laureli ivanoff

UNALAKLEET – One of my favorite things to do on this earth is walk in beautiful places. Being in the open air, marveling at the world and being humbled by views makes me feel both strong and small, and happy to be alive. So when my friend Emily told me we should go hiking in…

UNALAKLEET — I had just gotten back from picking cranberries. The air was cold and crisp. My favorite time. No mosquitoes and still warm enough to enjoy an afternoon picking berries in the hills with a lunch of dried fish, Pilot Bread and coffee. Back from a weekend of hunting with my friends Greta and…

UNALAKLEET – He turned the lights off. I had been in that church thousands of times from not long after I was born until I graduated high school, but never like that. It felt irreverent. The pews were full and the lights were off. There were elders in there, and I wondered what they were…

NALUQ — There’s something about being out in the country 10 miles up the Kobuk from Kiana. In the open air. Having the freedom of a river. Feeling the grounding of black spruce trees. Hearing the lightness in heart from friends’ laughter. And eating a breakfast prepared on a Coleman stove in a warm cabin.…

UNALAKLEET — “Do people think you’re crazy?” I asked him. After 45 minutes of getting to know this man, it felt safe to ask and get an honest answer. “Generally everybody,” he said in his classic French accent. We both smiled and I nodded my head, yes, with understanding. Except I don’t think he’s crazy.…

UNALAKLEET — He remembered a time she and I picked out music together. I imagine we were in front of her big, black stereo, weeding through her CDs. She had a lot of them. A song we picked was “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and he thought that was cool. “You and your mom were such good friends,”…

August 19 was my brother’s birthday. He’s older and wiser and I couldn’t stand him growing up. He’s the top middle one in the photo, holding Ryder’s shoulders. The day of his birthday I woke up grateful. Later that night we celebrated with chili, pie, blueberry cream puffs and akuutaq. I love you, Fred Jay. Thank you for…

He was a quiet man. Dignified. While his sinew was strong, his skin was wrinkled and soft. Dark. Smelled old somehow. His bones were bird-like, but solid and heavy to the ground. And he had the coolest middle name. Windsor. Aside from the fact that it’s a type of whiskey, the name fit him well.…