Alaska artist creates snow sculpture in Utqiaġvik to support people grieving during holidays and symbolize the light within

After the longest night of the year, Utqiaġvik residents held a candlelight vigil and honored lost loved ones as they gathered around an 8-foot-tall snow sculpture.

With hymns, songs and traditional dancing, about 150 residents celebrated Blue Christmas, the Christian tradition that marks the longest night of the year and supports people who are navigating grief and loss during holidays. The event took place Friday afternoon at Eben Hopson Middle School.

“The holidays can be so challenging when you are grieving the loss of somebody,” said Tandi Perkins, director of development at a nonprofit ministry, Arctic Mission Adventures, that spearheaded the event. “We don’t talk about that a lot. We grieve silently.”

As a symbol of support and unity, the highlight of the event was a snow sculpture depicting a semicircle of eight people with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Twenty feet across, 8 feet deep and 8 feet tall, the sculpture is titled “Strength in Our Light” and is located behind the school.

“People were very, very impressed and touched by it,” said Yvonne Biswokarma, ministry volunteer. “It was very moving.”

An ice lantern with a light inside was inset into the chest area of each figure, said the sculptor, Paul Hanis, who was invited to create the sculpture.

“That kind of adds the symbolism of light that we have within ourselves,” Hanis said.

A seal oil lamp was placed in front of the figures. During the candlelight vigil, some of the people sat on a curved bench embedded in the sculpture.

The Friday program opened inside the school with a welcome and song, Perkins said. Then the attendants moved outside for a prayer, each given a flameless candle to hold.

As people stood around the sculpture after the prayer, Joseph Reid, pastor of the Utqiaġvik Presbyterian Church who led the candlelight vigil, turned on his candle, saying the name of his mother who passed away. He suggested that everyone else do the same.

“You could watch the lights come on, as it moved across over (a hundred) people,” he said. “And at the very end, all the candles were lit. ... As they were saying the names of their loved ones, tears were flowing.”

Back inside the school, people heard words of support and encouragement from the borough and city mayors, other community leaders, as well as pastors and representatives from six different churches.

“I think about going through the stomach-crunching hurt and that aloneness and pain,” City Mayor Asisaun Toovak said at the event about losing family members. “But, what we are reminded of today is that we are not alone.”

“Remember what it feels like to lose someone; we just want to be heard and a shoulder to cry on,” she said. “Be that person who is a good listener because you remember what it is like.”

Brought to life with the help of North Slope Borough, the City of Utqiaġvik, the Arctic Slope Native Association and others, the event also included local artists performing traditional dances and organizations showcasing available mental health resources. There were activities for children and food to share.

Outside, in addition to the light from the candles, ice lanterns and a seal oil lamp, colored and flashing lights shined on the sculpture and the crowd, Hanis said.

Hanis spent over a week carving the sculpture, giving the most time and attention to the figures’ faces. He said he wanted each of the figures to look different in personality and age.

“I wanted them to be different from one another to represent a broad range of people instead of a row of ruff hoods that all look the same,” Hanis said on Facebook. “I want each figure to be able to tell its own story.”

Reid said Hanis “did a good job of carving mostly Iñupiat faces that represented a lot of the people that people were familiar with.”

The sculpture will stay in Utqiaġvik until spring breakup, Perkins said.

Hanis is an artist and sculptor who has been working in Alaska for 22 years, and lives in the McCarthy area. He creates nature-inspired art using watercolors and carves wood, steel, snow and ice. With his snow sculptures, he has participated in and won numerous state and national competitions. Coming to Utqiaġvik, he said, has been a highlight of his snow sculpting career.

“It’s just been really amazing being here and everybody here has been very wonderful to me,” he said. “I — like many, many others in Alaska — do have a personal story of losing a friend to suicide, so just the purpose of the event resonates with me. ... It’s close to the heart, and that just makes it more special.”

Alaska has one of the highest rates of suicide per capita in the country, and North Slope communities are no exception.

“We’ve lost a lot of people over the years from various issues on the North Slope: from suicide, from substance abuse, some from natural causes,” pastor Reid said. “We average about a funeral a week.”

A lack of resources is a big factor contributing to the troubling statistics, but another element that can make a difference is the ability to talk about mental health, said Biswokarma, who is also a physical therapist trained in suicide prevention and crisis intervention.

In Alaska, when people struggle, they seldom reach out to each other, Biswokarma said.

“We need to make it something we can talk about,” she said. “Building those connections can make all the difference and save lives.”

“Alaskans are open to a change,” she added. “People are really interested in addressing this issue in our culture and in our communities.”

The Blue Christmas tradition started in Utqiaġvik in 2019 as an attempt to open conversations about mental health and dispel the taboos associated with suicide, grief and loss, Biswokarma said. Arctic Mission Adventures is already starting to plan next year’s Blue Christmas in Utqiaġvik and hoping to bring the event to either Dillingham or Bethel, Perkins said. The hope is that other communities across Alaska will organize similar events as well.

“It’s important to tell people that they’re not alone, that, you know, there’s help,” Perkins said. “This holiday does not have to be a repeat, perhaps, of previous holidays where they felt isolated.”

If you or someone you know are dealing with a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts, you can call the 24/7 Alaska Careline at 988, or 1-877-266-HELP at any time. For more information on the Alaska Suicide Prevention Council and suicide in Alaska, visit health.alaska.gov/suicideprevention.