I live in the land of ICE.. Point Hope Alaska, the oldest continually inhabited settlement or village in ALL of North America.

Life can accurately be traced back to over 2,600 years ago to this one spot of land.

800 Inupiaq Eskimo's live here! We are located 200 miles above the Arctic Circle in the Northwest portion of the state of ALASKA.

Point Hope used to have a population of over 10,000 Inupiaq. Then the whaling companies arrived here in the mid 1800's.. Our population was destroyed by greed, disease and mass starvation.

Only 190 people survived.

I was sent to this village in 1981, (population 420), as an electrican to wire two construction camps. A three week job. When the job finished, I quit the company and stayed.

That was 27 years ago, and I am still here!
We live from the food we gather in the ocean and on the ocean ice, 7 miles out on the Chukchi Sea in the Bering Strait of Upper Alaska.

Come along and view and learn the way of the Eskimo's from the warmth and comfort of your home/ office !

Lets head out. to the ocean ice! Learn the way of the Inupiaq people from :

High in the Arctic Eskimo



This seven mile journey out to the edge of the ice will take, 3- 4 hours to traverse, it is a very rough ride. Anything can happen out here on the ocean ice. This is a dangerous place. This is how we get our FOOD

The women, use the tents, this is their home for two months or longer depending on the ice conditions. This is where they prepare all the food to feed each crew which consisits of 8 hunters, one boyer and at least 3-5 women to do all the incredibly hard work.

The hunters sleep outside no tents. they sit, wait, watch, hunt at the edge of the ice for signs of animals migrating through the narrow open lead in the ocean ice.



Now take a minute to let this image absorb.. THIS IS HOME.. for the next 8 weeks 24/ 7 ! @ 30 - 50 below with winds @ 40 mph or much higher.. That ice on the other side of the lead opening is moving. from right to left in this image due to the strong North Wind(s). It is very easy to hallicinate out here watching that ice. I was constantlly falling over, if you stare at that moving ice for too long, at some point in time; that ice will STOP, and you will experience the sensation of moving in the opposite direction, again & again, I would fall over, much to the delight of the hunters sitting there watching this dumb city boy from Boston!

If that wind ever shifts, to south strong wind, we have to run like hell to get out of here a.s.a.p. that means everything, everybody, off the ice. it takes 8 hours to set up that whaling camp correctly, It takes just 20 minutes to "Killigvuk" EVACUATE,... RUN...One huge mass panic of over 600 people... run for your lives because it is that sudden. Ice is headed our way and it will run right over everything in its path. This advancing ice will pile up into gigantic piles.

When everyone is back safe on land, we wait, for that wind to shift again. NO sense going anywhere, just wait.
But after a mad dash like that, then people are thirsty, where is this and where is that? Cups have to be washed, and this is how that is done after we had to evacuate. But where do you think we get FRESH delicous drinking water way out here ? even though we are back on land, we still need fresh water, constantly to supply the needs of hundreds of people daily, hourly, for months.
INUPIAQ Technology: TIME TESTED for thousands of years.


Because of 24 hour sunlight, we easily become "solar powered" and it is easy to stay alert and awake for 3 days or longer.!

When you are tired, just lean back on that sled and close your eyes. and rest for a few hours.. Your good to go, for another 3 days or longer.

7 miles out on the ocean ice.. how do you suppose we get delicious fresh drinking water way out here? Yes we melt snow, to wash with, and clean with, but for delicious fresh drinking water.. where do you suppose that comes from ??

IN fact.. .. .. TRUE STORY: I processed sixty rolls fo color fim, .. .. .. using snow! My only source of water, when this hunt was all over! I had no running water, in fact, I had no water at all, just snow.. ..

come along and see with your own eyes.. OLD TECHNOLOGY.. as its best under the most incredibly harsh conditions imagineable.. ..27 years later these negatives are still in pristine condition. !! My camera(s) were constantly encased in ice. Very thin layer of ice on all controls. (Mamiya RB 67 was KING & Pentax K1000 was KONG!). NO batteries will last out here in this unforgiving enviorment. I haven't used a light meter since 1973, no NEED, once you know or understand how to READ, ..........................light. Photography is all about light, and what you can do with your IMAGINATION and that Light!



Inupiaq technology, thousands of years old, We have many "tricks" to stay warm(er) way out here.. but the temperature is always well below zero and extreme winds!

Imagine that. no tents.(for the hunters) for 8 weeks outside.! Winds and cold
such as you have never experienced and all this work.. .. .. .. just to eat!

Are you cold ??? grab that hacksaw and cut some thin slices of raw frozen caribou meat, or fish if available. Swallow those small thin strips and do not chew them. Just eat and fill your stomach FULL.

Your body has to work very hard to digest all that raw frozen meat, and you begin to generate body heat the likes of which you have never ever encountered in your life! This is a "hunters" breakfast, "quaq" (raw frozen meat or fish) When you eat in this manner, you can go all day, and not get thirsty! @ 30 below we are taking clothes off because we are just too hot. WARNING: don't ever attempt ths and try and stay inside, your going to burn up bad and suffer. IN damp enviorments this has the opposite effect(s), Our methods just do not work in places with high humidity such as east coast .


