News Release

NPS Helps Celebrate Trapping History and Heritage in Alaska

Date: February 22, 2016
Contact: John Quinley, 907-644-3512

The National Park Service is working with several partners to highlight Alaska's trapping history and heritage as part of the 2016 Anchorage Fur Rendezvous celebration. The program is also a kick-off event in the year-long series of activities during the Centennial of the National Park Service.

Working with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Alaska Trappers Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Geographic, the NPS will host the event on Saturday, February 27, from 10:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Alaska Public Lands and Information Center, 605 West 4th Avenue. Admission is free and doors open at 9:30 a.m. (Bring photo identification for entry into this federal facility).

This event will include a series of family-friendly educational presentations and activities featuring speakers and youth activities. Individuals, Scout and youth groups are welcome to participate in hands-on activities at throughout the day.

Event Schedule

• 10:15 am: Welcome - National Park Service - Main Exhibition Area
• 10:15 am - 4:00 pm Youth Activities - Education Room (ongoing)
  Science of Fur; Good Trappers are Good Trackers; Fur Animal Identification - Elizabeth Manning, Education Outreach - Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Helen Fields, Education Specialist, National Parks Service
• 10:15 am - 4 p.m. Observe Expert Fur Sewers - Main Exhibition Area - Pauline Tulik
• 10:15 am - 11:15 am: Dena'ina Chu Qeliq' Qeng'a: Dena'ina Beaver Trapping - Theater
  Karen Evanoff, Cultural Anthropologist, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
• 12:15 pm: Traditional Lifeways - Theater
  Steven Nikolai Sr., Native Cultural Specialist; Teresa Hanson, Researcher
• 1:15 pm: Alaska Trapping Information and History - Theater
  Chris Brockman, Wildlife Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
• 2:15 pm: Trapping in Alaska - Theater
  Richard Person, Chair, Southcentral Chapter, Alaska Trappers Association
• 3:15 pm: Traditional Lifeways - Theater (repeat)
• 3:45 pm: Traditional Subsistence Trapping - Theater
  Bronwyn Jones, Subsistence Specialist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
• 3:45 pm: Dena'ina Chu Qeliq' Oeng'a: Dena'ina Beaver Trapping - Theater (repeat)

Special Guests

Steven Nikolai Sr. (Native Cultural Specialist) was born and raised in the Upper Kuskokwim region and is a First Speaker of Upper Kuskokwim Athabascan (UKA). Mr. Nikolai has taught bilingual classes at the Nikolai School in the Iditarod Area School District and is an experienced subsistence hunter, trapper and fisherman. Steven Sr. also worked with the Alaska Native Language Center. Steven Nikolai Sr. was Chief of the Telida Tribal Council for many years and has a heart for economic and social development as well as preserving traditional ways of living in the Upper Kuskokwim region.

Teresa Hanson (Researcher, Contributor) holds a Master's Degree in Northern Studies and a Bachelor's Degree in History from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She currently consults on curriculum development projects, as well as develops grant proposals for Alaskan cultural issues such as language preservation. She home schooled her four children and other small groups for over 15 years. Her Oral History collection Master's thesis: "Homeschooling in Alaska" interviews are housed in the Oral History collection in the UAF Archives at Rasmuson Library.