Participatory Photography
Part I: Telling stories through photography
In the first part of the New Normal project, we explored how the people of Wainwright are experiencing and responding to environmental change using the participatory photography methods ‘photovoice’ and ‘photo elicitation.’ The aim was to identify the environmental changes that are most significant for the people of Wainwright.
In the photovoice method, participants and researchers work together to devise a series of prompts, themes, or questions about the research topic. The participants then take photos and develop captions to tell stories about their lives and experiences in relation to the topic. In the photo elicitation method, participants use photos that they have already taken to discuss their experiences in relation to the research topic.
In June 2023, Kinga Psiuk travelled to Wainwright for a period of three weeks and worked with Ben Ahmaogak Jr., Isabel Bodfish, Carolyn Apayauk, Jared Apayauk, Billy Blair Patkotak, Lloyd Kula, and John Hopson Jr., to explore how people in Wainwright are responding to environmental change. Some participants engaged in the photovoice method, others in photo elicitation, and others shared insights through interviews. A temporary photo exhibit from the work was developed and displayed in the Olgoonik Hotel, with a more permanent exhibit forthcoming.
Virtual Exhibition
Here we reproduce the original exhibit from Olgoonik Hotel in Wainwright in virtual form. The exhibit is a collection of photographs taken by participants for the purpose of the project, or photographs that participants already had and decided to share as part of the project. Each photograph is accompanied by caption that revels meaning evoked during the Photovoice process. Several photographs taken by field researcher Kinga Psiuk are also included, complemented with captions based on conversations with participants. Together, the photographs create a story of environmental changes, lifestyle, and concerns - all embedded in the context of past, present, and future.
The first four photographs introduce some of the participants who contributed to this exhibition.
© Ben Ahmaogak <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Benjamin Ahmaogak Jr is a hunter from Wainwright. He hunts polar bears, caribou, fish and a lot of walruses. The changes that concern him the most are the weather and the ocean.
© Kinga Psiuk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Carolyn A. Akpik in front of her house which oversees the ocean. Her Eskimo name is Apayauk. Born and raised in Barrow. She became a Wainwrighter when her mom married a Wainwrighter. She takes care of her big family; her children and grandchildren.
© Kinga Psiuk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | “The Earth is my home and home is where the heart is”-Lloyd K. Tagarook. His Eskimo name is Kula. He is a hunter from Wainwright who started hunting with his father when he was 4 years old.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Isabel Bodfish is a mum, wife, and a hunter. She and her family go hunting for birds in the winter. They dig snow into snow blinds so the birds will not see them. They also wear white for the camouflage.
© Apayauk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Erosion- seeing our ground falling apart due to erosion. You can see lots of coal. It used to be big, hard coal to burn; to keep the house warm. Now the coal we see is crumply.
© Apayauk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Look at this mess! They build it to protect us, to keep it from getting worse and worse, to keep it from falling apart.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | This is our road to the beach where we launch our boat. The storm…the fall storm in October eroded the land and the road. The waves got higher and even reached the roads. The storms are different every year. Here the excavator along with the dumpster truck, filling in the spots that the storm took. During that heavy storm, we had the emergency crew to watch during the night. They watched the whole beach from north to south, to make sure that no one went there. Permafrost is also melting and then you can hear it crack. It makes a loud noise. Then the ground is shifting. It even shifted our house and it got some cracks because of that.
© Apayauk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | This is an important place: the Capitan cellar. They keep the food there but melting permafrost is a problem for this type of cellar. More water also starts to show on the land. After living here for so many years, you can see the difference.
© Apayauk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Lots of water all over even by our homes. Some things got to be done to fix these problems. North to South of the village we have lots of water. We have some drainage but the water is never ending and is getting bigger because when the ice is melting, it turns into water and even goes under the houses.
© Apayauk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Our grounds are falling apart and we also have a sewage problem. Example: the yellow house, empty house. It’s my neighbour. You can see! It’s (very) falling apart.
© Kula <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | It is important to look at the clouds to understand the weather. I was looking at the clouds and my uncle George said that these were “calm” clouds and that meant that the weather would be calm the next day. Clouds, stars, and sun are our indicators- they help us to navigate when we go out hunting. My father would say “Just follow the sun”.
© Kula <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | The clouds are rich in smoke. Canada’s wildfires and the big ships that pass the Arctic Circle from Europe to Asia. Smoke starts producing megatons of carbon into our atmosphere. Here it will produce acid rain on our plants that feed all living creatures. My dad also left the bones in the cellar’s old freezer to remind me that I am a whaler and one day I will catch a whale for everyone is welcome.
