to a Remote Alaskan Village [S1-E8]

The tundra of western Alaska. It is a vast, remote place, home to a unique ecosystem which gives rise to an equally unique way of life for the people who have lived here for thousands of years. Are you ready to take to the skies and visit a community in Alaska so remote that you can only get there by plane? And not a big plane at that. We are headed to the village of Chivak, home of the Kashunamit people and the only place where a particular form of the Chupac language is spoken. There is a rich history here and a unique way of life that carries through to the present. We feel tremendously honored to be invited guests, going for a particularly special reason, and we honestly have no idea what to expect when we hit the ground. Join us as we dive headlong into a new adventure, connecting with this unique community, learning of their language and customs, and ourselves falling in love with the land they are so intimately tied to. Come with us to meet the community of Chivak, tucked within the wilds of the tundra. It is the night before we are heading to Chivak. We are super excited and we are packing everything up. I am packing our suitcase, which includes our bedding, and Jose is packing up all of the paint. We have had paint tucked into every little corner of this bus for a long time, so it's really exciting. Now we're going to pack it all into a big box and take it all out to Chivak, do a mural with it, and then leave it there and donate it for the school. It is the morning of our flight to Chivak. We have been packing. We have packed everything up. We have lots of boxes. Super excited. We're on our way to the airport. Bobbi is officially switched off. She's hibernating. We're going to leave her like this for two weeks and hope for the best. Bye, Bobbi. Chivak is located here, six miles from the Bering Sea in the Kusilovic Census area of western Alaska. As you can see, there are no roads to get here, and this is an important thing to understand about Alaska. Alaska's highway system covers just a portion of its territory. Beyond this system is almost another world, a different Alaska, one of small communities, each one a deep well of history and culture that no outsider could ever truly and fully understand. Getting to Chivak is no small feat. It requires flying first to Bethel and then boarding a small nine-seater plane to Chivak. We're on our way. We just checked in all of the boxes. We got our tickets. We're on our way to Bethel. Look at those beautiful paintings. That's a mosaic. Wow. We're here on the flight and by an awesome stroke of luck, we got a window seat. Below us rise the Chigmit and Neakola Mountains, which form the uppermost reaches of the Aleutian Range. The mountains then give way to the Nishigak Hills, a sweeping stretch of largely uninhabited land, and then we pass over the remote Killbuck Mountains before finally witnessing the transition to the tundra. If you are as curious and as clueless about this ecoregion as we are, oh just get ready. We are about to learn a lot. But first, Bethel. Let's go find out where do we have to take this for the next flight. Shuttle is here. You gotta get all this stuff to the shuttle. We got all this stuff into the Grant Shuttle and now over to Grant Airlink. So much food. So many things. Bethel is a transportation hub for western Alaska. Large flights like the one we just caught from Anchorage fly in and out and from here travelers board smaller planes to reach their respective communities and those small planes are not to be flown in bad weather. Okay it's time to board our teeny tiny plane to Chevek. We're super excited and especially Jose Luis because we're pretty sure this is the smallest plane he's ever been on. Me too. Okay. It's very windy out there so we hope it's not going to be a very bumpy ride. I hope not. I don't like bumpy rides. So our flight was canceled because of the wind um which I'm not surprised by and a little grateful for. I was like I don't know if I would want to fly in this. So I guess an added adventure for us. We are gonna have to spend a night here in Bethel, get to see this town a bit and uh yeah go with the flow. What else can you do? Check out this window it's crazy. So windy. This is an unexpected addition to our trip but it's all good. Now we gotta try and get a cab. So this is not anticipated. Here we are spending a night in Bethel at the Longhouse. Here we are. This is the adventure. Well you know us. We are not ones to pass up the opportunity to get to know a new place. So we've got all our stuff into the room. We're gonna go do a little walk around Bethel. See what we see. Come along with us. Hello. Hi. You're welcome. Looks kind of like you. It looks like he's wearing your hat. Yeah. Oh my gosh it's you. It's you. I love that color. Beautiful. All the colors and the red. We are on the main street of Bethel. Welcome to the river. This is the Cusco Quim river in its spring form. It's mid-May by the way. The importance of the Cusco Quim cannot be overstated. Reaching like a great artery into the very heart of interior Alaska, the Cusco Quim is the longest river system contained entirely within a single U.S. state. It's very windy and it's very cold. We don't want