Untitled Document

Russian Trip Report
Week of August 11, 2003

On July 31st ( August 1st on the Russian calendar), I left Kotzebue as part of a delegation to the Russian Far East. Our group included Kotzebue student Melissa Tabor and Andrea Greene, Andrew Crowe, Roger Ratcliff of the University of Alaska in Anchorage. The purpose of this trip was to reinforce the "sister city" relationship between Lavrentia and Kotzebue and to assist the Native people with international marketing of some of their traditional arts and crafts. I traveled at the invitation of Lavrentia Mayor Mikl (Michael) Zelinsky.

A King Air charter stopped for Melissa and I in Kotzebue and we flew directly to Anadyr, a city of 15,000. The flight took 1 ½ hours. I noticed lots of ice near the coastal city of Uelen and up the coast toward Wrangell Island. We also noticed some huge forest or tundra fires burning in the interior of Chukotka.

Once in Anadyr, we were treated to the sight of countless belugas and seals feeding on chum salmon as we awaited a ferry to take us to the city. The ferry turned out to be a broken down ship pulled by a tugboat. A celebration was underway during our stay there and I ran into a Russian friend that I met while in Quebec City at a circumpolar conference last November. I ran into him while feasting on reindeer meat inside a huge, circular skin tent that was set up by the reindeer herders. He introduced me to all the members of his dance group.

We flew to Lavrentia on a Russian jet freighter that had two huge engines above the wings and fuselage. We were the only passengers with seats for the 1 ½ hour flight. About 40 Turkish construction workers sat on the floor.

Upon landing in Lavrentia, Michael Zelensky met us and escorted us to the Bairdarka Festival. The winners of the young men's umiak (bairdarka) race were just finishing. Later, the whaling boats began their long race while we ate gray whale muktuk and meat. We also visited some village campers on a nearby hill. We were invited to tea and a snack of salted smelt and trout and stayed until the racers started to come in.

While at the awards ceremony, I found more old friends. One of them was Margarita, who stayed in Kotzebue for three months back in 1990 to teach traditional dancing. Their hospitality was greatly appreciated.

Immediately after the festival, Mayor Zelensky took us by van to Loreno, a small village about 80 miles away. That was quite a trip. We stopped at a spring, where cool, pure water poured out of the mountain. We passed six Eskimo people who were walking from Laventhiya to Loreno! It is not unusual at all for people to walk great distances over there and they look very fit for all the good exercise. As we approached Loreno, we began to see women walking back from picking berries at least five miles from town.

We purchased a variety of reindeer antler carvings while in Loreno and I was presented with a beautiful carved oosik. Many of those carvings are now on sale at the Borough office if anyone would like to view them. The buildings there were like everywhere else I visited - large cement structures built in the 1960's or earlier. We enjoyed a meal and bath at a natural hot spring on the way back to Lavrentia that day.

When weather in Nome caused cancellation of our scheduled flight back home the next day, we were fortunate to get on a charter flight arranged by five Canadian mining engineers. This flight to Anchorage took 3 ½ hours and I finally got to a hotel at 3 a.m. Alaska time. What a whirlwind tour!

The trip was successful in that we learned a good deal about the Russian way of doing things and how we can assist our friends in their transition from a socialistic government. As with Native people in rural Alaska, there is little experience with operating a business and we will help them find markets for their products. In turn, we will to continue to bring great carvers from Russia to our country to teach our artists. We will also bring people such as Margarita to our region to teach skin sewing at its highest level.

I am proud that our Northwest Arctic Borough staff is being called upon by the University of Alaska-Anchorage to assist the Russian Native people. It tells me that we must be doing something positive right here at home.