© Kula <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Skin boat: The frame used for whaling must have a strong back to carry 8 men. This old whaling boat fed the whole community of Wainwright in the 50s and 60s. We also used this boat for caribou and fishing. My first boating was with my parents with this boat with my 6 brothers and sister.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | This is ice finishing. The best time to go is December, I believe... This year was different. When we went out fishing, the fish wasn’t really coming and biting. I don’t know why. Some believe that maybe something ate them. Maybe… I like hunting for my food and eat of the land. If there is no fish, we can hunt caribou.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | You can fish until it gets dark. Some parts of the ice are thick and others are thin so, you bring the chisel. You cannot go fishing at the river mouth because that is where the current hits the most. You need a safer spot. Some ice is thicker than others. You dig some of the snow off with the shovel and then you can actually reach the water. We make our own hooks too.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | I am part of the whaling crew: Iceberg 2. This is when our crew caught the whale. Everyone went down, set up the tent and waited to pull up the whale. I am not sure about the ice conditions now, but 3 or 4 years ago the ice was higher. It used to be much colder. I remember one year it snowed all the way to the rooftops of the houses. People would have to dig out their windows to go and shuffle the snow out of their door. But that does not happen anymore.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | In August we got to pick berries: blueberries, salmon berries, cranberries.
© Kinga Psiuk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | The berry season is in August. You don’t need to walk far from the village to find delicious salmon berries. They can be found close to the edge. But last year was dry and there were not that many berries. When it doesn’t rain, they do not grow. Also, when there is no rain, the caribous are skinny. They need grass to get fat and grass needs rain. [Caption based on the conversation with Apayauk and Jar]
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | The whole year is always fun because you do something for a certain amount of time, then you take a little break and then you go to another thing. And it goes on and off like that. December, January, and February is fishing and getting caribou then when that is done it will be almost whaling so you prepare for whaling along with the duck hunting. When that is over is carabao time. That is about the end of July, August, September to almost October. That time, when it starts to freeze-up it is winter and it is fishing time again. It's busy all year. Caribou is more difficult to hunt because you need to chase them. They are running and you need to try to hold on and hold the gun while you are bouncing on the snow machine.
![© Kinga Psiuk | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska |
We never take all the eggs. You need to always leave at least one egg, otherwise, there will be no more birds. [Caption based on the conversation with Apayauk and Jar]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f5a803a4f1f8a3e4033f12f/25365f37-8735-4fe0-8d68-b7047bb6535d/IMG_7616.jpg)
© Kinga Psiuk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | We never take all the eggs. You need to always leave at least one egg, otherwise, there will be no more birds. [Caption based on the conversation with Apayauk and Jar]
© Kinga Psiuk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | The wind is blowing the ice. One day the ice is here and the other the ocean is clear. You need to observe the ice. When the bits of ice are here, people can go boating. It is easier for them to hunt seals and walruses. [Caption based on the conversation with Apayauk and Jar]
© Kinga Psiuk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Hunting and whaling are very important for the community of Wainwright. Some from the younger generations want to be part of it and join the whaling crews themselves. [Caption based on the conversation with Apayauk and Jar]
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | This is summertime before the freeze-up. We got caribou and Grayling. This is when it started to freeze up. The summer is ending. We are trying to go boating before the river freezes. Weather conditions are important: we don’t go out when is too windy because the water will come into the boat.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | This is bird hunting. You need to know how to call the birds so they turn around. You need to make a noise with your mouth. You need to practice to be good.
© Ben Ahmaogak <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | My whole family is hunting. We are trying to be independent. We eat what we get from the land. I am teaching my grandchildren and nephews how to hunt.
© Isabel Bodfish <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | Since technology came, like cell phones and the internet, it has affected some of the children. They are rather be on their phone and don’t want to come to help with hunting or with the traditional stuff like sewing or cooking. But there are a lot of other people helping and encouraging the kids. They are teaching some of the traditional tasks at school now for example sewing and they bring kids to the cultural camps. They go camping for a week and they get to experience the world out there. I got my kids to help me with different things, for example here cutting the bearded seal. You hang them on the rack outside of the house to dry, then bring them in and cut them into little portions.
© Kinga Psiuk <2023> | New Normal project | Wainwright, Alaska | We see the reminders of the past around us. We don’t know what these barrels were used for but now they are here for people to hang out on. [Caption based on the conversation with Apayauk and Jar]