Yup'ik and Inupiaq spelling bees, like those held earlier this month in Anchorage, are a relatively new experience for students.
This is Lertuli Ian Agaya’s first statewide tournament. He’s a seventh grader at the Alakanuk school. His principal, Essie Beck, takes his picture as he steps out from behind the spelling bee poster. in the Yup’ik language, means the “land’s end” – a place on the Bering Sea coast that is so flat it’s hard to tell where the land meets the sea. But when it comes to spelling, this community stands tall.
Families and coaches streamed into the building to fill about 50 seats, along with students from nine school districts across the state. Although she can’t cheer out loud, Barner came to support a student from Bethel. And like everyone else in the, room, she understands that quiet is necessary to help the students concentrate. But the sense of pride that families feel, speaks volumes.“To be here, to be watching my daughter. I cannot express how it makes me feel,” Thomas Carl said. “I am proud of her.”
The 2024 Yup’ik Spelling Bee drew 21 students from five districts and eight schools. The Lower Yukon School District added two new teams, in addition to the one at its award-winning Nunam Iqua school.“Well, we saw the benefits,” said Janet Johnson, who directs language and culture programs for the district, which has seen gains in Nunam Iqua test scores for language and reading.
Although Beck is originally from Alabama, she’s learned quite a few words – and her son, Kian, now in the fifth grade, has taken Yup’ik language classes since he was small. Kian’s pronunciation is very authentic, and he says learning Yup’ik has helped him make friends and be a part helps of the culture. But after watching his progress, his mother says she can vouch for the difficulty of learning to spell in Yugtun, compared to English.
Often it would take about six to eight tries for contestants to arrive at the correct spelling. The judge would say “Assirtuq” to signal that the speller had the right answer.
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