Water water, we need water.. !! Delicous FRESH drinking water! Lots and lots of it every hour !! The ice is all around us.. take any large piece of ice and stand it up.. brush all the snow off the sides and the top.. now wait! watch. learn the Eskimo way.. that sun will beat down on that ice and you can actually WATCH the salt settle in that piece of ice !!!!!!! It doesn't take long. then walk over to that ice with your kettle and chip that ice horizontally and fill your kettle. When melted it is the most delicious fresh water you have ever tasted !!!

Hundreds of people get out on that ice with axes, picks, and all sorts of home made fashonled tools to smooth out a trail, to move all the necessary equipment, skin boats, and supplies for the crews to set up camp to hunt!


18 whaling captains are spaced out 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile between them. The women set up their tents 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile BEHIND them, on much safer ice. Anything can happen out here.. and it usually does in many bizaarre incidents which you will no doubt find hard to beileve.

Midnight in mid May. Every whaling camp is set up identical in each and every way. These are time tested methods dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. Inupiaq technology!




not quite what you thought it would be like out here on the ocean ice.
How can these people sit here day after day with that cold weather. ? They are used to it is the biggest myth aruond. They get just as coldl as you or I would.
but there are many "tricks" to use to keep warm out here in the middle of frozen no where.



Learning how to dress (warm) out here is extremly important, but what you eat and how you eat it is just as important. Blubber will thicken your blood, fruit will thin your blood. Inupiaq Eskimo's survive by eating their favorite food, blubber! flammable fat, maktak (muck tuck) A = uh
For many thousands of years the Inupiaq people have lived in complete harmony with nature, the sea, the land, the animals, and birds of the air. We waste nothing, we have never depleated or endangered any of the resources, we only take that which we need to eat, nothing more.




This skin boat must be carefully taken down to the lead opening on a sled to avoid a sharp piece of ice from tearing or ripping the bottom of the skin. Six ugruk (bearded seal) skins are used to cover this umiaq ( oo me ack).

The skins are hand sewn using a zia/zag water tight stitch using "dental floss" because of its much needed strength!

Wow!

The combination of your words and photos is very powerful. Thanks for sharing them.

Well I am just falling over laughing !

Thank you for your "powerful" words. !

Your location is what made me laugh and fall over practically !

I am X- IBEW local 103 Boston !! I worked in Newton many times, especailly as an apprentice when the new additon was done to Newton elementary school in 1972.

I am happily retired (young) and enjoying every second of it here in the greatest paradise on earth. Cold, frozen, and winds which you refer to as hurricanes! The life up here is simple, hard, harsh and dangerous, but I would not have it any other way!

I fell in love with these people and this lifestyle immediatly during those first three weeks.. I just love the people and this place too much to ever leave!

I promise you spell binding facts, stories and photos that will amaze you and keep you spell bound during this photo essay of North America's oldest people!

Tikigaqmuit - The people of Point Hope Alaska.!

The children up here are so fascinating to me; how they constanly copy the actions of their parents. hunting out on the ocean ice.

The imagination of these young "whalers" is PRICELESSS!!.




This is a very small commuinty of people whose entire life revolves around the Bowhead whale. The International Whaling commission has a quota system imposed on the Inupiaq People.
Japan recently harvested 1000 whales in Antartica, just for scientific purposes.

The people of Point Hope are allowed 10..........attempts !

3 small whales were successfully received ! (this year) Last year we struck out, not even one to feed the people. Food was shipped in from other whaling villages to help ease the burden. We do not like this quota system but we obey!

Unfortunately I'm not able to see the photos, I don't know if it is only my problem or if more people are experiencing the same, but would love to see those photos.

Cheers,

Rod

Now that everything has been fixed we can move on..

These women down on the ocean ice work so hard, I have never seen women work this hard hour after hour after hour workinig cooking for 12 people @ minimum 3 - 4 times a day. then doing all the dishes!! WowoW!

Making fresh dounuts @ 50 below from scratch is not an easy task to accomplish. Every camp has fresh donuts, every day. That is just one of the many treats out here.. Fresh Caribou soup, yummy !!

How do you suppose this woman is going to get that dough to rise ?
it is very drafty inside this tent, so when the dough is all mixed, it is put into a clean plastic bag, she puts her big parky on and continues to work with the bag of dough on her back inside the parky, carrying it in the same manner as children are carried, the heat from her back will make that dough rise.."JUST RIGHT" !



That is Emily Lane making those doughnuts. this is one of her twin daughters @ age 16.
Lots of people die up here, only because they did not listen and obey to the very last words spoken to them. I have seen and witnessed a tragic amount of death up here and the common denomiator in each case was, that person did not listen & obey the very last words spoken to them.

