Kalskag is a remote Bush
Village in the interior of Alaska (meaning there
are no roads to Kalskag). One must fly into Aniak (larger village) and take a
second 15 minute flight to Kalskag or a 60 minute boat ride (snow machine in the
winter) down the Kuskokwim
River to reach the
village.
Location
Kalskag is 100 miles northeast of
the “hub village” of Bethel
and about 40 miles west of Aniak. It is
located on the Kuskokwim River that runs east/west through the middle of Alaska. The village is nestled on the edge of the
hills and has trees and mountains. The
vast Alaskan tundra (open flat land with many lakes/rivers) is west toward Bethel. It is in a beautiful setting.
The Two Villages
There are two different
villages. Kalskag and Lower
Kalskag are 3 miles apart and connected by a dirt road. Each is a different Yup’ik tribe, having
separate tribal councils (leaders), post offices, and religions. Kalskag is mainly Catholic and Lower Kalskag is Russian Orthodox. Both Villages speak Yup’ik and English.
Population
Kalskag = 231 90% Yupik Eskimo
Lower Kalskag
= 281 90% Yupik Eskimo
Apx 500 in both villages. About 220 are children/students under 18
Schools
All the children from both villages
are combined into the 3 schools:
Elementary School grades Preschool through 3rd, an
Intermediate School Grades 4-6 and the High School Grades 7-12. There is a school bus that runs the children
from their bus stops to the different schools.
Kalskag is in the Kuspuk
School District (located
in Aniak). Since the poverty level is
low every child has free breakfast and lunch at school. For many children, these are their only meals
of the day.
Calvary
Mission
Calvary Mission is an
interdenominational church. Rev. Mark Ausdahl has been the Pastor for over 14 years. His father, Martin Ausdahl, started the church in 1959. Rev. Shelly Blocker helps with special service projects and mid-week Bible Study ("Coffee with Jesus"). This summer Calvary Mission celebrated over 50 years of service in our Jubilee Weekend Celebration. We have
people from different church groups attend, such as Baptist, Lutheran, Assembly
of God, Methodist, and other denominations.
Preaching is straight from the Word of God. We spend time in worship with hymns and
choruses and in prayer. This little
Kalskag church can hold about 25 people.
People come from both villages to attend services since this is the only
Protestant church. Recently the Church put up a radio antenna and the translator station KYKD FM 93.7 is on the air! This is a Christian radio station being aired 24/7 in Kalskag & surrounding Fish Camps! What a blessing this is to the Villages!
Amenities
The two main stores, Ausdahl
Mercantile in Kalskag and Anica in Lower Kalskag,
carry groceries and some hardware items.
The items can cost triple what they are in the lower 48 due to the shipping costs to this very remote location. For example, a
half gallon of milk is $8, a pound of hamburger is $8, and a gallon of ice
cream is $25. There is a gas pump
between the two villages. Unleaded gas
is $6.70 per gallon. There are no
restaurants, banks, coffee shops, video stores, theaters, clothing stores or
even thrift shops.
What do people do in Kalskag for recreation?
Depending on the season there are many different activities
both inside and outside. During the long
daylight hours of summer/fall, the Eskimos pick berries, hunt and fish, swim in
the river and camp in the wilderness or at their fish camps. They harvest beavers, bears, moose, salmon,
birds and other animals to provide food during the winter and skins to keep
warm by making mukluks (boots) or molokai’s (hats) or gloves. Coats are made out of seal skin, beaver fur
or other animals such as rabbit, lynx, fox, or martins.
During the winter/spring the Eskimos ice fish, go on snow
machine rides out of the village, make fires and have cook outs roasting hot
dogs, moose meat & marshmallows over the open flame. They will pull the children up hills on sleds
and slide down the mountain. There is fiddle dancing and native dancing in the
village. People gather together for
potlucks, community picnics or feeds.
There are cross country skiing trails which is a favorite way for people
to get exercise during our very short daylight in the winter.
Unfortunately
alcohol is a problem in the village. Some
people will buy a bottle of liquor for $100 instead of provide their children
with necessary adequate clothing or even food.
The drunks can be violent and because there is no police in the village,
people fend for themselves and take the law in their own hands. Children need adequate clothing, shoes,
boots, warm coats and a safe place to go when feeling threatened or in danger. Bingo is another set back with families. Parents abandoned their children to play
bingo. They lose a lot of money then
they drink and the cycle continues.
What Calvary Missions
does to help
In 2012 businesses, schools and churches in Wasilla, Alaska
helped with a “Coats for Kalskag” Drive.
They collected over 100 coats and mailed them out to us that we gave
away on Halloween. In Kalskag we called
it “Coats and Candy.” The coats were gone
within the first hour. Weeks later
people were still asking for a coat. A
girl scout group from Anchorage collected clothing and boots in January and we handed those
out at one of the schools. People from the lower 48 have sent up new socks and
shoes, hats and scarves for the children in Kalskag.
We feed the children dinner during “Kids Club”, a weekly
Bible Study for children/teens in the village. Last year, 23 children were
saved through our Kids Club. Vacation Bible School
is a ministry we do during the summer between fishing and berry picking season. For adults we offer a Bible Study (called
Coffee with Jesus). The people are
hungry for the Word of God that one night a week was not enough and asked to
have it two evenings a week. We offer soup or light dinner for the
participants. The food is provided by
people who want to donate and send us dry soups to help feed adults and children. Bibles are also sent out to Kalskag by people
wanting to donate to the church. We can
hardly keep the Bibles for a week. There is always someone who would like one.
Last December we organized & hosted a dinner for the elders
of the Villages. We served native food
and hosted it in our church building. In the Spring we had a teacher
appreciation dinner for the teachers at the church. Many churches in the lower
48 contributed Teacher supplies that we generously gave to the teachers &
staff of the schools.
Our big project again this year…
Christmas in Kalskag
Calvary Mission’s big project this year is to provide a
Christmas gift for every child/student in the Villages ages 0-18. Christmas gifts are hard for parents to get
due to finances and having to order everything online. Many children receive no gifts. With the help of Larry Hobbs in Louisiana and
many people across the states, the children of Kalskag will have a Christmas
gift this year!
Thank you for helping us make 220+ children in Kalskag very
happy and blessed. For those who will be
buying a gift feel free to write a little note to the child or the parents. You
may also want to enclose a Bible or tract in the gift box.
Quyanna! Thank you!
