My Dogs-Pepper Part II

Part II of my dogs

I thought I was going to write about the dog that stole our heart in Alaska but I realized that Pepper and Coco were the first to steel our hearts — the dogs we raised as puppies to become part of our dog team. The first day we arrived back in Kivalina, Tiger took the sled and team out to get ice for water. I stayed back and heard a commotion outside the house. Looking out, I discovered that Pepper had dragged the sled over to the house. I hurried outside and buried my face in his fur. It was obvious that even after four months of having another person care for him that he remembered and wanted to see me.

We found out we couldn’t stay in Kivalina for another winter and so we decided to bring Pepper into the house and make a pet out of him. Could we really make a pet out of a working dog? Well, we were certainly going to try. When he first came inside, he smelled everything including my crotch. This made me uncomfortable because I hadn’t been able to have a bath and thought I probably smelled. Pepper was like a bull in a china shop — too big for our tiny house and when we moved into a tent it was even worse. We kept him outside, staked up to a post. When we brought him into the tent, there was barely room for us.

We took him upriver and he was exuberant up there. There were no trees in Kivalina but upriver there were small willows and other bushes. He would run around peeing on every bush he could find. The natives thought we were crazy to even think about taking him home with us. In retrospect, maybe we were but we were determined to make this wild dog into a domesticated one.

As we sat at the Kivalina airstrip with all our belongings and our two dogs Pepper and Clover, I began to wonder if we were crazy. Clover was still a puppy but Pepper was a former sled dog ,full of enthusiasm and energy.

The dogs made the trip home to Harrisburg without a problem. We could hardly wait to introduce the dogs to my in laws. My father in law had picked us up at the airport and as soon as we let Pepper out of the car, he ran around and peed on every tree that he saw. This was a whole new experience for him and he was overjoyed. Meanwhile, Clover squatted a couple of times and we brought her into the house. My mother in law sat in a straight chair in the hall and bent down to pet her. Clover growled a happy growl and sat close to her waiting for Pepper to make his appearance. After we felt he had totally satisfied himself, we brought him inside. Mom ran her hands through Pepper’s fur and suddenly he lifted his leg and peed on her! Mom took all this in stride. In fact, she even laughed about it before she went upstairs to put on another pair of slacks. Tiger and I were amused and appalled at the same time. What on earth
had we gotten ourselves into? Maybe we couldn’t domesticate this dog and perhaps the natives were right. We were crazy to try and make a pet out of him. In the years to come we would learn more about his wild instincts but despite this we loved him.(more about Pepper in my next blog.)

#DeanneBurch #Kivalina #Alaska #thealaskanobodyknows #journeythroughfireandice

My Dogs

Dogs have always been a part of my life. They were an integral part of our life in Alaska. Before hunting season, we bought two dogs to train and be part of our future dog team. We called them Pepper and Coco and when we took them on walks, they were true scavengers, picking up tin cans (probably because of the residual smell of food). They would use them as pillows at night. It was an endearing sight but tin cans didn’t seem to me to be very comfortable. I wanted more than anything to spoil these dogs but to my husband Tiger it was something he didn’t want me to do. And so I waited until he went hunting and I would bring them into the house to keep me company.

As time went on, we acquired eight dogs for the team. I had imagined a team that was beautiful — much like the kind of dogs one sees in movies of the north. Our team was a assortment of breeds. Most were a mixture of Siberian Husky and Alaskan Malamute with German Shepherd mixed in. In truth, our team was not a handsome one but it took us places we wanted to go.

I was given a gift of a six-week-old puppy by one of our friends in mid-September. Tiger wasn’t keen on this gift of mine but he agreed it was all right to accept it. The puppy was beautiful. She was half wolf with silver tips at the end of her grey fur. Her ears were already upright and she had an almost quizzical expression on her face. I carried this gift home in my arms, confident she was going to be my pet. I wanted her to stay in the house with me and keep me company when Tiger was away.

Tiger told me she couldn’t be my pet because dogs in the far north were for work not for pleasure. She would have to stay outdoors with the other dogs. The dogs paid no attention to her and she whined for the comfort and warmth of her mother and her brothers and sisters. We decided she could come into the house for short periods of time but then she grew accustomed to being away from her home and she was staked outside with the rest of the team.

