Three miles outside the village of Quinhagak, archeologists and locals are in a race against time to save thousands of artifacts being carried away by erosion. The pieces from the past found at the Nunalleq site, which literally means “the old village,” are providing an invaluable look at prehistoric Yup’ik culture like never seen before.
Evidence found here has confirmed portions of local legend, known as the Bow and Arrow Wars, along with an understanding of Alaskan life before Russian presence–from the food they ate to the pets they kept. Dr. Rick Knecht and his team have worked around the clock to preserve these elements of the past, which could be wiped out in one winter storm.
Kaysie Ellingson got her start as a video producer while attending the University of Southern California for her Master’s Degree in journalism. What started out as a pursuit to become an international reporter for papers became a desire to produce documentaries.While at USC she took on many video projects ranging from various freelancing gigs to starting a web series, ClefCity, where viewers could catch interviews with popular (not mainstream) musicians. But it was her work at IMPACT, the university’s video newsmagazine, that had the heaviest hand in propelling her into video production. She graduated in May 2014 and having never been to Alaska, moved up in the winter of 2015 to work at Alaska Public Media as a video producer.One random bit of information is that prior to graduate school Ellingson worked as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Kazakhstan. Some of her fondest memories involve drinking fermented horse milk, testing out how many people can actually fit into a car and of course entertaining her students with her horrible Kazakh speaking skills. She hopes to return someday soon. In the meantime she is enjoying the similar climate of Alaska.Kellingson (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8419 | About Kaysie
