Matt Aaryuk Enoch, Empowering Our Shareholders
Calista Intern Contributes to Yup’ik Atlas as Yugtun Linguist
Storyknife, September/October 2024 edition

Matt Aaryuk Enoch, Calista intern and scholarship recipient
Matt Aaryuk Enoch of Nunapitchuk, a Calista Shareholder, interned to help preserve our Region’s cultural knowledge this summer and wants to become a teacher in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
While interning as a Translator/Transcriber with
Calista Education & Culture, Inc. (CECI), Enoch made over 1,000 updates to the nonprofit’s Yup’ik Atlas. If you visit the Yup’ik Atlas online and hover over certain place names like Naparyaarmiut/Hooper Bay, you can hear Enoch speaking the place name in Yup’ik.
Yup’ik Atlas Contributions
Enoch’s major project as a CECI translator/transcriber intern was working on the Yup’ik Atlas.
Created in 2010, the Yup’ik Atlas now includes more than 4,000 place names contributed by Elders throughout the Y-K Region, including names of old villages, rivers, lakes, mountains and ocean channels.
This summer Enoch uploaded the Yup’ik pronunciation of place names into the atlas. He also transcribed tapes in English and Yup’ik, translated spoken Yup’ik tapes to English, and uploaded images to their appropriate place on the Yup’ik Atlas.
“I enjoyed listening to tapes of Elders. It helped me learn about their values in their region,” Enoch says.
Future Plans
Enoch plans to use his knowledge and expertise from his degree and prior internship experience to find full-time work in his field while pursuing a Master’s degree.
“Since my community helped me a lot, I want to give back to them by teaching the Yugtun language in the Y-K Region.”
Since the beginning, Matt has been interested in the Yugtun language.
“Being able to teach Yugtun to other villages pushed me. That’s why I have been pursuing Yup’ik and doing work related to Yugtun,” Enoch says. “These internships have helped me gain more knowledge and understanding about the Yup’ik language.”
Enoch graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks this May with a bachelor’s degree in Yup’ik Language and a minor in Criminal Justice.
“I’m the first generation in my family to graduate,” Enoch says. “I didn’t do it for myself, I did it for my community as well.”
Enoch comes from a large family with six other siblings. His parents are Matthew and Mary Enoch, and his grandparents are John and Josephine Enoch on his father’s side, and Carl and Natalia White on his mother’s side. With his family, Enoch participates in subsistence activities including fishing and berry picking.
“My family is big on subsistence. We go together as a family so we can catch more fish and spend time with each other,” he says. Enoch’s favorite berries to pick are salmonberries, then blackberries, and sometimes blueberries.
Enoch has travelled throughout Alaska following his passion for education. “When I reached high school, I wanted to challenge myself and decided to go to Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka,” he says. “From there I went to college in Fairbanks.”
Enoch has received CECI’s scholarship to help reach his degree at UAF. This is also his fifth year completing the internship program. He interned with CECI as a translator/transcriber in previous years, and with Calista’s Yulista Holding line in Huntsville, Alabama as a project assistant.

The 2025 Calista Corporation Internship Program is officially OPEN for applications! If you’re ready to gain valuable professional experience, build your network, and make an impact in your community, this is your chance. We’re looking for talented individuals who are passionate about growing their careers and supporting Alaska Native values.