Minuk: Ashes in the Pathway

Miss Oakes

Mrs. Hoff was very tired by the time winter came. It was her job to wash and iron, since nobody else would do it. She had to oversee David while he hauled water and did his schoolwork. She had to ensure the helpers cleaned the house the right way. Sew, write letters to the missions, order supplies, supervise the work the boys did at school. Teach singing, and do the cooking and baking for ten boys and her family.

Yup’ik women don’t cook very much in the winter. They eat mostly frozen or dried fish, seal oil, and frozen berries. Every now and then Grandma will boil fish eggs into soup or a rabbit or ptarmigan, but it’s infrequent. It doesn’t take much time to fix meals.

Mrs. Hoff, on the other hand, is always cooking. She cooks three big meals a day for everyone. Some boys like some of the kass’aq food, like bread and jam, but nobody likes cooked mush. Minuk tries some one day, and she agrees that it’s horrible. Mrs. Hoff cooks some Eskimo food for the boys, too, instead of serving it frozen or raw. Minuk isn’t sure if they think it’s heathen or not. Mrs. Hoff never cooks anything whole. She cleans everything, and removes the feathers, heads, feet, fins, and skin. So cooking takes a lot of time.

Before the ice closes, three new people arrive on the mission boat: a teacher, a nurse, and Helper Jack. Mr. Hoff explains that Miss Oakes will take over teaching while he travels to other villages. Miss Oakes is very heavy and tall. Her smile scrunches up her eyes into little fat rolls above her cheeks, and her hair is the color of salmonberries. Her waist sticks out with rolls of fat, and it looks very soft, so she must not be wearing a corset.

The nurse is Miss Danfort, who knows a little Yup’ik from living in Bethel. Because their village is in the middle, people from both upriver and downriver will be able to see her easily when they’re sick. She’s not fat or thin, and her eyes and skin seem without color. There’s deep lines around her mouth and eyes, and she has white in her hair. She’s a kass’angyarr—an old white person.

Mrs. Hoff gives Grandma and the other women the task of making winter clothes for Miss Oakes. Miss Danfort already has winter clothes from when she was living in Bethel. It takes more than forty-five skins to make Miss Oakes a muskrat parka. The women complain that the boots they make for her are ugly because her feet are so big.

Minuk helps Miss Oakes paint her room. She tries out her English, and at first, Miss Oakes scrunches up her face whenever she doesn’t understand a word, but after Minuk repeats it, she always nods her head in understanding. Miss Oakes likes to make her room beautiful with pictures and cloth, just like Mrs. Hoff.

Miss Oakes helps Mrs. Hoff with some of the cooking, too. She has a lot of energy and Mrs. Hoff is often tired. Miss Oakes makes a lot of sweet things, like pancakes rolled into tubes, cookies, and rice cooked with milk and sugar. She likes cooking for the boys, and the boys like her food better than Mrs. Hoff’s.