Tiger had taken one look at this bundle of fur and decided she had such a sturdy frame that she would be part of our team. He even had eyes on her for a leader! Somehow my puppy had become his dog. We decided to call her Bubbles after showgirls because if she was going to be a leader, she needed a sexy name.

I brought her inside when Tiger was gone which wasn’t often because the days were getting increasingly shorter and he rarely went hunting. Bubbles and I took long walks beside the ocean. It was starting to freeze and there were chunks of ice on the beach that were the color of dusk. The glow on the horizon tinged the snow with peach and lavender and I felt as though we were walking in a wintry fairyland. As I look back, I often wonder if I would have taken these walks had Bubbles not been part of my life in Kivalina.

Bubbles never became part of our team because in early December, Tiger was in an accident and we had to go to Harrisburg for medical help. (To find out more about his accident, be sure to read my memoir, Journey Through Fire and Ice.) Tiger’s father and I went up to Kivalina after the accident and he suggested that we bring her back to Harrisburg with us. Suddenly the dog that was meant to be the leader of our team became my pet. When we first arrived in Harrisburg in mid-December, it was 45 degrees there. When we left Kivalina, it had been 35 degrees below zero. I took her outside to play and she immediately dug a hole. The poor dog was suffering from the heat and her winter coat was too heavy for the temperatures in Harrisburg. Tiger spent three months in the hospital and during that time Bubbles was my constant companion. She lay beside my bed every night and when I was not at the hospital visiting Tiger, we would go on long walks together on his parents’ property.

After Tiger was released from the hospital, he too went on walks with her and became stronger each day. He rarely left the property but one day he took her with him to get a license for her. People stopped him on the street wanting to know where she had come from and how they could get a dog like her. Of course, there would never be another dog like Bubbles — a combination of Alaskan husky and wolf.

As Tiger recuperated, she became his buddy as well. She was almost like our baby and was the best thing that happened to us while we lived in Kivalina.

A few weeks before our return to Kivalina, Tiger and I went to New York for the weekend leaving Bubbles with his parents. We returned from a happy holiday to learn that Bubbles had been run over by a car. She was such an important part of our life and we both felt that no other dog could ever take her place. And then after spending three months in Kivalina, Clover came along and filled the empty space Bubbles had left. (to be continued)

#DeanneBurch #Kivalina #Alaska #thealaskanobodyknows #journeythroughfireandice

Climate Change

Mother Earth has tried to heal the planet by introducing covid 19 to the world.

Since then, the skies are clearer than they’ve been in years. There has been less smog because fewer people are driving. No cruise ships have been polluting the water in the canals in Venice and people say the water is clear and there are even swans swimming in them. The effects of this virus has been so profound that it has altered the trajectory of global warming.

The island I lived on over fifty years ago is a victim of climate change. By 2025, Kivalina is expected to be under water and will no longer exist. The trajectory cannot change quickly enough for this island to survive and the village will have to relocate in order to continue.

Kivalina is a barrier island 83 miles above the Arctic Circle. It is a long strip of land and when I lived there in 1964/65 it was only 13 feet above sea level. The winters are shorter now and spring comes earlier. This means the ocean freezes later in the year and melts earlier in the spring. Patchy ice makes winter travel and hunting dangerous. Because the sea ice has melted dramatically, hunters often have to travel further north to harvest seals. They can no longer hunt close to the village. In addition to this there has been a migration of fish, caribou, seals, and whales due to warming. Kivalina depends on the hunting and fishing and if there is limited opportunity to do this, the natives will be forced to buy food from the store which raises the cost of living.

Living there in 1964/65, my husband Tiger was fortunate enough to participate in the hunting and fishing. Seal hunting took place in early July and the men hunted seals very close to the village. When conditions were good, he and the men often came home with smaller seals as well as the bearded seals which could weigh up to 800 pounds and were 7 to 8 feet long. How I dreaded it when Tiger came home from hunting because I was going to cut up the seals like the other native women did. Although I hated it at the time, I have often said to myself that I had an experience that few other white women have ever had. I am lucky and happy to have had this experience when hunting conditions were good and Kivalina was not a casualty of the changing climate. I also cut up and dried the fish, but now, temperatures are too warm to do this.