Mayor Ross Schaeffer returned from Russia August 6th. Story under Mayor's Corner

Mayor's Corner
Russian Trip Report Week of August 11, 2003 On July 31st ( August 1st on the Russian calendar), I left Kotzebue as part of a delegation to the Russian Far East. Our group included Kotzebue student Melissa Tabor and Andrea Greene, Andrew Crowe, Roger Ratcliff of the University of Alaska in Anchorage. The purpose of this trip was to reinforce the "sister city" relationship between Lavrentia and Kotzebue and to assist the Native people with international marketing of some of their traditional arts and crafts. I traveled at the invitation of Lavrentia Mayor Mikl (Michael) Zelinsky. A King Air charter stopped for Melissa and I in Kotzebue and we flew directly to Anadyr, a city of 15,000. The flight took 1 ½ hours. I noticed lots of ice near the coastal city of Uelen and up the coast toward Wrangell Island. We also noticed some huge forest or tundra fires burning in the interior of Chukotka. Once in Anadyr, we were treated to the sight of countless belugas and seals feeding on chum salmon as we awaited a ferry to take us to the city. The ferry turned out to be a broken down ship pulled by a tugboat. A celebration was underway during our stay there and I ran into a Russian friend that I met while in Quebec City at a circumpolar conference last November. I ran into him while feasting on reindeer meat inside a huge, circular skin tent that was set up by the reindeer herders. He introduced me to all the members of his dance group. We flew to Lavrentia on a Russian jet freighter that had two huge engines above the wings and fuselage. We were the only passengers with seats for the 1 ½ hour flight. About 40 Turkish construction workers sat on the floor. Upon landing in Lavrentia, Michael Zelensky met us and escorted us to the Bairdarka Festival. The winners of the young men's umiak (bairdarka) race were just finishing. Later, the whaling boats began their long race while we ate gray whale muktuk and meat. We also visited some village campers on a nearby hill. We were invited to tea and a snack of salted smelt and trout and stayed until the racers started to come in. While at the awards ceremony, I found more old friends. One of them was Margarita, who stayed in Kotzebue for three months back in 1990 to teach traditional dancing. Their hospitality was greatly appreciated. Immediately after the festival, Mayor Zelensky took us by van to Loreno, a small village about 80 miles away. That was quite a trip. We stopped at a spring, where cool, pure water poured out of the mountain. We passed six Eskimo people who were walking from Laventhiya to Loreno! It is not unusual at all for people to walk great distances over there and they look very fit for all the good exercise. As we approached Loreno, we began to see women walking back from picking berries at least five miles from town. We purchased a variety of reindeer antler carvings while in Loreno and I was presented with a beautiful carved oosik. Many of those carvings are now on sale at the Borough office if anyone would like to view them. The buildings there were like everywhere else I visited - large cement structures built in the 1960's or earlier. We enjoyed a meal and bath at a natural hot spring on the way back to Lavrentia that day. When weather in Nome caused cancellation of our scheduled flight back home the next day, we were fortunate to get on a charter flight arranged by five Canadian mining engineers. This flight to Anchorage took 3 ½ hours and I finally got to a hotel at 3 a.m. Alaska time. What a whirlwind tour! The trip was successful in that we learned a good deal about the Russian way of doing things and how we can assist our friends in their transition from a socialistic government. As with Native people in rural Alaska, there is little experience with operating a business and we will help them find markets for their products. In turn, we will to continue to bring great carvers from Russia to our country to teach our artists. We will also bring people such as Margarita to our region to teach skin sewing at its highest level. I am proud that our Northwest Arctic Borough staff is being called upon by the University of Alaska-Anchorage to assist the Russian Native people. It tells me that we must be doing something positive right here at home.
Borough Personnel Update Week of August 4, 2003 We have had some changes in Borough staffing over the last few months and I would like to bring everyone up to date. In addition to my position as mayor, the Northwest Arctic Borough has a total of eleven and one half full-time positions authorized for this fiscal year, two of which are vacant at this time. We also have four people working under contract currently as well as the law firm that represents Borough interests and the financial company that manages our bonding. Finally, the Borough has permanent part-time librarian positions in Kotzebue and Selawik. I am happy to report that Tom Bolen, our Public Services Director, has returned to work after undergoing medical treatment for the past several months. While it will be a few more months before he returns to full strength, it appears that he is destined to make a full recovery from his cancer treatment. Tom does a great deal of work in support of our villages and is largely responsible for getting our Borough staff situated in our own beautiful facility this past year. Nina Lie joined our staff in late July as our receptionist and Department of Motor Vehicles clerk. She replaces Angela Joule, who headed off to Lincoln Trail Community College in Illinois in pursuit of a career in nursing. Angela did a wonderful job at the Borough the last two years and