Calistem Angliurallra [cha-LIS-tem UNG-leew-WAH-th’ha] is Yugtun for “Steady Growth of Calista”
Storyknife, May/June 2025 edition
Calista Education & Culture (CEC) presents the Yup’ik Teaching Moment in our Storyknife newsletter. CEC highlights Yuuyaraq, the traditional/cultural way of being in our Region. The Yup’ik Teaching Moment is provided by Mark John, CEC Cultural Advisor and Calista Elder from Toksook Bay.
Calistem Angliurallra [cha-LIS-tem UNG-leew-WAH-th’ha] translates from Yugtun to “Steady Growth of Calista.”
Calista also means ‘the worker.’ Traditionally our work encompassed subsistence gathering. Our living was traditionally subsistence, or pingnatulria, which translates to “providing for the family” in English.
Our Yup’ik people have lived and survived in a harsh environment through a subsistence lifestyle in Southwest Alaska for thousands of years. We didn’t learn to survive overnight. The knowledge came from the collective experiences of people dealing with the weather and the seasons for fish and game.
It came from knowing which equipment, materials and skills the providers needed for a successful hunting, fishing or gathering trip. In a traditional sense, the Calista, or worker, needed to plan and execute as an individual, with a hunting and fishing partner, or as an extended family or community.
To be successful, subsistence activities had to be shaped and practiced through our cultural values. Our people had to work hard and respect nature and the animals they were hunting and fishing.
Following the teachings of our Elders, the providers had to cooperate with each other while practicing subsistence. They were encouraged to share what they caught so everyone could benefit and survive. The providers took what they learned from our Elders, and, as the next generation came along, they would pass on that knowledge through example and showing the process. By supporting the provider in subsistence activities, it would help steadily grow each community member’s knowledge of our traditional practices.
Just as important as the hunters and fishers were those that received the catches at home. They took care of them, so the fish and game caught were processed and stored to be preserved and remain edible. Materials from the catch were needed for clothing, tools and shelter.
All in all, successful subsistence activities required the efforts and cooperation of all to be productive. It required everyone to grow in their knowledge passed on from Elders.
