In the spring of 2011 I traveled to Quinhagak, AK with two other UAF elementary student teachers, Ashley and Nick. Our travel plans would take us from Fairbanks to Anchorage to Bethel and then to the Yup'ik village of Quinhagak. In Bethel we would spend the night at the famous
Bentley's Bed and Breakfast (a very bright blue building, which sticks out no matter the season) before flying out the next morning on a little airplane to Quinhagak, weather permitting of course.
A Little about the Village of Quinhagak
Quinhagak is located on the coast of the Kuskokwim Bay, which gives way
to the very cold, but plentiful Bering Sea. The Kanektok River also wraps around the village. The Yup'ik for the village is is Kuinerraq, which means
new river channel. It is approximately 75-100 miles south of Bethel and about 400
miles west of Anchorage. You can only access Quinhagak by airplane, the only roads are the ones located in the village. Quinhagak is a Yup'ik village intent on preserving its culture. It is one of the larger villages in the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD), which is why three eager student teachers, instead of the normal group of two, were sent there. The name of the K-12 Quinhagak school is Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat and if you want to see some great visual of the school visit their
Facebook page. The school was founded in 1909. The population of Quinhagak is about 700 people with anywhere from 150 to 200 of its people being students. Also located in the village is a Head Start building for preschool aged children. To get an entertaining view of the community watch the video below that was produced by the 5th graders in 2010. This made Quinhagak a little famous in the YouTube universe. Enjoy.
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