It was in May of 1992 when Emily and her younger brother Frank and the twins went up river in search of fossilized ivory which washes up on the beaces or is dragged up by the ice. The ocean ice was gone, they were warned.. BE VERY CAREFUL up there.. THE ICE / SNOW is about to Katak (fall) from the cliffs. They went up there anyway. There were warned and told.. do not make any noise. be very careful.. They were rummaging about in the rocks on the coast and the snow/ice fell (Kah tuck). Emily was buried up to her waist when Frank pulled her out and they frantically looked around for the twins.. FRANTICALLY they dug, in the direction they thought they last remember seeing them together at... after and hour or longer digging with hands and adrellin pumping, sadly they had to go back to the village to get help... It was a very sad day ... Emilys twins were found crushed and dead holding hands..... 18 years young. born together. died together holding hands..



Aquaq is starting to make "caribou soup" this is great stuff. slurp. Hot soup delivered down to the lead opening.. but eating a HOTmeal when your outside, is delicious for sure, but one thing happens when you do that. Your body doesn't work, it relaxes, .. .. then.. .. you begin.. .. to get cold!!!
Hot food has its pleasures, but sometimes its' disadvantages are overwhelming.



Caribou meat doesn't have any fat! Virtualy none, grind up 3 pounds and fry it, when finished there is less than one tablespoon of fat. Caribou is "Tuttu" (2 -2) It is delicious and tastes much like beef, depending on how you cook it, we like it sliced very thin, sorta like a philly steak & cheese ! Some of these herds that migrate are several HUNDREDS of thousands in number !!

IT IS WELL BELOW ZERO but it doesn't look that cold does it? The arctic is extremly dry, The cold just "gets on you" it doesn't penetrate into your bones as the case is on the east coast of the U.S. Vaseline on your skin doesn't work outside up here, the petrolatum (main ingredient) dissapates and leaves a wax like residue which flakes off like candle wax.



As I was walking past a huge wall of ice, I could hear children "giggling' on the other side. when I came into view, the girl on the far left said.. "wanna see me eat snow".?
Snow is yuk when melted and used as a source of drinking water.. ! we need delicous fresh drinking water!

Brilliant Majik ...please put more photo's up and tell more of this great story.

Out on the ocean ice: children are taught how to do simple chores, firearms are everywhere, thousands of them of every description, Not once in 27 years have I ever seen or heard of any accidents involving firearms that resulted in any type of accidental shooting incident.


This year however, (chuckle) there was an incident involving a young boy, Gus Kowanna, He was warned, Gus, don't buy that rifle, it is too powerful for you, and NO! don't put a scope on it. Gus didn't listen. He purchased a brand new "Weatherbee 303" with a scope mounted on it.

Gus went from the lead opening up to the tent area. when he came out of that tent, there was a polar bear eating some "sicpan", right beside the tent. Gus ran and got his new rifle, The bear looked up at Gus as he took aim and fired a shot. That scope smacked him in the eye. The bear turned and started to come after Gus, He loaded another round, he could not think of the pain he was in. he had to take this bear down. He fired again, holding the weapon as tight as he could, BLAM he got smacked in the eye again, and he was hurting bad, crying, and this bear is advancing toward him running. He had no time, crying, he loaded his next round.. held on for dear life and took the final shot, the bear went down, Gus got rid of that rifle! We tried to reach Gus when we heard of this to capture an image of his face, but by the time we got to him (days later) the swelling of his face had gone down considerably. I'll just stick to using my .22 was his reply!



Sicpan is outside of this tent, blubber is very flammable, Sicpan (sick pun) is seal blubber, it is used as food, and as fuel, if we have wood that is very wet it will not burn, place a small piece of sicpan inside of that home made wood stove and it will melt and coat the wood with flammable oil, which allows the wood to burn. once the moisture is dried out, then the wood is consumed. Put too much sicpan into that wood stove and YOU WILL burn down that tent!



I have never seen a "boyer" burn down a tent, but I have seen grown hunters put a little to much in, and that tent goes up in flames! This is a dangerous place and anything can happen, and usually does, in many bizzare ways.



At night when the women go to sleep, after an exhausting day of non-stop work. A boyer is used, to keep the tent area heated and warm. He has many responsibilities.

His job is to stay up all night long by himself alone. Keep that woodstove going, by chopping wood using an axe, using very sharp knives cut small pieces of sicpan if needed. Melt snow to wash dishes and clean out the thermoses, Make fresh drinking water for making hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Bring the new filled thermoses down to the hunters and grab the empties and fill them up with new hot beverages. He must keep a constant look out for new cracks in the ice around the tent area, and watch that wind, in case it ever shifts to a strong south wind, he is armed with many rifles in case of a polar bear attack. His duties are many and he is very busy all night long alone. So lie down and go to sleep, your in good hands, hand your matches & lighter over to this boyer, he has to go to work.. !
your in good hands with this 3 year old child!