to get sick right before working with the kiddos so we're gonna get heading back. Time to go back. Thank you for calling Bethel Grand. Please hold for the next available agent. No matter where you are in the world, this is always the song that you're waiting to hear. Grand Aviation in Kenai. How can I help you? Well we're just wanting to see if it's possible to get on an earlier flight. We are teachers and we're we're set to be teaching at the CHEVAC summer program tomorrow. There's not going to be anything earlier than 5 15 today. The 1 p.m is fully booked. We're hoping to get in the air today. It's still windy and it's still raining but we are seeing planes in the sky so we're hopeful. I already hailed a cab. The cab system in this town is awesome. Apparently they have the most cab drivers per capita of any town in the United States. The cabs are all eight dollars per person anywhere in town. They really got it down to like a well-oiled machine here. No joke, the cab system in Bethel is dialed in. They've got this down to an art. Church. Okay, okay. Come on, come on, come on. So we're waiting. See if we can get on standby. I'm not too hopeful but there are flights leaving and landing so I think we'll get on a flight today. It'll just be, we'll be getting to CHEVAC late tonight maybe. That's okay as long as we can get to school tomorrow. No luck for standby so we're going to work for a couple hours and hope that we can get on that 5 p.m flight. Here we go. Finally we are on our way to CHEVAC. I'm a little nervous that the ride is going to be bumpy but we are in for a major surprise. This is actually the smoothest takeoff we've ever experienced. If it weren't for the ground rushing away we would have no idea there was liftoff. The flight from Bethel to CHEVAC takes about 50 minutes. The flight is unbelievably smooth. Everyone is in their own world and of course Jose Luis and I are on cloud nine. This is the smallest commercial flight we've ever been on and that includes a flight into very rural Nepal. At first it's just clouds below and then the moment comes when the tundra begins to peek through. Nothing quite prepares you for flying so close over the tundra. Google imagery only gives you so much perspective but this, this is magical. The endless patterns of pools and winding waterways is honestly almost hypnotizing. We begin to see how this region is really only passable in the winter when the active layer of the tundra freezes and a great network of winter snow machine trails becomes possible. We were already curious about the ecology of this region but now that curiosity is lit into a flame. And just like that we are here. All right we made it. All right here it all is. It's arrived. This is our first glance at CHEVAC and we can't wait to explore and get to know more. But it's already late though we know it doesn't look it. It's mid-May and in CHEVAC that means they're getting about 18 hours of daylight. Here we are. Home for two weeks. Wow. They told us the food here is really expensive so we got our fridge and the bus with some food and then we learned that we could bring it on the airplane so we got this cooler full of food. We emptied out Bobby's fridge and we brought it all here and it made it. All right I'm gonna check out the rooms and see. We could stay here or we could stay here. Oh this one's got a cover sheet already. Oh and a desk. Yeah I think this is my room. There's a bathroom. Pretty cool. There's another desk, another workstation. Now it's time to get tucked in and get some good sleep because that project, the whole reason we are here, starts tomorrow. We got settled in and it's the morning time. We're heading to school. This is our walk. It's a little muddy because it's springtime. We're heading to school. Good morning. Welcome to our office. Welcome to CHEVAC school. In rural Alaskan towns the school is often much more than just a school. It can double as a community center, event center, emergency shelter, health clinic, and often where visitors are put up. It is a deeply important cog in the community. And what are we doing here? You know us, music and murals of course. But what we don't realize yet is that we will become the true students and the children our teachers. They are going to teach us more about their culture, their land, their past, present, and future than we could ever teach them about music and art. Together we dive in. It begins with the mural. This mural is special out of all the school murals we've done so far. For the first time students will not paint a mural designed by Jose Luis. Rather this mural will be designed by the students themselves. It will be their vision reflecting their home, their culture, their history. The group jumps right in learning about murals, design concepts, and sketching ideas for what will eventually be painted on the wall of their school. But how do you go from sketches on pencil and paper to a full-scale wall painting? You will find out. In the meantime the elementary kiddos and I are knee-deep in music and exploring different instruments and languages. Then the true teaching begins. The students decide their song will be written in both English and Chupac. Like the bullet out of a gun, a set of lyrics is born