NANCY AHGOOK

“Growing up in Anaktuvuk Pass, I grew up with no electricity, none of the technology we have today. Not until I was 12 years old. I grew up in a sod house. Right now I am the Oral Historian for the Nunamiut. I try and figure out everything about the Nunamiut history for the IHLC [Inupiat History, Language, and Culture]. I speak to a lot of the elders here. I speak to them mostly in our language; I understand them. When I was forced to go to school, when I was seven years old, that’s when I learned to speak English. We had a BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs] school here; so I got to go to school here. It’s fun being a Nunamiut. We are people of the land.” — Nancy Ahgook is Inupiaq and lives in Anaktuvuk Pass.