we are sorry to see her leave. However, we are delighted that she has chosen such a worthwhile goal for herself and hope that she joins the staff at our regional health center one day. Toni Johnson (Toni Evak prior to her recent wedding), has transferred from her position as Public Services Coordinator to Deputy Borough Clerk, where she works under Borough Clerk Helena Hildreth. We hope to fill the vacant Public Services Coordinator position in the near future. Cheryl Winkler has been working under contract to the Borough for the past several months as a grant writer. Applications for multipurpose buildings that include public safety offices have been submitted recently on behalf of Ambler and Shungnak to both USDA and the Denali Commission. There is a great deal of competition for funding for these types of facilities, but we are making our best effort to bring these and other improvements to our villages. Kim Franklin, formerly of Wells Fargo Bank, joined our staff in January and is an Associate Planner. She works under Planning Director Noah Naylor and is responsible for assisting our cities with comprehensive planning. Our third department is Economic Development, which continues to be headed by Director Lee Stoops. Vika Owens is the Arts Program Manager and has now been with the Borough for a full year. Tula Lie has been the Borough Controller for the last 14 years and maintains all of our accounting records. Our CPA, under contract, is Judy Hassinger. Former State Senator Al Adams, who has been working as a consultant for our Assembly for the past three years, is now under contract as the Borough's lobbyist. We believe that his legislative experience, vast knowledge of state government, and positive working history with so many of our state leaders will help him serve the Borough well. I would like to congratulate and extend best wishes to two former Borough employees who recently accepted new jobs in Kotzebue. Former Borough Clerk and Mayor's Assistant Valarie Romaine is now working for the University of Alaska at Chukchi Campus. Charlie Gregg, a former Borough Deputy Planning Director, has accepted a position with the State Department of Fish and Game.
Sharing with the North Slope Borough Week of July 21, 2003 Our economic development staff traveled to Barrow and Anaktuvuk Pass this week to share information about our arts purchase and marketing program and contribute to artists' workshops. This activity is an outcome of the Arctic Economic Development Summit that was initiated by our two boroughs in recent years. Over 130 Northwest Arctic Borough residents have been able to sell their crafts and artwork through our Borough's program over the last two years and it is a program that we believe could benefit the North Slope and other bush populations in Alaska. The key elements of the program include development of a revolving fund with which to purchase products from artists, establishment of retail markets for the sale of those products, and assistance to artists in developing quality products that are marketable. Our Revolving Arts Purchase Account, currently $100,000, evolved largely from $25,000 contributions from NANA Regional Corporation and Maniilaq Association and cost savings in the Borough's economic development program that were reallocated into the account over the last few years. This account, like that of our Revolving Small Business Loan program, is "legacy" money that will continue to serve us year after year as long as it is administered responsibly. Its importance lies in the fact that products can be purchased on a year around basis from active artists, providing them with some consistency in income. Retail markets are broad and varied. Our Borough first focused on developing local outlets so that visitors to our region would have the opportunity to purchase artwork as a special memory of their travel here and local people would have continuing visual evidence of their cultural heritage. We hope to create the same atmosphere in Barrow. That marketing has been expanded to include our borough website ("Articraft" under www.northwestarcticborough.org) so that people anywhere are able to view the art of our region. We have also established relationships with retail outlets in other parts of Alaska and even Washington, D.C. In support of artistic development, we provide workshops featuring the expertise of our finest artists and even some from outside the region, grants for the purchase of tools and supplies, promotional materials such as business cards and advertising posters, and even art competition. We are also in the process of developing an arts center in Kotzebue, where our people can both work efficiently and learn from others, and hope to develop such facilities in most of our villages as well. Barrow and the neighboring villages of the North Slope have the same wealth of talent and tradition that we have in our region. At the same time, those people are experiencing the same problems of low employment and loss of cultural ties that we have. In sharing our knowledge and experience, we believe we can lift the spirits and potential of many of our northern neighbors. At the same time, we may be able to establish another market (Barrow) for our local artists. Our participation in the North Slope activities this week is funded by a grant received by the Native Village of Barrow economic development staff from HUD Rural Development. We would like to thank the granting agency for making funds available and the Village of Barrow for extending the invitation for our participation.
Economic Development Report