Reading the articles about life in the far north, I find so much has changed there. When I arrived mid-May, the ocean was frozen and the snow was up to my waist. Temperatures hovered around 20 degrees on my arrival and usually at this time of the year (mid-June) they lingered in the low thirties. The sun never set but even by this time, there was still snow on the ground. I often check the weather in Kivalina and am surprised to see that temperatures are often in the fifties with the real feel being even higher. Yes, climate change has arrived in the Arctic and there is little anyone can do except to pray that this small village that I grew to love will somehow survive.

#DeanneBurch #Kivalina #Alaska #thealaskanobodyknows #journeythroughfireandice

June 2018 Alaskan Cruise

Off we went on a 7-day cruise to the last frontier — a cruise of Alaska. Our party consisted of 7, myself, my significant other, John, my daughter Sarah and her husband, their son and two daughters. We boarded in Vancouver and made our way up the coast passing magnificent mountains and beautiful forests. Our first stop was Ketchikan. John and I were asked by another couple on the cruise to take a private tour of the area. We were to see lots of bears and other wildlife. Big mistake. We saw nothing but bear scat and the area near Ketchikan. We came back from our excursion, had lunch and boarded the shop for our next stop which was Juneau.

Our cruise ship was definitely not part of the last frontier. There were several restaurants, night time movies outdoors, theaters with different shows inside the ship, and a spa all designed to keep the passengers happy. Two nights were designated as dress up nights and I imagined that this was something rare in the wilderness. Nights were always spent on board as we cruised in the land of the midnight sun. We could be awake at any hour, sit on the deck and watch the wonderful views as we cruised along.

Our next stop was Juneau, the capital of Alaska where Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from her window. We never saw Russia but we saw plenty of whales on a whale watching expedition that we had signed up for. We watched the orcas as they jumped out of the water near our boat. Over and over again they frolicked and hunted. There were many sightings and apparently this was rare to see as many as we did. We had wonderful views of the Mendenhall Glacier. Later, John and I agreed that we wished we had landed on the glacier and gone kayaking around it. Whale watching had been quite an experience but kayaking around the glacier would have been even more exciting.

Two days are spent on board cruising around the glaciers and watching them calve as pieces break off massive chunks of ice into the tidewaters. The blues in the glaciers and the expansive area that they covered are perhaps not matched anywhere. Drifting in Glacier Bay and sailing through waters filled with icebergs is something many of us will never see. People on board crammed the decks waiting with their cameras to get the perfect photo.

The last port of call was Skagway, which is an old gold rush town full of restored historic buildings. We took a bus to a rocky wilderness area, clambering over high rocks to get spectacular views of the rugged wilderness.

Later we came back to lunch where my granddaughter panned for gold. Skagway with its tourist shops is in way a modern town but it harks back to the gold rush days as well. There are several historical buildings that have been preserved. The Red Onion Salon still operates today. It is a gateway to the past with a tour of the once famous brothel that existed for the gold miners. At Whittier we leave the cruise behind and head to Denali park. It is a beautiful area, and bright sunny day and we have a clear view of Mount Denali, the highest mountain in Alaska. We have all had a wonderful time on the cruise and shore excursion. We enjoyed the land of the midnight sun and were sorry to say farewell.

I loved our cruise but the tiny island that I lived on so many years ago is “my” Alaska— a place where I became the woman I am today.

#DeanneBurch #Kivalina #Alaska #thealaskanobodyknows #journeythroughfireandice

Thoughts On Social Distancing

Today all over the world, people are social distancing— giving up things they love and places they want to be. I think of the women I knew in Kivalina and realize how socially isolated they were from the rest of the world. The only way to get off the small island where they lived, was by boat, plane or dog team. There was one small store selling canned goods and cigarettes. Right now we complain about things we can’t do— shopping at our favorite stores, going to movies and to fine restaurants. Even today, in Kivalina there are none of those things available, although with the advent of electricity the outside world is brought to them by television. Many have telephones and are on Facebook.
When I lived in Kivalina in 1964,I felt isolated from everything I knew and loved. I was away from my family, my friends and the luxuries of having electricity and running water.

