In much of rural Alaska, basketball is central to communities. So, in Akiak, fifth and sixth graders Yolanda Ramos, Amos Foss and Brian Hunter reported this story about a basketball tournament that touches on why the sport is so important in the village.
Men’s and women’s adult teams played a tournament last weekend in the Akiak school gym. They were from Akiak, Akiachak and Tuluksak. Lots of people from all three villages showed up to cheer for the teams.
Agatha Andrews, known as Qalcvalria and Aliit, from Akiak, was cheering for her hometown team.
“Having basketball in our lives, even if you don’t play it, it really helps you get up in the morning, have something to look forward to, keep your body and mind healthy,” Andrews said. “And it’s nice because you have people from all over come and play and you see old family members, old friends.”
Beverly Alexie, from Tuluksak, was playing against Akiak and Akiachak. She likes to play basketball.
“It’s a good stress reliever, and it’s just fun since my uncle from Eek taught me how to play,” Alexie said.
Shiana Williams, from Akiak, loves to play basketball and has been playing on her team for five years. Her position is shooting guard.
“It helps me so much ‘cause there’s not really much to do here in the village, but we have open gym and we have these little tournaments and it’s pretty fun,” Williams said. “It helps.”
Lots of people play basketball in the school gym in Akiak almost every weeknight in spring, fall and winter. Some people play games with friends and family. Shiana said some people play until their 40s, and she hopes to play into her 30s.
The Akiak women’s team, “Furious 5,” won the tournament against Tuluksak and Akiachak. The winning team for the men’s tournament, “Amigos,” mixed up players from Akiak and Akiachak because they didn’t have enough players separately.
This story was produced as part of Alaska Public Media’s Community Wellness Project, a collaborative initiative with rural Alaskans to talk about what wellness means to them. Some stories are told by community members working as citizen reporters. Unlike other journalism projects, participants have input in the editing process and give consent to the final version of the story. People who are interviewed may receive small honorariums for sharing their knowledge and time. Citizen reporters are paid for their work. This project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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