Village Culture
The checkpoints along the trail are also villages in which Native Alaskans live. There are from 30-1800 people that can live in a village. You can get to most of the villages only by airplane, boat, dog sled, or snowmachine.
The traditional foods found in some villages include berries, greens, caribou, moose, geese, ptarmigan, whale, shore birds, seals and walrus.
Today village people wear mail order jackets or traditional parkas. Parkas have outer covers called kuspuks and are fur lined. The furs can include wolverine, wolf, land otter, parkie squirrel, beaver, opossum and polar bear. Mukluks are fur boots and are warmer than commercial boots.
Much of village life happens at the schools, including educational, civic, and social gatherings. They have community dances, parties, potlucks and celebrations.
The villages all have electricity but not all homes have running water. There are washeterias where people bathe and wash their clothes.