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The container
ship dock at Dutch Harbor. (Photo by Megan
Litwin). |
I sorted through my notepad full
of information presented on the complex issues facing the
fishing industry as we scrambled into the waiting school
buses for a tour of Unalaska. My first surprise was that
Dutch Harbor was just that - a major shipping and fishing
harbor rather than a town. The town of Unalaska housed the
local residents and was accessed past the airport and across
a bridge. The local sights included the only brick building
on the Aleutians, a jet runway that is just four feet longer
than the minimum required length and is considered by some
to be the "superbowl" of Alaska airport landings. Reminders
of America's military presence during WWII were everywhere.
A WWII power supply building with four-foot walls that
withstood a 1942 Japanese attack is still used by the town.
Ballyhoo Mountain's domed top rose behind the community and
served as a fort during WWII. Underground tunnels housed
servicemen for six-months without community contact. A WWII
secret submarine base was also located in the harbor. Some
of the passengers visited an archeological dig of an Aleut
midden site (historic garbage dump). It amazed me that
thousand-year-old artifacts were uncovered so close to
recent construction. A sewer pipe laid during WWII ran
through the center of the site.
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A memorial
dedicated to those who lost their lives at sea is
inscribed with a poem adapted by Robert Freeman.
Additional memorials were dedicated to war
casualties at sea. (Photo by Megan Litwin). |
The bus dropped us off at the
Russian Orthodox church. I tried to identify the stories
depicted in the gold-leaf icons that adorned the walls and
doors as the priest described the saintly figures. Some of
the icon paintings were dated from the early 1800's. We
toured the cemetery that honored soldiers lost in WWII and
fishermen lost at sea. The memorial fronted the beach
beneath an orthodox cemetery that followed the slope of the
hillside with freshly-painted white Russian Orthodox crosses
bordered by a white picket fence. Our tour included
exploring a fascinating display of Native artifacts and WWII
history at the local museum.
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View of the
Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension,
Unalaska Alaska. Exceptional artwork inside the
church includes twelve monthly icons painted on
wood that are dedicated to the saints. Saint
Innocent of Alaska and icons saved from neighboring
villages dated back to the 1800s. (Photo by Megan
Litwin). |
I was disappointed to discover my cell phone
with nationwide coverage wasn't working here so I hurried to find a pay
phone for a quick call home before boarding the ship for departure to
Bogosloff Island. David Policansky, one of our scholars, provided an overview
of some of the marine fisheries issues raised during the morning panel
discussion. The ship had been granted permission to pass the Bogosloff
Stellar Sea Lion rookery from one mile. We could also view the rookery
by Zodiac from 500 meters away. The Zodiacs were outfitted with GPS units
that located accurate distances from shore to assure that we maintained
the required minimum distance. The rolling Zodiac ride provided more excitement
than the Steller sea lion on the distant beach.
I appreciated our group's precautionary measures that contrasted with
the 1899 Harriman Expedition to Bogoslof Island. The 1899 Harriman party
landed on shore and caused quite a disturbance among the sea lions and
the seabirds. Merriam's diary noted that "Whenever Fisher fired (to gather
specimens of murres), millions of airres shot out into the air and darkened
the atmosphere…so vast and incomprehensible is the number of these
birds. Many green eggs fell when the birds left too hurriedly." The island
was created by a volcanic eruption in 1796 and an additional island section
was formed in 1883. It must have been a thrill to Harriman and his scholars
to walk on new earth. It was a thrill to glimpse this remote island from
the rocking Zodiac.
Clare Baldwin, Student - Young Explorers Team
You would think a town 800 miles from Anchorage with a population of 4,200 would be limited. Yet Unalaska has a massage parlor and an Olympic-size swimming pool. One hundred and thirty-two different languages are spoken in the school. The skateboard park is next to the clinic and across from the police station. That said, Unalaska is still remote.
In talking with residents, you do get a sense of the remoteness: the airstrip meets FAA regulations by four feet. There are no doctors (there are physician's assistants) on the island and it costs $20,000 to med-evac a patient to Anchorage. There is an eagle nest in the neck bracing of a crane beside the road.
Dutch Harbor was settled by the Unangan people 10,000 years ago. Today, the commercial fishermen who live here land and process 700 million pounds of fish each year. The fishery is valued at over $124 million. "We now have extremely efficient, highly mobile advanced fishing machines," says Shirley Marquardt, from the At-Sea Processors Association. Nearly everyone who lives in Unalaska fishes.
When we went ashore, I visited the church. I am always surprised by the reach of the Russian Orthodox Church. In Unalaska, the church was established in 1896. The priest who told me this was dressed in a long black robe and a gold cross on a thick gold chain. He also told me that the residents of Dutch Harbor donated furs for the items they needed for worship. The Russian Orthodox Church has a very elaborate spirituality. Services are an hour and a half and the congregation stands. Devotions are sung acapella in Aleut, Slavonic, and English. Everyday is dedicated to a different saint and there are entire months described in icons.
We also made a brief stop at the cemetery beside Iliuliuk Harbor. Traffic on the nearby dirt road was slow, salmon berries were thick, and the green hills vanished into one another.
Back on the Clipper Odyssey, we cruised to Bogoslof Island. Bogoslof Island is tiny and has very little vegetation. It is volcanic in origin and is surrounded by a 3-mile no-entry zone because of the Steller Sea Lion rookery it supports. With a special permit from NOAA, we could Zodiac to within 500 meters of the beach. We were too far away to see details, but the barks and roars of the sea lions carried well over the water.
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For information on the Harriman Retraced Expedition e-mail: harriman2001@science.smith.edu |