December 16, 2010

Love of Children

Written by: Maggie Okomailuk, CITC Social Worker, Employment & Training Services Department

As I read the Anchorage Daily News this morning there was a small article written by Bill Hess of my cousin Elder Warren Matumeak’s passing. North Slope Iñupiat say goodbye to elder Warren Matumeak; “I had come to Barrow for the funeral of Warren Matumeak, a good man. He was buried yesterday following a funeral that, despite the bitter pain of loss, was truly beautiful and sweet. How could it have been otherwise, given the beautiful and productive life that Warren lived? I set out to walk to the Matumeak home, and soon came upon Max Ahgeak’s umiak frame, where it awaits the spring. Beyond it were two graveyards, a small family one on this side of the middle lagoon and the large community cemetery, where Warren would be buried, on the other.”

I remember as a small child going to the Presbyterian Church with my family where Warren was the choir conductor and they sang Iñupiaq gospel songs that he translated from English. It was also a memorable time when there was a Christmas program as it was done in Iñupiat and Warren did most of the translations from the Bible for the story of the birth of Jesus.

Warren was the leader for the Barrow Native dance group. Warren’s father Paul Matumeak owned the movie theatre in Barrow; where in 1957 the Messenger Feast Dance (Kiviq) was last performed by my 93 year old grandfather Harlan Okomailuk. Warren revived the Messenger Feast Dance after 50 years and it is now performed during Kiviq. The Barrow Dance group always performed at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO) and Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Conferences. The Presbyterian Church Choir always came to the Native Musicale every year and Warren was the leader of the group.

Warren’s love of his family and Iñupiat people, language, culture and history, subsistence way of life, love of Presbyterian Church and his Iñupiaq values has been instrumental in preserving our way of life. I will miss his great sense of humor where he wrote and sang in Iñupiat about the Barrow people. I have seen Warren’s eye sparkle with love and pride when small children performed Iñupiat dancing.

Warren will be greatly missed by his beloved family and huge extended families of Barrow.