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The community of Unalaska is a busy place to live. Our community calendar is full of events and activities. About Town is your source for coverage of community events and sports. KUCB staff writes many of the stories, but we also accept contributions from community members for this section of our website. If you'd like to submit a story to About Town, send it to info@kucb.org.

Fish pie and seal skins bridge elder's ties to Unangax̂ homeland

Kanesia McGlashan-Price / NEXTGENRADIO
Bendixen holds up the regalia she hand-stitched from sealskin, sea otter fur and other pelts found on her ancestral lands. “Each piece of regalia shares a story of the person who’s wearing it.”

KUCB’s Kanesia McGlashan-Price recently participated in Next Generation Radio, a program from NPR and the Native American Journalists Association. The five-day multimedia project was focused on highlighting the experiences of Indigenous people and the concept of home beyond the physical space.

McGlashan-Price interviewed Becky Nordaliinada Bendixen, an Unangax̂ elder from King Cove, Alaska, who now lives in Bellingham, Washington.

By sharing stories through language, dance, and food, Bendixen has created a home away from home. She says it’s important to teach her grandchildren about their Unangax̂ heritage because it was forcefully taken from her ancestors. And even though her children and grandchildren live in Washington, Bendixen says they know where they come from. “When I teach them our songs and our language, that’s what home feels like,” she says.

Read and listen to the full story here:

Fish pie and seal skins bridge elder’s ties to Unangax̂ homeland

The story was produced as part of a collaboration between NPR"s Next Gen Radio and the Native American Journalists Association.