Yes 3 years old with that much responsiblity ! The very first boyer I met was Howard Stone Jr. I was shocked when this 3 year old asked me for my lighter! I said no. and everyone laughed at me, I can't give a lighter to someone so young. I did not know how well trained these children are! Imagine that ! 3 years old !!!

i HAVE MET several boyers that young over the years and it simply amazes me to no end. How those skills can be achieved so quickly by someone so young!



Whaling is from April to June, in April when that sun goes below the horizon it gets mighty cold out. I put the lens cap over the lens every night, and in the morning I would have to chip the ice out of the viewfinder so I could see. Ice was all over those cameras, mounted on tripods out in that wind, turning the focus ring or aperture ring or shutter controls, the ice would crack and I was always amazed that these cameras continued to function. The controls were very sluggish and require a bit more to move them, but they did function extremly well.

Majik,

Keep them coming! They are great. Have you considered doing a book about the Inupiaq of Point Hope? I'll buy a copy.

What little I know about the Inupiaq I've learned from Alaskan mystery writers Dana Stabenow and Sue Henry, but they don't have your nice photos.

Life in Point Hope is sure different from Newton!.

Eric

Believe it or not: NO ONE has the photos or the COLOR collection that I have created over 25 years ago! You cannot just walk into a village and go out to the ocean ice. you must be part of a whaling crew.

-=[JAKE KOONUK]=- "Umailiq" Whaling Captain

That seal skin is filled with air, that is "avatakpak" (ah vah tuck puck) it is used in the exact same manner as a float or bobber in fishing, except there is 200 feet of rops attached to it. the job of the person behind the captain on the right side is to make sure that rope doesn't yank someone in the boat out when that whale decides to run, when it is struck with a harpoon. .



Jake made these images possible, the truth must be told Jake said to me.
He was the one who made this all possible. I was sick in bed with the flu, when some people entered my house and said.. Jake wants YOU down on the ocean ice NOW! I laughed and said.. I am too sick with the flu, I am not going anywhere, and I rolled over. Next thing I know, they have me up and are putting skipants on me and dragging me out to the sled. I was delerous with high fever and very sick when I took that first ride on the snowmachine down to the lead opening. I did manage somehow to capture this image of us heading into the sun, a 7 mile journey that felt like I had just played a game of tackle football with no equipment on when I finally got off that sled. I was hurting in places. that I didn't know had places !!

Many people have been out on that ice with camera(s). Many people have taken lots and lots of photographs. BUT NO ONE has ever put their heart and soul into the work that I had to do to process these images using SNOW!! That first whale hunt (82) I had a mission, a purpose, and that was to get these images up to Barrow Alaska for a CLOSED MEETING OF whaling captains only & International whaling commission members and Alaska Eskimo whaling commission.

THIS MEETING IS CLOSED: I had to try to do something. These people have to work so hard, just to obtain food! NO AGENCY no commission, no ONE has the right or power to tell these people: you cannot have your food!

1982 A federal census team of biologists was sent to the village to conduct a census of the bowhead whale population, They lasted out on that ice for one month. They only recorded the whales they could see, the whales that their equipment tried to record also. Well over 15,000 whales were counted during that one month period. It did not take into account how many whales migrated before they arrived and how many whales migrated after they left.!
The elders scoffed at that low figure, 200,000 or more is more the true number, but greenpiece, and other agencies will lie and cover up the truth and deny us and petition against us to stop us from obtaining our food. Why are so many people trying so hard to bring us to the brink of extinction. We have suffereed so much at the hands of people that outright lie and twist the truth. John Denver did these people the gravest injustice ever when he came to point hope.. He destroyed these people! He did he best ! He failed but the harm he caused; still we have to fight against on a daily basis.

After him, the BBC of London was here, they tried to cover up their true mission, and were not allowed out on the ocean ice. Jacques Cousteau tried to gain access to the village with film.. he was denied also.. many others have tried and failed;

I worked feverisy around the clock trying to develop this film. tons of snow were melted to obtain the necessary water to process film mix chemicals and print the images. It was only due to my extensive experience developing color film since 1969 that I dared try this. I could not trust this film to anyone or any lab. too much was at stake.




YOu are about to see some amazing images of people, struggling, hurting and working, just to eat, that is the only reward, no pay, no benefits or perks,, frost-bite, long hours, d ays, weeks just waiting. Inupiaq is Patience personified. sit wait, watch, 24 / 7 for six weeks.. the gaunlet is set.. now we wait and wait and wait
The sun is blinding. incredibly bright reflections from everywhere, every angle,

One side of your face is sweating, the other side is being frost bit. This is extremly hard to deal with, changing film was an excercise in pure torture. taking off your gloves @ 60 below (this day) that wind was too much, of course my back is to the wind constantly, that is the way you "warm up" ha ha ha.! no matter how I tried, I just could not do a simple task such as change a simple roll of film without succumbing into angony and intense pain,



That wind was vicious this day. That crew in the umiaq is headed straight into that wind, it was 60 below and with the wind we are talking over 100 below zero with chill factor. 24 / 7 out here in this was pain for me, intense pain. undescribable pain for my hands and fingers. I have liners for my gloves and huge heavy mittens, I cannot keep my hands warm enough to even function half the time.
ONLY BECAUSE.. .. I would not listen. I was too stubborn. Yuk was my reply !

