Chefornak, Alaska, population 450, is a remote Yup’ik Eskimo village located 400 miles off the road system in Southwest Alaska. (Photo: Victoria Nechodomu/Nechodomu Media)
The village is only accessible by bush plane, boat during the summer, and snowmobile by winter. (Photo: Victoria Nechodomu/Nechodomu Media)Chefornak homes are clustered atop the frozen tundra. (Photo: Victoria Nechodomu/Nechodomu Media)Boardwalks and four-wheelers are used in place of roads and cars within this community, and a majority of homes lack access to water and indoor plumbing. (Photo: Victoria Nechodomu/Nechodomu Media)The Kinegaks’ house is a prime example of a subsistence lifestyle (Photo by Victoria Nechodomu/ Nechodomu Media).
Women gather outside the Kinegaks’ house for a throwing party to mark the special occasion of a young man’s first catch (Photo by Victoria Nechodomu/ Nechodomu Media).Cyrus holds up a ptarmigan, a dark meat bird typically hunted in springtime. Subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering play major roles in Yup’ik culture. (Photo by Victoria Nechodomu/ Nechodomu Media).Cyrus and his best friend Nelson driving the four wheeler to the community store. “Usually we just go there to figure out something to do when we’re bored,” explains Cyrus. (Photo by Victoria Nechodomu/ Nechodomu Media).
Chores such as dumping the honey bucket become more challenging as the winter snow turns to spring slush (Photo by Victoria Nechodomu/ Nechodomu Media).Cyrus and Nelson hang out at Cyrus’ house on a lazy Sunday afternoon, passing a guitar and cell phone back and forth between the two of them. (Photo: Victoria Nechodomu/Nechodomu Media)
