Elma Sam

I recorded Ann Edwards' memories together with those of her older sister, Elma Sam. Ann is four years younger than Elma. We taped in Elma's home in Alatna, Alaska around mid-day on November 21, l992. Although her husband, Frank Sam, is no longer alive, Elma's house is still busy with the comings and goings of various children and grandchildren. Various members of Elma's family came and went quietly during the taping, sometimes pausing to fix something to eat. Like Elma, many of Ann's early memories center around various subsistence activities and the seasonal round. She talked about how fish, berries, roots, and rabbits were common elements in their diet, but moose was very scarce. If they had meat it was likely to come from caribou, sheep, black bear, or grouse. She mentioned various places on the Alatna River, such as Rocky Bottom and Black Jack that were important to her family's seasonal round. And she mentioned many early members of the Alatna community and her family who were important to her growing up. These included her grandparents, Sam and Putu Hope, her uncles Frank and Jimmy Tobuk, Selawick Sam, her Auntie Ester, and Omaik. Although her sister taught her Inupiaq, the teacher Miss Kay, discouraged the children from speaking their native language, and now she has lost much of her ability to understand Inupiaq.