Frank Yasuda Memorial Potlatch logos on sweatshirts worn by the Japanese delegation. Photo by Sheila Dufford.

Regalia worn by the Beaver delegation. Photo by Barry Whitehill.

Deputy Refuge Manager Barry Whitehill adds to the festivities with face painting. Photo by Sheila Dufford.

Frank Yasuda would be smiling.  Fifty years after his death, the Village of Beaver within the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge hosted a potlatch in celebration of its founder, “Frank” Kyosuke Yasuda.   This memorial potlatch was the climax of an ongoing cultural exchange between Beaver and the city of Ishinomaki, Japan.  Over 200 guests, including several Yasuda descendents,  Japanese visitors from Frank’s hometown of Ishinomaki, and Refuge staff arrived in Beaver to celebrate this wonderful international event. 

The three-day event was conducted in three languages as performances of traditional Athabaskan dance and songs, traditional Japanese dances and songs, and Taiko Drums highlighted the gathering.  The potlatch concluded with a grave-side ceremony to pay respect to Frank and Nevelo Yasuda.  Frank came to Alaska as a cabin boy on the U.S. Revenue Cutter, “Bear,”  settled in Barrow and married Nevelo, an Inupiat woman.  He \ultimately led his family south to this spot on the Yukon River in the early 1900’s, where he established the Village of Beaver and trading post to supply the Chandalar mines.