Yuka Ungwiluk

Revitalizing the St. Lawrence Island Yupik language in Alaska, United States.

Education, Linguistics Research

2023 cohortess

Yupik

St. Lawrence Island Yupik is spoken by the indigenous inhabitants of St. Lawrence Island (Yupik: Sivuqaq), off the coast of Alaska. It is unknown precisely how many St. Lawrence Island Yupik speakers there are; the community’s estimations are currently at an approximate 800-900 speakers. The language committee, known as the Kaalguq Committee, is dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of St. Lawrence Island Yupik.

The chair and organizer of the Kaalguq Committee is Yuka Ungwiluk. Yuka, originally from Japan, has been living in the Native Village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island for the past 26 years. An adopted member of the Gambell village, she is married to a St. Lawrence Island Yupik man, and she learned to speak Yupik from her late mother-in-law. Since last year, Yuka has facilitated a language learning group where local St. Lawrence Island Yupik speakers work alongside linguistics professors to teach the language. In addition to the language learning group, Yuka and the committee are working to establish a preschool-level language nest this year. The project will continue with an island-wide survey to determine the number of speakers and progress in revitalizing St. Lawrence Island Yupik.

Yuka's background

Yuka Ungwiluk is originally from Japan, living in Gambell, Alaska for the past 25 years. Yuka has an associate degree in Human Services. Currently, she is a part-time undergraduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks rural social work cohort program, scheduled to graduate this summer, and start the master of social work program at the University of Alaska Anchorage as a part-time student this summer. For the past six years, Yuka has worked as the full-time community Behavioral Health Aid, connecting with many community members through their mental health crises, drug and alcohol use counseling, organizing the community wellness event, and facilitating group counseling and activities. She speaks St. Lawrence Island Yupik at a daily conversational level. She learned to speak the language from her late mother-in-law, who spoke mostly only Yupik to her. Yuka continues to speak and learn from elders and community members who speak the language.

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