Alaska Sea grass Basket w/antique carved bone fish by Patricia Morrison
The Yup'ik and Cup'ik People The southwest Alaska Natives are named after the two main dialects of the Yup'ik language, known as Yup'ik and Cup'ik. The estimated population, at the time of contact, was: Nunivak 500, Yukon-Kuskokwim 13,000 and Bristol Bay 3,000. The Yup’ik and Cup’ik still depend upon subsistence fishing, hunting and gathering for food. Elders tell stories of traditional ways of life, as a way to teach the younger generations survival skills and their heritage. Excerpt from the Alaska Heritage Center (Learn more here)
Children's Literature Featuring the Yup'ik and Cup'ik Cultures
Winslow, Barbara. Dance on a Sealskin. Illustrator Teri Sloat. Alaska Northwest Books, 1995. 32 pages, Primary, Intermediate Summary: The heartwarming story of Annie, a Yup'ik Eskimo girl, and her coming-of-age ceremony in her Alaskan village.
I couldn't track down this book, however, you can watch the storytelling video and still you the lesson plan ideas and discussion questions! The story teaches about lying as well as the berry cycle and habitat.
Nikolai, Margaret. Kitaq Goes Ice Fishing. Illustrator David Rubin. Alaska Northwest Books, 1998. Unp, Everyone Summary: When Apa comes to visit early one morning, five-year old Kitaq is eager to convince his grandfather that he is finally old enough to make the journey with him to the ice-fishing holes and back home again. After a breakfast of hot pancakes, Kitaq hears the magic words he has hoped for: "You may go fishing with me today."Readers young and old alike will enjoy the heartwarming drama of Kitaq's early coming-of-age experience with his grandfather, and his first taste of success in providing food for his family.
Sloat, Teri. The Eye of the Needle: Based on a Yupik tale as told by Betty Huffmon. Summary: Sent out to hunt by his grandmother, hungry little Amik can't resist eating everything he catches. The more he catches, the more he eats, until he can no longer fit through the door of his grandmother's Yupik house in the Arctic. When his grandmother releases the magic in her ivory sewing needle, Amik finally learns the importance of sharing.
Sloat, Teri. The Hungry Giant of the Tundra. Illustrator Robert Sloat. Dutton Juvenile, 1993. 32 pages, Primary, Intermediate Summary: "At sundown, a group of children ignore their parents' calls to come home. Suddenly a huge form darkens the horizon. It's the hungry giant, looking for his supper." (In-Book)