Alaska is the center of the universe. At least it is to James Dommek Jr., who hosts a podcast of the same name.
In the new podcast, on the streaming service Audible, Dommek traveled around the state to collect stories from various Alaska Native cultures, dealing with mysterious creatures, folklore and traditions.
Dommek says the idea behind calling the podcast “Alaska is the Center of the Universe” comes from the notion that, while many view Alaska as a final destination, for its Indigenous people, it’s where life begins.
Listen:
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This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
James Dommek Jr.: Alaska is referred to by outsiders as “The Last Frontier.” It represents the wild, the wilderness, the unknown. But to Alaska Natives, it’s not a frontier. It’s home, and has been home for a long time. And so we’re comfortable in this wild. It’s not a frontier and a wilderness to us, it’s home. And to us, it’s the center of our universe. And I took the name from an Unangax̂ — or sometimes Aleut — story.
Their creation story involves these two hairy beings that fall from the sky and they land on one of the islands down in the Aleutians, and the beach grass breaks their fall. And these are the first people in their creation stories that have been passed down from who knows how long. As far as they’re concerned, this is the center of the universe. And I took that and I wanted to use that because you know, the word “Alaska” is an Unangax̂ name. Our state is named after one of their words. So I was like, I’ll name this after one of their stories.
Wesley Early: So episode one deals with the Hairy Men, or inuqpisuaq. It’s described as a lot like Bigfoot or Sasquatch and lives up north in Utqiagvik. You’re Iñupiaq and you grew up in Kotzebue. What was it like to essentially search for confirmation of stories I imagine you’ve heard for a long time?
JD: It was really interesting. You know, Utqiagvik is a little bit bigger than Kotzebue. But it was really interesting to talk to someone who I knew was just a very seasoned hunter, knows the difference between a lot of things out there. And just to hear, you know, them talking about things they can’t really explain. I mean, the word itself, “inuqpisuaq”, if you break it down in our language, “inuq” means person and “pisuk” means walk. So if you flip it around, it means “walks like a person.” Why would they call something that, you know? If it was an animal, they would have called it the name for it. They wouldn’t call it, “that one’s name is ‘walks like a person.’” What does that mean, you know?
So I wanted to see what, you know, these elders had to say. I wanted to hear what these hunters… just to hear them tell their experiences out in the real wild, in the true wilderness. And so, they never had microphones in front of them. And a lot of them felt really relieved to kind of talk about it, and have someone interested in it.
WE: As the type of person who cares so much about these stories, and puts a lot of stock in the importance of storytelling, do some of these sound more reasonable than, you know, it’s just a myth?
JD: Well, you know, I’m the great grandson of one of the last great Iñupiaq storytellers. And I’m born and raised in Kotzebue, and he was from Noatak. And I grew up studying his stories and realizing that, within all these ancient stories that have been passed on, there’s usually a sliver of truth in there somewhere. And I wanted to take these stories out and take them and look at them and find “where’s the sliver?” Some of them could be, you know.
I mean, talking to these hunters who spent a lot of time way out in the middle of nowhere, places most Alaskans won’t ever, ever set foot. And to hear them, you know, talk about their reality and their experience, and what they’ve seen… who am I? I can’t judge their reality. I’m just here to hear their story and just be captivated by it. And you just try to help share it. But I mean, I’ve always loved stories of the unknown. Alaska is a big, wild place. It’s a very magical, mystical place even to this day, and I think it always has been. And our stories reflect that.
Alaska is the Center of the Universe is available exclusively on Audible.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
