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Qayanek
Qayaq Preservation Center
P.
O. Box
27- Kwigillingok, Alaska 99622
1-907-588-8129 - 1-907-588-8529 -
Fax-
1-907-588-8419
email
/ web:
www.qayanek.com
"Builders of the
most authentic Native
American seal skin qayat (kayaks) in the world"
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The
following pictures and captions briefly tell the story of
Qayanek's
knowledge line and development.
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For
thousands of years
northern arctic natives have been perfecting kayaks specific
for their area and needs. This men's house photo taken in the 1930's
shows Frank Andrew's father (L) and father-in-law (R). Frank spent 23
years in
this traditional men's house mastering the details of qayaq building
and countless aspects of Yup'ik life. This classic institution was his
Harvard.
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Frank
Andrew (L) was the
only person in Kwigillingok, AK in the late 70's that still owned and
paddled a qayaq. Around 1989 Frank's new son-in-law, Bill
Wilkinson, was living in Tuntutuliak and working on a qayaq. On a
visit to Kwig. Bill asked the revered elder about qayaq building. The
student had found a teacher.
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 A student named
Justin and a kayak builder named Skip Snaith helped cover
this qayaq.
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82 year
old Frank Andrew,
with much patience, answered
countless questions, until Bill, his only student up to 1999, had
finished 3 Yup'ik qayat. (kayaks)
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In
2000 realizing the great gift
Frank had given him, Bill and his wife Mary Ann bought lumber to build
Qayanek, so new generations of builders could be trained. Many people
helped and soon Frank's son Noah could build kayaks.
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Frank
Andrew Sr. passed
away in 2006, and now his son and son-in-law have become the teachers.
On the left Frank oversees Noah's instruction to one of Frank's
grandsons. Another grandson Ethan Wilkinosn paddles a seal skin qayaq
with one of Frank's ancestral deck designs. New teachers and new
students.
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In
2007 Qayanek's builders
built another qayaq frame lashed with seal skin, pinned with spruce
pegs, and painted with traditional crushed rock. This qayaq is
displayed in the Anchorage Historical Museum. Franks grandsons and
granddaughters are now learning ancient Yup'ik technology.
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