Kenkakun (With Love)

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Evan Mueller | 231115-N-YX844-1087 NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 15, 2023) Capt. Daryle Cardone, center, commanding officer of the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), Command Master Chief Jeremy Douglas, left, command master chief of Ronald Reagan, and Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Lisa Evans, from Anchorage, Alaska, cut a cake during a Native American Heritage Month celebration on the aft mess decks, in the North Pacific Ocean, Nov. 15. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Evan Mueller)  

PHILIPPINE SEA

11.10.2023

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Brown 

USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76)   

The men rose before dawn, having cleaned rifles, sharpened knives and staged their bags the night prior. Hot coffee and soup did little to warm the air in the house; despite the beauty of the Alaskan tundra, its chill and power are unforgiving. The men did not know, but Lisa had been up before they were. She, too, packed her bags the night before, with water, seal meat and dried salmon strips as her snacks of choice—with a few candy bars lying hidden underneath. Her rain boots and extra clothes implied she was prepared to spend days in the tundra, if need be. The men downed their coffee and soup before leaving with guns slung over their shoulders. The silence that accompanies focus said they would not return empty handed. As Lisa trailed behind, she heard the inevitable words she’d heard many times before.
“No, we will not catch anything if you come.”
Disappointed, she watched the men walk out of the door one by one. The house became quiet, and their absence was felt until the following day when they burst through the door with five seals. Now it was time for Lisa’s contribution. As word spread to her cousins that the men returned, she prepped the floor with cardboard and rubber mats to ensure no blood stained the floor. As Lisa and the other women got to work—using her uluaq to precisely carve the seal as she had done her whole life—she had no idea that one day, she would look back on these experiences from aboard a ship in the South China Sea, as a U.S. Navy Sailor.
Once reliant on nothing more than the Alaskan plains for all her basic needs, Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Lisa Evans now lives a very different life aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), but keeps her past experiences close.
Nestled on the western coast of Nelson Island, Alaska, lies a village by the name of Toksook Bay. Evans, along with the majority of the population in Toksook Bay, are of Yup’ik descent, which according to archaeological data, have inhabited Alaska for nearly 3,000 years. In 2023, their traditions of a subsistence lifestyle are still practiced today.
“I miss the family evolutions we would have during the changing of seasons,” said Evans. “During the berry picking season, all of my family would go out on a boat and camp in the tundra for about three days, picking gallons of berries. During the fishing season, the men would catch the fish, and the women would clean and hang the fish to dry.”
Evans explained that despite the effort that went into obtaining what they needed, her life before the Navy was simple. The open air and green pastures were her daily views along with the “clean and sweet air, free from the fumes and pollution of the modern world.”
Though Evans was raised in a culture so distinct yet every bit American, she was drawn by the opportunity to see more than the environment around her. She left behind the only home she has ever known in order to see a world beyond Alaska and ventured out to serve aboard an aircraft carrier forward-deployed to Japan.
“As tedious as it seemed at the time, I miss living a subsistence lifestyle,” said Evans. “It is all I’ve done and all I’ve ever known, but some people have never even left our village. I wanted to go out and travel the world on my own without relying on anyone.”
Although distance separates her from her homeland and kin, it is no match for the hold her culture has on her life. As she introduced herself in the Yup’ik language, the fluidity and enunciation with which she spoke showed it was her first language.
“I almost lost my ability to speak it when we moved to Arizona when I was eight,” said Evans. “After a few years though, I returned to live with my grandparents and was able to reconnect with that part of my culture. If I didn’t, I would not have been able to communicate with them. They don’t understand English very well, because they have spoken nothing but Yup’ik their whole life.”
This language may be the only way to relay the wisdom of elders. The language of the Yup’ik people is not only an avenue for communication, but in relaying stories that reveal what life was like before. These stories help younger generations understand gratitude and the perspective of the generations before them.
“I used to wake up early and have coffee and tea with my grandparents and listen to them tell stories of the way they grew up,” said Evans. “My maacung (grandmother) would tell me about the standards of women and the skills needed to pair with a good husband … My apa (grandfather) would tell me how he had to run to other villages just to get basic cooking supplies, because there was no store in the village.”
Now, Evans passes the wisdom of her grandparents to her shipmates. Celebrated as National Native American Heritage month, November is a time to hear such stories from the cultures and traditions of groups that have inhabited the U.S. long before its establishment as a sovereign nation. Although Alaska is the second-newest admission to the union out of all 50 states, joining on Jan. 3, 1959, some of its 11 major native peoples can trace their lineage back thousands of years, long before the arrival of European settlers.
Evans is proof that the practices of the Yup’ik are kept alive today. She carries with her the lessons passed down through many generations despite her being so far from home. Evans is yet another example of why Ronald Reagan’s mission requires unique perspectives, and that the strength that ensures peace is harnessed from every Sailor.
When asked if there was anything people needed to know about Yup’ik culture, Evans left one bit of wisdom.
“My favorite word is kenkakun,” said Evans. “It translates as ‘with love’ (…) It was something my late grandfather preached to us all, so it is something I live by. If you do everything with love, you’ll get the best outcome.”

• Date Taken: 11.10.2023
• Date Posted: 11.10.2023 11:09
• Story ID: 457651
• Location: PHILIPPINE SEA