IAmA Yup'ik Eskimo who grew up in Alaska AMA

this is how I see you

lol, I am fair skinned, my dad is white, so I am a half breed. I wish my eyes were blue, but they are poopy brown.

Not a completely serious question: once I've got into an argument about who are the most peaceful people on Earth. The other guy said it must be Indians, because many of them are vegetarians. I claimed that Indians waged many wars, so well and so long that they defeated Alexander the Great, and instead most peaceful are Eskimos who were never at war (was my guess). Can you confirm that, or add some additional explanation?

I have no idea, I can ask my dad this question later and get back to you.

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Um, I will have to ask my mom on this one. I am not fluent in Yup'ik but my mom is.

Kind reminder to please deliver on this one!

Don't worry, I will ask her tonight when she is off work and I can call her.

How much have you seen the effects of global warming in the time that you lived in Alaska?

And how old are you for reference sake?

For example I'm 25 and can recall clearly having snow through most of the winter, and usually a decent bit. As of the last 10 years it has declined steadily to the point where it rarely stays on the ground. I'm from southern Ontario so obviously the climates are much different, I am just wondering if it is maybe effecting colder climates more, or less.

Also, thank you for doing this, I love interesting and tangible AMA's.

I am half way to 50, getting old. I remember growing up and literally being snowed into our house and having to call my uncles to come and dig us out. We had a snow staircase going down to our house. I haven't seen that since I was probably 8. Last year though, snow stuck around til late June early July, so there wasn't much of a summer.

Half way to 50

So...25?

Ding ding ding, we have a winner.

How many words for snow are there in your language?

I will have to ask my mom.

What would you say to someone that thinks of natives as a people that live solely off the system? I.e. most of the population that does shit nothing and gets paid to do so.

Why don't you go and see for yourself and experience natives first hand.

have you ever seen anyone eating yellow snow ?

No, but we would take snow from outside and put it in a cup and put a few spoonfuls of tang in the cup to make "ice cream"

haha nice. tang...

did u ever go hunting for small whales or those sea lion things (i am missing the english word - non english speaker here)

when growing up did u ever wish u were somewhere at the beach ?

We did live near a beach and went and swam in the ocean every summer. I am a girl, and was not allowed to hunt, but my uncles and brother did hunt seals. Whales were rare for where I lived, but when someone did catch a whale, they shared it with the community, same goes with bigger seals.

how is the taste of whale and are you against whale hunting?

Um...I can't remember how the meat tastes, but I do love the blubber. It's sort of like chewing cardboard/gum at the same time. I love it dipped in Worcestershire sauce. I am not against whale hunting as long as it is for subsistence reasons.

i really doubt that eskimos have to justify their traditions... it was not them that slaughtered those poor creatures to near extinction.

how many words do you know for "snow" ?

For snow, I have to ask my mom on that, she is the fluent one in Yup'ik.

are you an alcoholic?

I am not. I lost my brother to alcohol in 2011, I do not drink, nor do my parents. My brother picked it up from the Marine Corps and died in a boat accident while he was with another guy both drunk driving a boat.

Based on what I've seen on TV, you people are beyond weird. All my knowledge about Alaskans came from Alaska State Troopers and PBS kids.

Define weird? Sure we live off the land, eat seals, birds, fish. Not all of us are like the ones you see on tv.