Crowdsourcing for Metadata: People and Places in the NANA Region
I’m still hard at work processing my dad’s fieldwork photos, and have come across a few more mysteries. If you are familiar with the NANA region in Alaska, won’t you take a look and see if you can help me with some information? Please share this post widely, as well, if you know anyone who might be able to help.
This photograph was taken in 1975. This is a high school gymnasium that likely no longer has this awesome mural. I believe this may be in Kotzebue, based on other photographs in the same run, but it could be anywhere in the NANA region. Does anyone recognize this gym?
This photograph was taken sometime between 1975 and 1980, probably in Kivalina. I don’t know what this building is; does it look familiar to anyone?
This photograph was taken sometime between 1975 and 1980, probably in Kiana. My mother thinks that the younger woman on the right is one of the Atoruk girls. Do either of these women look familiar to anyone? If you know any Atoruks, please pass this on to them, as I have lots of photos with various members of the family.
This photograph was taken sometime between 1975 and 1980, probably in Kivalina. I know this is some form of traditional Inupiat dance, but I’m not sure which. Is anyone knowledgeable about Inupiat dancing, drumming, and clothing? I’d appreciate your input.
mcnabbarchives 
The second picture is Chukchi college
Thank you, John. This is very helpful.
The last picture is kotzebue senior citizens cultural center commons area, dining room
Terrific, thanks for letting me know, John!
The second building long brown with lots of windows is the Chuckchi Community College building in Kotzebue Alaska. In the far right one can see fuel storage tank that were part of B&R at the time and are now owned by Arctic Lighterage. Slightly visible in the left is the end of what was a teacher housing building.
Great information, Dean. Thank you for commenting.
Shared this on Facebook on 12/25/14 and a couple of folks in NW Alaska identified a few things so far: Top image seems to be the gym at Kivalina. The second photo of the wood building with blue roof is the Chukchi College and library building in Kotzebue. The woman on the right in the third photo is Sandra Atoruk of Kiana. The bottom photo was taken in the old Senior Center in Kotzebue. Lots of interest in these old pics! Love to see more. Eileen Devinney
I really appreciate you sharing, Eileen! How wonderful that folks responded and now we know more about these photographs.
I know that the picture you say is in Kivalina for the dancing, it is actually Kotzebue Senior Center
Marione, thank you so much for your comment. This is very helpful!
The gym mural is from Kivalina. I was a student teacher there and we closed down the gym for a week of what was supposed be a themed community 4 season mural, but the teachers forgot that there was no 4 seasons in Kivalina. The kids pretty much sat there until I asked one of the kids to bring me a picture of her grandmother who recently died. I used an opaque projector to sketch up her grandmother and did a quick painting and turned to the kids and looked at them. They understood. They went home and brought in photos and drawings they had and did the entire gym. It was amazing. The parents and grandparents started to come in directing the drawing and painting and joining in way into the evening for a week. All 4 walls were done and it was beautiful as a mural and as an example of true community education.
Wow, that’s incredible! Thank you for commenting. I love learning the context of these photos.
Not sure why I sat down and typed in the query Kivalina + mural + gym the other night. 😎
I’m pretty sure that the part of the gym you can see there was painted by the Swan Family. When the themes didn’t work the village pretty naturally divided the work into families either consciously or unconsciously. I don’t think I have ever been anywhere where there was so much artistic visual talent. What really amazed me was a kid named Tommy Adam who used to make drawings as if he was hovered above a scene and not from the western straight on 1/2 point horizontal perspective. I can’t even think in that perspective but Tommy did it naturally, an amazing artist.
We unfortunately were only there 10 months as part of a U of A project called X-ceed run by Ray Barnhardt in Fairbanks. Those 10 months changed our lives for the good forever.
the date was spring 1979 –Thom