Looking back now I can remember the way the wind whipped through my hair as we travelled up river to get water and to go fishing. The air shimmered with a golden light and the water was pure and clean. I remember the way the cold seeped into my bones but I also remember being out on the trail with our dog team. We were alone on the trail and the only sound was the panting of the dogs and the sound of the runners as they glided over the snow. I remember how mother nature painted the sky in brilliant lavenders, peach and pink in the early fall after the midnight sun had passed and before the long hours of darkness settle in. These were the simple pleasures of life and ones that will be part of me forever.

Right now, we all have an opportunity to reflect on what is really important to us and to remember that we can live without the things we take for granted every day. I have just listened to a u tube video called the Great Realization. It’s a beautiful video and one to watch time and time again.

#DeanneBurch #Kivalina #Alaska #thealaskanobodyknows #journeythroughfireandice #covid #socialdistancing

Prejudice…Looking Back

I have been thinking a lot about all that happened last week and realize if we have any type of prejudice, it’s because it was taught to us. It’s inexcusable and shocking the way blacks and other minorities have been treated. Looking back on my time in Kivalina in 1964/65 I wonder what these children were taught. Were they taught that white people were a superior race? Years ago, missionaries came in to the small towns in the Arctic and told the natives many of their beliefs were sins. They took away the Inuit’s drumming, dancing, and storytelling which was an integral part of their culture. I believe today these things are now accepted.

When I lived in Kivalina, the natives felt I should be treated better than they were. Several women told me they should scrub the floor for me – I shouldn’t have to do it myself. One time at a church gathering white people from all over Alaska came to see the first Inuit be ordained as an Episcopalian priest. Those of us who were white were treated to a white cake served with a fork, a napkin and on a plate. The Inuits ate a spice cake (my favorite, I might add,) with only a napkin.

Looking back to that time so many years ago, they were taught that white people were superior and expected to be treated in a better way than they were. It is obvious to me these people were taught that we were better than they were and should be treated accordingly. They had lost pride in their culture. And pride in their beliefs and way of living. It was the “superior” people who taught them these things and I wonder if this has changed at all since my time there. Our children have to be carefully taught and realize that all lives matter, whether their skin is black, brown, yellow or white. Only then will we see equality.

#DeanneBurch #Kivalina #Alaska #thealaskanobodyknows #journeythroughfireandice

Thoughts and Musings Over My Lifetime

Welcome to my blog. I decided to start blogging primarily because I wanted to talk about the book I hope to have published soon titled Journey Through Fire and Ice. Although I want to talk about so many things that took place in the small village of Kivalina when I lived there, I realized I wanted to blog about other things as well. I have had a lifetime of experiences — some joyful and some tragic. How do we triumph over tragedy and learn once again to find the joy in life that we once had?

Many years ago, I lived on the tiny island of Kivalina, 83 miles above the Arctic Circle. My husband and I were two of four nonnatives. We participated in all of the activities of the Inuit/ Eskimo people and became part of their community. My husband Tiger hunted and fished with the men. I cut up seals, and tried to participate in all the activities of the women, hoping they would accept me. Much as I tried to adapt to the native way of life— a life that had none of the comforts of home such as plumbing, electricity and running water, it was difficult.

I always had one foot planted in my life at home with family, friends and all the comforts that modern day living brought. The other foot was planted in my life in Kivalina— a life I never expected would be so different. It was fraught with loneliness, and frigid weather. It was also a life of adventure and a life of tragedy.

My life has been so much more than the time I spent in Kivalina. I was 23 then, little more than a teenager. During my time there I came of age emerging from a child who believed in fairy tales to a young woman who was able to overcome tragedy and face the next challenges in my life. Please enjoy my blog. I would love to hear your comments.

#DeanneBurch #Kivalina #Alaska #thealaskanobodyknows #journeythroughfireandice