THIS IS WHY : your nose runs so much in the cold.. .. .. "use it" ? yuk ! was my reply.. .. .. so I suffered.. .. until one day I just could not take it any longer. .. "take your gloves OFF" ? blow your nose into your hands and rub it all over your fingers and hands QUICK and put your gloves back on... !
Instantly, your hands and finers are warm, functional, working and there is absolutly no pain as they warm up. and.. they can't get cold, for the rest of the day. This doesn't work in Boston, nope.. too much moisture in the air. it has the opposite effect. I have been back and forth a few times, but this is my home forever, last time I entered that world bach there was 89 and it was just for two months. I am here in the Arctic to stay. forever. Point Hope.. I prrefer to call it ..
.. Point HoME. Our backyard is larger than most states and even some countries !



That is is.. Tikigaq. Point Hope Alaska ! that tiny piece of land that sticks out 40 miles into the Chukchi Sea, it is like living on the deck of an aircraft carrier.. we are surrrounded by water on 3 sides.. and erosion is a constant problem.



and the world famous whale bone graveyard. it is the only one in the entire world.
I can't begin to explain what it feels like to walk into this graveyard. There is no way to put it into words, when you walk into this place and you see and know the names of everyone in there. over 150 people I was very very close to. Gone, died young, from cancer and other mishaps and accidents. Death is no stranger here in this tiny village. I have noticed that so many people have died and ended up in here, only because, they didnt listen, to the very last words spoken to them.

Just in the last four years, way too many deaths for such a very small place, Too many people, and you know the names of them all, like family, This is a difficult place to walk into, those memories of all those people i was so close and involved with on a daily basis. .. .. sob.!



You can fit a great many states into this vast empty region, no cities or people in all of that land, oh... !!! but there are things that go on out there, that you will never believe stay tuned, lots more photographs and other stories that will surely amaze you and keep you spell bound.

You just never know, what is going to happen here, or when, but it will happen, it just takes time, so be careful and keep close lookout of all your surroundings.

Tikigaq = Point Hope

Tigara on old maps.

TIKIGAQMUIT = People of Point Hope.

Aaka & Aapa = Grandmother & Grandfather

Lilly & Donald Oktollik, Lilly made each of these parky's the fancy trim at the bottom of each parky is called Kupak's (koo puck) the kupak's on Donalds parky are made using beads !!! Lilly's Kupaks are made with calf skin.
Donald was a successfull whaling captain and an Episcopal minister in his day.

These two; are my four sons.. .. great grandparents !



Two teenage inupiaq girl-friends pose for me in traditional native dress @ 50 below zero. Do they look cold ? No! Inupiaq clothing is very warm, and light.



Staying warm in the Arctic depends on how you dress correctly. Everyone dresses basically the same. Many many layers of very loose clothing is the trick to keeping warm out on the ocean ice. or in the village or when you go out very far distances from the village to go hunting.

To begin, to dress correctly basic undergarments are worn then. a couple of T-shirts, loose fitting, then a couple of good flannel shirts, then a sweater and a hooded sweat shirt, then a spring jacket and the final layer is the eskimo home made parky.

For the bottom portion, basic undergarments then the most important piece of clothing to keep you warm when your sitting.. gym shorts ! Long johns ?? no! they are tooo tight! many layers of very loose clothing, after the gym shorts comes sweat pants, then jeans, then ski pants and your dressed for any weather known to happen here. oh,, the feet. mukluks are light and warm, but NOTHING can beat the warmth of BUNNY BOOTS. Your feet just cannot ever get cold wearing bunny boots. The company (beta) no longer makes these fine boots but they are still available in many places al over the state. MY FEET, never once ever got cold standing on ocean ice for two - three months. even with no socks your feet cannot get cold using bunny boots. ($200.00) is well worth the price to have toasty warm feet.

This is my favorite all time photograph of all the images I have created in the village. Daisly Della Fay Age 3. It was one of the very first images, captured at the airport runway. I was getting on the plane and she was just getting off the plane, there is a 3 wheel honda on her left side and a person's arm with huge mitten on her right side. The horizon line and the other distracting details were taken out of the image to create this striking image. In 1983 United Bank of Alaska offered me 100K for the complete rights to this image. Under the advisement of close friend very high in the Art World back east. I turned down that offer. I am so glad I took their advice.!

Miles out on the ocean ice, I came across this 10 year old girl sitting on the seat of a snowmobile / snowmachine. The temp is 40 below zero. As I approached here and raised my camera to create a striking image she began to smile, I brought the camera down and said.. .. Kathy .. NO! Please do not do that, I am not here, I want you to ook right past me as though I am not here. Again I brought the camera up, and her face changed, I said no!.. Look right through me as though I am not even here. I spent 1/2 hour talking to this child, and only exposed one frame of film. I knew excaty what I wanted before I ever raised that camera, now how to make that happen? .. I needed additional help.! yes.. YES.. YES
-=[CLICK]=-

This is absolutely wonderful! Please post more pictures and information. It's fascinating...