This report includes activity of Lee Stoops, EDC Director, Vika Owens, Arts Program Manager, and Jake Stoops, Information Specialist, for the month of July, 2003. ARDOR activity. The end-of-year ARDOR report was completed and submitted. Funding for the state's ARDOR programs has been extended for the next two years, although there are changes to the program and funding levels being considered. Mr. Stoops will attend a meeting of ARDOR directors with Edgar Blatchford on August 19 in Anchorage to review the status and future of the ARDOR program. This program has made approximately $48,000 per year available to the Borough. We believe we are the most active program in Alaska in terms of the number of people served and the innovative programs we have established. We expect financial support for our program to continue. Our FY04 application, with standards of performance, has been submitted. Capital Projects Update. We have prepared and submitted Environmental Review documentation for the Arts Center project in Kotzebue. A lease for the Old Tupiq Building has been prepared and submitted to NANA for their review and approval. The University's design people stand ready to draw up the plans as soon as HUD has approved the Environmental Review for the subject property. The Sulainich Center will be operated by a non-profit corporation that is being established at this time. This will insulate the Borough from any potential liability. The Selawik Arts Center is also under development. A building has been donated for use by the Ramoth family in Selawik and will be rewired in the month ahead. Much of the wiring material has been donated by NIHA and refurbishments are being funded by a small business grant from the Borough. We expect the Selawik Center to be in full operation by mid-September. That Center will also be operated by a non-profit corporation headed by Diana Ramoth and Wallace Gray. Travel. Vika Owens and Lee Stoops traveled to Barrow and Anaktuvuk Pass in July to organize workshops and make presentations to the residents of those villages. Travel was at the request of the Native Village of Barrow, which had received a grant for these workshops. The week-long trip was funded by the grant. We will be making business cards and assisting about a dozen artists with the marketing of their work as a direct result of this trip. Fisheries Development. We have just been notified that a grant of over $420,000 has been approved for the purchase of equipment to reopen a fish plant in Kotzebue. The grant was received on our behalf by the Bering Sea Fishermen's Association and will provide for the purchase of all items necessary to begin fish processing next season. We will provide more information on this in the months ahead, but it is clear that fishermen in our region will be back in business next season. We will also have fish plant jobs added to our local economy. We hope to have production of not only value-added salmon products, but some whitefish, sheefish and trout as well. Very exciting. Small Business Grants and Loans. Our loan program has been reopened and we are accepting and processing loan applications for up to $800. We have executed approximately 28 loans based on the upcoming PFD thus far. We are also receiving grant applications on a regular basis and publicizing this program through the Resource Specialists. Arts and Crafts. Purchases and sales take place on a daily basis for this thriving but very labor intensive program that regularly involves over 100 residents. We have noticed a growing amount of interest and are making equipment available to residents regularly. Our Borough is poised to become a reputable center of art production within just a few more years. International Relations. The Mayor recently returned from a trip to Anadyr, Lavrentia, and Lorena, Russia. We are working with the University of Alaska to assist small business development, particularly in the field of arts and crafts, in Chutkotka. We will continue to utilize our resources to encourage an exchange of talent and knowledge between our regions.
ARTS AND ARTISTS FIND NEW CHAMPION IN ALASKA NATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION Foundation Aims to Make Economic Impact By Promoting and Celebrating Alaska's Native Art and Cultural Heritage More
"Eskimo Dolls" Tour to visit New England Sponsored by the Alaska Native Arts Foundation (ANAF) and the Alaska State Council for the Arts (ASCA), the "Eskimo Dolls" tour will visit the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum in New Bedford & the Nantucket Whaling Museum in Maine before finishing in Connecticut at the Mystic Seaport. Featured artists include Mary Black (Kongiganak), Rosalie Paniyak (Chevak), Mary Nash (Chevak), Susie Brown and Lou C. Brown (Eek), Helen Smith (Hooper Bay), Martina Oscar (Bethel, originally Nelson Island - Newtok, Tununak), Josephine Ungott (Gambell), Floyd and Amelia Kingeekuk (Savoonga), Annie Alowa (Savoonga), Vincent and Molly Tocktoo (Shishmaref), Elliot Olanna (Shishmaref), Maggie Komonaseak (Wales), Margaret Ahlalook (Wainwright), Susie Paneak (Anaktuvuk Pass), Caroline Penayah (St. Lawrence Island), Eva Heffle (Fairbanks), Dolly Spencer (Homer).		Click HERE for more information on the "Eskimo Dolls" Tour

North Slope Borough Artists


Northwest Arctic Borough Staff Directory
Mayor's Department Ross Schaeffer Sr., Mayor Vacant, Assistant to the Mayor Jake Stoops, Information Coordinator	Finance Department Tula Lie, Comptroller Judy Hassinger, Finance Director	Planning Department Noah Naylor, Director Kim Franklin, Associate Planner
Public Servies Tom Bolen, Director Nina Lie, Receptionist/DMV	Economic Development Lee Stoops, Director Vika Owens, Arts & Crafts Coordinator	Borough Clerk's Office Helena Hildreth, Borough Clerk Antoinette Johnson, Deputy Clerk