fluidly jumping between English and the community's Chupac dialect, a tongue that is profoundly precious as it is only spoken here in Chivac. James's words speak to the same core concept that the students center their song around, the ties between their people and the land. This is the tundra of the Beringia lowland ecoregion. Tundra is characterized as a vast treeless plain home to low-lying vegetation. Most tundra of the world occurs in arctic and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere. It can occur outside of this region high up on mountains above the treeline. In all, the tundra biome accounts for roughly 10% of earth's surface. The tundra of this ecoregion is characterized by wetlands home to grass-like sedges and on better drained peat mounds, dwarf shrubs and plants of the heath family like lingonberry, crowberry, marsh labrador tea, and even dwarf willows. Underlying the ecoregion is both continuous and discontinuous permafrost. Discontinuous meaning there are patches where the permafrost does not exist. Only the upper layer of permafrost called the active layer thaws and refreezes with the seasons. This land is of particular importance to migrating bird species. In the spring, the tundra comes alive with geese, ducks, ptarmigan, and swans among so many others here to breed after a long journey north. In fact, this ecoregion is the primary global breeding habit for many species. According to Reed Noss and One Earth, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, of which this area is a part, supports over 1 million ducks and half a million geese during the breeding season. The highest density of tundra swans, most of the world's emperor swans, and about half of the world's black bran nest in this delta. The Kashunamit people have been living in this region for thousands of years, but not always in this exact spot. Twice the settlement has had to move due to frequent flooding, which is why the current town is located on a bluff overlooking their river. If we zoom out, we see the broad brushstrokes of different ethnolinguistic groups of Alaska. This region is home to the Yupik and Chupik people. As Elder John Pinaich explains in his curriculum, the Chupik people are Yupik, but they have their own dialect and are a historically distinct group. There has always been an ebb and flow to life here, one that moves with the seasons. In the spring, when migrating birds arrived and the tundra began to awaken, eggs were gathered and fresh marsh greens harvested. In summer, families packed up and moved to camps along the Bering Sea, where they spent the entire season hunting bearded seal, walrus, beluga, and fishing for salmon. In the fall, the tundra burst with berries. The fruit of these three seasons provided all the food to get through the long, dark, frigid winters. On our first exploration into the tundra, we begin to understand this history and what the students have been teaching us with their art. That this ebb and flow is not just something of the past. Living with the rhythm of the seasons, hunting, fishing, and harvesting from the land for subsistence, this way of life is still very much alive here in Chivac. We head out into the tundra with an unexpected companion in tow. Go get the bird! Get the bird! You're a wiggle! You're a wiggle monster! Go get the birds! Go get them! The students are writing their song about a time of the year that brings them a lot of joy, setting up camp along the Bering Sea, a time that is just around the bend. But the river is still frozen, and so here the boats wait, ready to be packed up with tents, clothing, cookstoves, food, gear, everything to spend weeks to months fishing and hunting marine mammals along the edge of the sea. While the boats wait for the river to thaw, the tundra is awakening in other ways. We see the birds are beginning to arrive. Every day the cacophony of birdsong grows all around us. And we see more and more people venturing into the tundra to gather eggs and those tundra marsh greens. We are told they are very delicious and even have a hint of spice. And all of these traditions, this connection to the land, is what the art group is bringing to life in their mural design. A design that is now one step closer to the wall, Jose Luis has scanned the students' sketches so that they can be directly transferred from paper to the wall, tied together in one beautiful celebration of Chupac history, culture, and way of life. You guys see each of your drawings? And now all that's left to do is to get that design on the wall. It's the weekend and a core group of enthusiastic muralists is learning how to transfer a mural design from the computer and even have some fun with cultural exchange 21st century style. Facetiming our nephew in Florida. So it's the weekend and we finally get to explore the streets of Chivac. Population 1,100. In just five short days we are already seeing so much change. The snow and ice isn't as thick as when we arrived. The nearly 19 hours of daylight now is helping with that. One thing we notice right away is that all the buildings, including the school, are built to remain elevated off the waterlogged tundra that shifts with every freeze-thaw cycle. And all around us we see signs of that