Donna

Thank you ShooterGirl - Donna, you will not be disapointed in the many pages yet to follow of photographs and amazing stories that are easily proven!

If I type in the word IGLOO no doubt you have heard that word, but do you know what an IGLOO IS ? I sincerly doubt that very much, you think an IGLOO is built out of snow or ice.. that is a myth ! that simply is not true, NOT FOR ALASKA EVER!

First of all, in the Inupiaq language there are no O's or E's. Therefore the correct spelling of THAT WORD is Iglu

Iglu = one dwelling place.

Iglut = two dwelling places.

Igluk = three or more dwellings.

ever since the begining of time thousands of years ago, The Inupiaq people have always constructed an iglu out of whale bones and sod ! These ancient ruins are all over the place and still visible here today. and in many villages. From Kotzebue just over the Arctic circle clear up to Barrow and beyond, Kaktovik

This is an Iglu, this broken down "condo" once had electricity running to it. The service drop is on the left hand side. one of the porclean insulators is still visible.



When covered with snow, the inside of these dwellings were quite protected from
the elements of the constant never ending strong Arctic winds.



As you can easily see, there is quite a bit of room in some of these old units. Some of them were very long with rooms off to the side. Large families lived in these dwellings for 2,600 years and some of the old ancient ruins are still visible here today as the wind and erosion, uncovers earth and sod to display the ancient bones dug deep into the permafrost many thousands of years ago!



All over the OLD TOWN SITE, ruins are still visible and more are becoming visible each year, The village of Point Hope had to be moved 2.5 miles south in the late 70's due to flooding. That is still a major problem today, we are only about 12 feet above sea level, one huge wave and we are all fish food!




Bones are everywhere, and they have significant meanings and uses !

and of course.. .. stories !


Bones.. .. .. what is there to say about .. "bones" ?

Well usually a subject not many would find interesting, except up here, because of the "varied" use of bones. A lot can be said and shown to explain many things and uses for "bones".

The whalebone graveyard has jaw bones from many whales collected over many thousands of years.

Nothing is ever wasted by the Inupiaq peoples. Jaw bones from whales mark grave sites and cermonial festival sites.

The last chief of Point Hope (1920s era) is buried here. Atangorak.



The whale bone graveyard is 1 mile away in the distance, yes it is that far away from this, grave which as you notice, for some reason is not among the people of Point Hope. He was not considered a nice person. He had six wives and took another man's wife for his # 7 th wife. He was murdered shortly there after. all of his six wives are buried here also !

Jaw bones from a whale of that whaling captain are always used to mark their grave sites with the biggest whale that captain has ever "received".

Kamaktoaq is a cermonial festival site used once a year @ whaling festival which is held each June, if we have been successful in receiving a whale.
Point Hope used to have more than 20 clans, before the whaling companies arrived here. Now we have just two clans left. Kamaktoaq & Unisigsicauq.



We are under a quota system and as such we cannot hunt in the traditional manner of years long ago. We are prohibited in obtaining the necessary amount to feed this village. We are allowed 10 attempts only. Last year we received no whales. This year we have been blessed to receive 3. That is no where near enough to feed 800 people for the entire year. This is the one food we enjoy the most. Blubber, maktak, fat, flammable fat. This keeps us warm and very happy. NO other food can do what blubber can do for us. This has been our mainstay for thousands of years. But due to the animal activists and PETA and the INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION we must refrain from eating our food, based on false information and knowledge about our way of life.

In 1983 I had to return to Boston as my father passed.
On the streets of Boston, greenpiece was passing out phamplets to STOP THE ESKIMO'S FROM KILLING WHALES.. there are only 250 right whales remaining.. that is what the propaganda said. which was / is totally false. Well over 15,000 Bowhead whales were counted by federal biologists the year before. I went to the greenpiece office, and met with them. I asked one question. Isnt a "right whale" the same thing as a Bowhead whale ? well um, er, oh.. yes it is they said. I produced my album, they kicked me out !

When my first whale hunt finished I worked ferverishly around the clock to process this film and begin the tedious process of printing 11 x 14 color enlargements right here in the village. Gorgeous color prints delivered down to the ocean ice, same day, for free to everyone.



Then I began the ardous process of creating 7 albums complete with hand written calligraphy. i had to get these images up to Barrow for the CLOSED MEETING of whaling captains only with the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission and the International Whaling Commission. I was very upset. I had to try and do something, no matter what the cost.

I worked and worked and worked and prepared the albums:

on the inside cover was calligraphy explaing what your about to see:

Imagine chopping a trail through ice for 7 miles, to move equipment, supplies and hundreds of people to live out on the ocean ice for two months, just to obtain food.

Imagine sleeping outside @ 50 below zero for two months.. .. just to eat !

