I thank my teacher ..., my sisters, brothers, cousins, aunties, uncles, friends, my mom and ... I love you all! 

On a cold, clear day along the Kuskokwim River, there sat a girl named Amka and her cousin Amaqjuaq. They cast their lines into the slow-moving river through the hole they'd made in the ice as Amaqjuaq's parents pulled out their beloved story knife. 

"Are we going to tell stories?" asked an excited Amka. 

"Yes. We are all going to tell stories," her uncle said, handing over the story knife. 

"Who's going to tell their story first?" asked Amaqjuaq.

"Here, you go first," Amka said, passing the story knife to her.

"Quyana caqnaq! Okay, I'm going to tell you a story about a bigfoot me and Uppa saw. We were in the woods gathering branches for the fire. I looked up because I saw something running in the corner of my eye. It was very tall and hairy! And it was brown!" 

Amka gasped. 

"I told Uppa what I'd seen," Amaqjuaq continued, her eyes wide and her words slowed as she played upon her cousin's reaction. 

"He looked up and said he didn't see anything. But I begged him to keep watching, and after a few seconds, there it was! Racing through the trees ahead." She reached out and grabbed her cousin's arm, causing Amka to jump. 

"The creature moved quickly, and we only saw it for a flash." Amaqjuaq said. "But as soon as he saw it too, Uppa shouted out, ‘It's a Bigfoot, Amaqjuaq!" 

"Uppa couldn't wait to get back home to tell everyone what we'd seen. I asked him to tell me about the first time he saw Bigfoot, as we both walked quickly through the trees carrying armfuls of firewood." 

"I knew this was one of Uppa's favorite stories to tell, and I'd heard it many times before. But this time felt more special, now that we had a story of our own to share." Amka looked at her older cousin with admiration, as Amaqjuaq let out a happy sigh before going on. 

"He was in his early twenties when he first saw it. He and his friends went hunting for moose and they all saw it together. But now, he tells the story of seeing Bigfoot with me almost as much as he tells the story of that first sighting." Amaqjuaq grinned proudly.

"That is my story," she finished dramatically. 

Everyone cheered. Amka must have clapped the hardest, until her applause gave way to shouts of, "My turn! My turn! Can I have the story knife, please?"

"Yes, you can have the story knife," Amaqjuaq said, handing it to her with a smile. 

"Quyana!" 

"You're welcome," 

Settling back onto the snowy bank of the Kuskokwim with her pole in one hand and the story knife in the other, Amka began. "Here is a story about-" 

Just then, Amaqjuaq's mom cried out as a fish took her havoc. She reeled in quickly, revealing a large fish flopping in and out of the freezing water. Amaqjuaq's dad grabbed the stick he used to knock out the fish as it came upon the bank, and Amka set her pole and the story knife down for just a moment to help with the cooler, which already held a White Fish just waiting to be made into Agutuk. 

Once everyone returned to quiet fishing, Amka continued. "Here is a story about-" 

A loud growl interrupted her now. Everyone looked around and Amaqjuaq screamed, running to her father. 

"I think I saw a wolf!" she cried. 

He looked back toward the sound of the growl again, then seemed to make a decision. Telling everyone to get on the snowmachines, he removed a few fish from the cooler and lined them up along the bank. 

"The pack won't follow us if we leave some dinner for them to enjoy," he said. 

Amaqjuaq sat behind her father on his snowmachine and they took off, with Amaqjuaq's mom following close behind and Amka holding on tight. They rode a few miles downriver before stopping and cutting another hole into the ice. 

"We won't be able to stay long," Amaqjuaq's dad said, nodding toward the already setting sun. "But let's see if we can bring at least one or two more fish home to make up for what we left with the wolves."

"Can I tell my story now?" Amka asked, once all their lines were back in the water. 

"Hang on, I need to find the story knife..." Amaqjuaq's mom began digging through her bags.

"Umm. Where is it?" she said, finding nothing there and standing to search the snow machine. 

Glancing nervously at Amka, Amaqjuaq said, "Did we maybe leave it behind?"

Amka's stomach dropped for a second, as she jumped up to help Amaqjuaq's mom search. But in the first bag she opened, was the story knife glinting back at her. 

"Here it is!" she said. "Now that we set everything up, can I FINALLY start my story?" 

"Yes," her uncle laughed. "You can start your story now. I want to hear it." Amka smiled wide and held the story knife close. "Okay," she began. "My story is going to be about Slaviq. But it's going to be a short story, because it's getting dark and I need to get home."

"Yes, you do," her aunt was the one to laugh now. "I don't want my sister to be angry at me if you get home late." she winked and Amka nodded.

"So on Slaviq," Amka continued. "I wanted to go to church right away. But I had to babysit Auntie's baby. I asked her if she can ask someone else to babysit her baby, but she couldn't. And I missed church because of it!"

Even in telling the story now, Amka felt disappointed. Her uncle reached over and patted her shoulder, remembering how sad she had been. 

"I really love Salviq!" she said, meeting her uncle's warm eyes. "I love when we go to people's houses and sometimes eat, have candy, and gifts. And the best part is the singing. We sing in Yupik, which is so cool! And that's why I was so sad to miss it!" 

It was her aunt that patted her other shoulder now. "Yes, we know, Amka." she said patiently. "But that's why it's so great that Slaviq takes place over so many nights, right? And you babysitting for Auntie that night meant that she could enjoy some of it, too."

Amka nodded. "I know," she said. 

"The next night, Amaqjuaq and me went to our friend's house and we had so much fun. We sang, and Amaqjuaq is the best singer in the whole village," she said, shooting her cousin a nervous glance. 

They all laughed and Amaqjuaq said, "Quyana, Amka." 

Amka looked down shyly and went on. "We all stayed up all night that night. We were so tired that we slept in most of the houses we visited. And then it was over. I had the most candy. And that was my story about Slaviq!" Here, she looked up smiling at her family once more. 

As with Amaqjuaq's story, cheers followed. 

"Slaviq is the best!" Amaqjuaq agreed as the clapping died down. "And your story was so good," she encouraged her younger cousin. 

Amka's smile grew even wider. 

"Okay, we better get home," her Uncle said, his voice deep. "It's getting late. Pack everything up."

As their snowmachines neared Amka's house, the light of the fire could be seen inside.  

"Pugaa," Amka said, jumping off the snowmachine and running to give her cousin a hug. 

"Pugaa! Quyana tailuci, kenkamken," Amaqjuaq's mom called after her, laughing at having seemingly been forgotten. 

Amka ran back to hug her aunt. "Quyana, Auntie, kenkamken." she whispered. 

That night, as Amka crawled into bed in the room she shared with her sister, her dad came in to kiss her goodnight.  

"What stories did you guys tell today?" he asked, sitting at the edge of her bed. 

"Amaqjuaq told a story about a bigfoot she and Uppa saw," Amka said excitedly. "And I told a story about Slaviq. Amaqjuaq said that my story was good!" she smiled. 

"I bet it was!" her dad grinned down at her. "Can I tell you a story, now?" he asked, tucking her in.

"Yes, please!" she said, snuggling in. 

"Once upon a time..." he began. But Amka was asleep before she even knew what his story was about. 

Glossary

Amka: A Yupik name, meaning friendly spirit.

Amaqjuaq: A Yupik name, meaning strong one.

Story knife: In Yupik cultures, a story knife is a wooden knife used to tell stories.

Quyana Caqnaq: Yupik for thank you very much.

Uppa: Yupik for grandfather.

Bigfoot: A lot of people in Yupik cultures believe in Bigfoot and share excitedly about potential sightings. 

Quyana: Yupik for thank you.