connection to living from the land. The elementary students absolutely rocked their song. Together all the grades crafted a deeply moving tune that transports you into their world. You can almost feel the wind on your face, hear the sounds of the tundra all around as you head out to camp in a summer of work, hunting and fishing off the land. And if you're wondering if you will hear that final song, yes, yes you will. And you will also hear the song written by the high school students. They too are throwing their hat into the ring, taking on the challenge of writing a whole song in just a few short days. They are older, just a few years from graduation, so naturally their music focuses on themes of the future, new sunrises, and roaming the world. But it still ties everything back to the tundra, to the rhythms of the land, and the understanding that here in Chivac, this is home. In fact, I'll let them share it with you. It's nearing the end of our time in Chivac, and we're starting to feel the rhythm of life a little bit more. We watch the planes come and go every day, bringing people and goods to and from the community. It is a different reality living this remote. It costs $500 one way to get from here to Anchorage, $300 just to get to Bethel. It is an investment to venture away and to come home to Chivac. This is not the way most of us live, so easily connected to other towns, other cities, other states. The river ice is finally beginning to break up, and it's an incredible sight. But the boats are still not going out for summer camp. This ice can easily flip or crush a boat, so it's still too dangerous to use the river for transportation. All right, let's go. ATVs are the crowd favorite around here, making it easy to get around town and also to navigate through the swampy wetlands of the tundra. The tundra surrounding Chivac is filled with ATV trails used to venture far out to gather eggs, berries, marsh greens, and to hunt. You can even reach Hooper Bay, about 18 miles away by ATV, though it will take some time. Transportation across this landscape is infinitely easier in the winter, as the active layer of the tundra freezes over and snow machine trails crisscross the land. It blows our minds that just a few weeks ago there were still piles of snow and ice on the ground. Now it's all gone. We are headed out to our friend's home where a special treat awaits. Wow, we got some goose eggs here, and salmon in seal oil. This is seal meat. They even sent us home with some goodies. So our friend Alina gave us these. This is like a super wonderful treat. Check this out. Smoked salmon chopped and they look basically like chips. This is from the salmon that they got last year. How amazing is that? Normal egg, goose egg. Ow, big yolk. This ain't no yolk. The big day finally arrives. The mural is finished after many, many hours of work, and the team is proud. It's the last day of summer school, so everyone is convening in the cafeteria for awards and prizes, and to hear those two beautiful songs written by the students. You've heard the high schoolers song, and now is the time to hear the little ones. An important and moving piece titled, The Strength of Our Ancestors. When the winter goes, we go, I hope. We pack in our looks, jump on kick and our coats. Spring takes away winter, summer takes away spring. We head off for camp, for our time of hunting. Nature is kind, we are here to hunt, not to disturb. The land is not ours, it belongs to the herd. We toss up the line, now pulling apart. Our tools change with the times, but then we'll never see it. The past is our guide, the strength of our ancestors lives deep inside. We see the birds flying, they stick in the crud, time to grow, we set up our tent. We hunt to eat through the winter, it can be tough. We hunt while you go. Together, we toss up the line. The times, but then we'll never see it. Our time in Chevac is up, and we have learned so much, and yet we have also learned so little. We are very, very aware that there is so much we do not understand. So many layers of history and meaning, cultural context and nuance. We are grateful for what the children taught us, for the little glimpse that we were given, and we are so grateful to the school for bringing us here. And now we must hit the skies again, back to the Alaska we came from, a version of Alaska that now feels almost like going to a different world. It's funny, when we first saw the tundra from the air, we noted how different it looked from Google Earth. Now that we see it from the air again, we note how different it feels from actually being there, standing in it, feeling the wind, hearing the bird song all around, to quote some talented songwriters that we know, to feel the expanse of that beautiful emptiness. And now it's back to the other Alaska, to the full lineup of adventures that is about to kick into full gear. We have a heck of an Alaskan summer ahead, and we're bringing you along with us next time on Art We Bare Yet. Hey guys, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to give us a like, subscribe to our channel, send us a comment below, and for exclusive content and a behind-the-scenes view of the Art We Bare Yet journey, join us on Patreon. See you over on Patreon. you