Kawerak took a moment during the Tribal Self Governance Conference Wednesday, May 2 to honor the efforts of Senator John McCain.
As the current longest serving member on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, a supporter of tribal sovereignty and Indian Self Determination and his vocal recognition of climate change, our tribes appreciate the weight with which he carries these important messages through the political sphere.
McCain was honored by Kawerak with a walrus ivory pen holder carved by Edwin Noongwook, a local Alaska Native artist from Savoonga. This handicraft was a small token of appreciation for his public service as a veteran and advocate for Alaskan Natives and American Indians. Quyaana!

About the artist:

Edwin Noongwook

Origin: Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, AK Culture: St. Lawrence Island Yupik
Also spelled Nungwuk and Nunguk previously.

Edwin Noongwook was born July 29t​ h​, 1975 in Savoonga. He learned carving from the village elders – especially the use of tools – and from his uncle Ron Apangalook. He enjoys both bone and ivory carvings, but is particularly skilled in ivory. He is a versatile carver, exploring many subjects from polar bears to walruses, but it in is his figures that he captures the core activities of the Yupik culture. His dancers, hunters and fisherman are done in his signature simple yet expressive technique. The subtlety in this work is especially graceful and poignant as he takes traditional activities and materials and transforms them into pieces that are saturated with his culture, yet are distinctly true pieces of contemporary art.