Unalaska celebrates Qawalangin Tribe's Culture: one of the most important daily practices is the introduction of traditional Unangan values, which teaches students the right way to live as Unangan/Unangas, or as a member of the human race.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Alaska This Month

Students in Unalaska this month have an opportunity to learn first-hand the cultural practices and subsistence methods used by their ancestors and compare them to modern Western practices during a special camp taking place outside the City of Unalaska.

"It is a traditional culture camp," said Sharon Svarny-Livingston, co-administrator for Camp Qungaayu, which begins Aug. 7 and continues through Aug. 12.

The week will mark the ninth year that the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska--in partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Ounalashka Corp., the City of Unalaska, and the Unalaska City School District--will host Camp Qungaayu. The camp is designed to bring Unangan elders, mentors and Western science biologists together with the younger generation in order to teach traditional subsistence and cultural practices.

The cultural camp began with seed monies obtained from the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) from a programming effort to systematically document the indigenous knowledge systems of Alaska Native people and develop pedagogical practices that effectively integrate indigenous knowledge into educational programs.

The camp is located approximately five miles from the City of Unalaska at Humpy Cove. Eligible participants are those students entering 4th grade and above, inclusive of 12th grade students. Additionally, two students and a chaperone are sponsored from the villages of Atka, Adak, Akutan and Nikolski.

Setting the tone of cooperation and teaching by example is very important, Svarny-Livingston said, and so the first activity of the camp has always been beach seining. This is an activity that everyone can participate in, at whatever level they choose, and models the Unangan traditional methods of teaching by example. Cultural and scientific topics that will be taught at camp this year will include: fishing and fish preparation; Unangan dance; Unangam Tunuu, the Aleut language; carving and bending wooden...