Umialaq/Elsie Eckman

Uvaŋa atiġa Umialaq. My Iñupiaq name is Umialaq. My white fox name is Elsie Karmun Eckman. I am Iñupiaq and my parents are the late Flora and Evans Karmun from Deering, Alaska. My father and mother were Iñupiaq, and my mother's first language was Iñupiaq. My mother was born and raised in Noorvik, and my father was from Deering. These villages are in Northwest Alaska. I have been with the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers since the year 2003 and have enjoyed performing for many different events in the Fairbanks area. I am currently the Ted Stevens Papers Project Assistant at UAF and taught junior high and high school math and German for 10 years. I have a BS in Math, a Secondary Ed teaching certificate, and a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science. I enjoy reading, sewing and making music, and want to learn more of the Iñupiaq language.