The Album was finished with days to spare and I flew at my own expense up to Barrow to gain access to this closed meeting. I had high hopes. and lots of prayers.

The morning of the meeting, I was walking down a street in Barrow with the album in hand, my foot hit a slick piece of ice and I went completly horizontal, the album went flying into the air, came down hard and both covers broke and the pages were scattered all over the street in mud. I just sat there and cried like a baby. Got up.. and gathered everything up, tottally in shock over the event that had just happened. I am a totall mess, mud all over me, the pages are ruined, i gatherered everything up and headed to that meeting, nothing was going to stop me. Outside I took my jacket off and use my shirt to clean the pages as much as possible. I took a deep breath and walked in and was immediately thrown out.!

This meeting is closed:! Even if the Mayor of Barrow tried to gain access. NO! closed: this is serious.. oh oh.. um.. what do I do now.. I tried to clean up as much as possible and went back in and again I was thrown out physcially!

I gotta do something different.. but what.? took a deep breath, said.. .. "Thanks" and waked back in.. here they come.. I opened the albumn and yelled .. YOU NEED THESE PHOTOGRAPHS!!!!!!!
AFTER much whispering at the main table, I am allowed in ! I apologized for my appearance and told them a new albumn would be on the next plane headed up to Barrow from Point Hope. I was allowed to get up on that podium and in front of 2 state senators and the International whaling commission and the Alaska Eskimo whaling commission I presented my case, in Inupiaq and in English.

NO ONE.......... NO COMMISSION,, NO AGENCY. NO PERSON, NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT to hinder these people in their age old plight to eat their food.

These people are truely one with the whale. We do not hunt and kill whales !

We wait for that whale to give itself over to the captain of its choice.

I spoke for 1/2 hour and thanked the natives peoples for giving me the chance to express my OPINION on this world wide plight of the Eskimo people of all 9 whaling villages in Alaska.

I flew back to point hope very depressed at the outcome of that days events. A few days later I received this in the mail.

The Inupiaq people need THEIR FOOD.

We are on the verge of extinction, if we do not do something to change this quota system ! We need our food !
Most all villages in Alaska were founded and established by the people of Point Hope. Greenland was founded by Tikigaqmuit also !!
during the 1950's the federal government was going to detonate a nuclear device to create a deep water port. They had no intention of ever telling us about this event. they were just going to wipe us out, off the face of the map.
that is, until ONE PERSON... that is all it usually takes.. just one. Howard Rock put a stop to this barbaric, unheard of selfish attempt. to wipe out North America's oldest people. Google this: Project Chariot

Although this project was stopped and dismantled, the government had a special gift and surprise for the people of Point Hope.

Radio Active waste was buried all over the middle of our hunting grounds! All of the elders are gone! died very young due to cancer from the infected caribou. The goverment says it is because we use tobacco products!

Cape Thompson as seen from Point Hope. is the only land outside our windows. Now the government is saying we cannot hunt in these lands because we cannot PROVE that we have used THIS land for the past 3,000 years !

doh ! what other land is there ? where else would we hunt ???



I will never understand why people are trying to get rid of these people, Now the Oil companies want our permission to set up drilling rigs for oil off shore, Despite our pleas and objections, A drilling rig is already in place 60 miles off shore, Oil has more importance than animals or people. Harnessing the engery of the ocean and the sun will never bring technology to our way of life because there is no money in it for the big greedy corporations that want us off this land.

Back to paradise, the ocean ice. This is truely a wonderful place, My first whale hunt I could not understand why everyone was so happy, especially when I was suffering so much out here in this cold frozen "twilight" zone I was thrust into. It wasnt long before I was asking my self.. how the heck did I ever end up out here?

Is this real, am I in some sort of dream? Freezing my ISO/ASA off was very hard for me to cope with on a daily basis, Especially when that dreaded moment sets in.. oh oh.. time to go to the bathroom..OH NO!!!.. WHERE DO YOU GO ?

BEHIND any large piece of ice that affords you the privacy you need! For the women it is a bit more difficult because men have binoculars and men are men, no matter which part of the world your in. Women have to be extra careful. although they are far behind the men by as much as 3/4 of a mile. Careful inspection of the spot that is chosen, for glints of sunlight from binoculars far away is always a concern for these women.



This guy missed the boat literally, by the time he got back from making a deposit, his crew was gone.. Hey ! wait for me ! Another crew came along and offered him a ride down south to catch up with his crew.



There he is.. Billy Weber, Umiliaq Whaling Captain of this young crew, Billy teachinig young whalers all about whaling, and how to do what needs to be done. When paddling in that umiaq, it is a known fact that if you CONTINUE to splash water on the person behind you, by not paddling correctly, you have the option to throw that person out of the umiaq rather than freeze to death. All whalers are well practiced in the art of paddling, and once you start you cannot ever miss a stroke no matter how numb your arms are, I came darn close to being thrown into the water, no matter how I tried not to pick up water and splash the person behind me I was constanly getting yelled at and my arms could not take this pain and numbness at all. I dont know how they do it..sometimes for days, searching for that elusive whale.
Billy is gone now.. died from cancer at a young age. He is very famous up here, for the story that is told about his good fortune one day out on that ocean ice. You will read about this story soon in the section upcoming about polar bears! A polar bear charged Billy out on that ice one day, Billly lived to tell about this impossible event that was truly a miracle.



