Trying to keep up

WRITEN ON FEBRAURY 10, 2020

I checked out the Anchorage Museum again on January 5, 2019 before the shut down due to Covid. Seeing Yupik storyknifes brought memories of no worries about getting sick. I made a few metal storyknives myself as a middle school child from barges that brought supplies – it was like finding gold! Most times we ran out of butter knifes at home 🤣. My friends and I spent hours spitting our saliva to make smooth clay mud on the ground to tell our stories. My site is like a story knife on mud…real as can be.

I plan to make more trips to museums when the time permits.

I want to examine the artifacts with my eyes

I might bring a magnifying glass and take pictures.

Author: Nasek'taq

Merna Wharton “Nasek’taq” is Yup'ik from Akiacuaq (Akiachak) lives in Anchorage Alaska. Merna is an Alaska Native artist, poet, traditional and contemporary seamstress, carver, gatherer of greens and berries, and loves the outdoors of Alaska! Merna enjoys finding art in natural elements and shares her experiences through her website, nasektaq.com. Merna crafts to preserve her culture and art and shares her worldview from a remote village Yup’ik girl’s perspective with a glimpse of life in Alaska in her writing and poems. More information about her art can be found at https://www.rasmuson.org/49writers/artist-profile/merna-wharton/.

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