Late at night, the sun is down near the horizon and it is just past midnight near the end of May. The sun shows very distinctly how thin the ugruk skin's are in certain places, translucent / transparent in many areas, that is how thin the skins are in various places.



IT DOESN'T matter: which whaling camp your at, everything is identical and in the same spot, in each and every camp.



This is Irma Oktollik at the far end, Umailiq - Whaling Captains wife. She is umailiq also. The captain is in charge of his crew, that umiaq and the ocean, that is his domain. He is boss over his domain, Irma is umailiq and her domain is the ICE. she is boss over all.. she tells that captain where to set that umiaq !

Irma will tell you much about the whale coming later, and I guarantee you, you will never believe this at all.. I know I did not believe it when she explained it all to me. My initial response was; NO WAY.! We know better than that.. ha ha.. or do we.?? We do not chase a whale Irma said.. we wait for that whale to give itself over to the captain of its choice."!! ??

Thick dark glasses are a must out here. That sun is so blinding, in days of old a slit was put into a piece of wood. to cut down on the glare. Eskimo sunglasses made out of wood or baleen. just a thin slit for each eye to look through.

I have seen things out here, and heard things out here that totally defy any rational explanation."



I will let you form your own unbiased opinion, but I would like an explanation if you do come up with something that makes sense.. How is it possible to smell a whale, when it is under 10 feet of ice, someplace miles away, how is that possible ? How is it possible to even smell anything at that temp ? never mind smelling through 10 feet of ice ??? THAT JUST DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME WHAT SO EVER ! (soon to be continued).

Is there no more Majik???

Wonderful story and fantastic pictures! In a time where the global warming issue threatens these magnificent areas of the country you have a fantastic registry of life in the artic circle. I love these extreme conditions and this is definitely a place I would love to visit, maybe even move over for a while.
I would just love that the people in charge of governments in this world of ours realised the amazing beauty of these places and made some decent efforts to preserve them.
Thank you very much for sharing your amazing story and photographs with us!

All the best for you and your fellow eskimo's, maybe we will meet some day, I surelly hope so!

Regards,

Rodrigo Cunha

Ireland: "when you see the "whale" then you will know.. .. we are 1/2 way through this thread!" Lots more to come my friend.!!

ENJOY !!!

Well lets pause here for a moment, (pun intended)



Danger warning: POLAR BEARS are not soft cuddly cute animals, they are ferocious beasts of prey that are extremly dangerous and very unpredictable.

There is much you do not know about these animals, this short segment will teach you much about this magnificent animal, that should never be underestimated.

ALL bears.. .. are left handed, they will always strike with the left PAW first!

Even after a polar bear has been killed, that bear can still kill that hunter if he is not careful when that bear is opened up.
The liver must be burnt and destroyed, anything that eats this will die!

Admiral Perry on his expedition to the North Pole lost 3 members of his crew due to attempting to eat a polar bears liver, It is saturated with millions of units of Vitamin A. This is extremly toxic and deadly.
when that bear has been opened up for gutting, skinning, etc.. A hunter must be extremly careful, not to get any of that "juice' on himself, gloves must be worn. Great care must be taken when cutting the liver out of the animal. the tubes must be tied to prevent leakage of this "JUICE" it contains tooo much, Vitamin A and just by getting some on your skin it will kill you!

When the hunter is finished with the procedure of gutting that animal, any clothing that has "juice" on it must be burned and destroyed !

Barrow Alaska 1940's Vincent Niigak was gutting a bear, and all was well and finished, His gloves were removed and burnt. His hands were cold and he brought up his hands to warm them by blowing on them close to his mouth. Unknown to him at the time of this event. The tiny-est speck of juice touched his lip.

He Lived to tell about it in a very unusual way. He lived for many decades but he stood out in a most peculiar way.

Eskimo's are darkskinned and with black hair. Vincent's appearance was white as snow. His skin, his hair. ALBINO. pure white skin, pure white hair. Everything was bleached white by that small miniscule amount of vitamin A on his skin.

Everyone in Barrow knows of this famous hunter, He died in the late 1980s I believe. I have never had the pleasure to meet this famous man, but many have told me the same story in each and every village. His claim to fame was well known all over the area.

A polar bear can run at speeds of over 40 miles per hour, they can attack without notice, out on the ocean ice. They are ferocious predators. Each month, certain women must get off the ice. go home. come back later in a week or so. get off the ice. you present too much of a danger out here for everyone.
That bear can smell blood for many miles, these bears are extremly clever and will stop at nothing to eat, anything.

Seals are their main food supply. A bear will sit over a breathing hole in the ice and cover his nose and eyes with its paws, and wait for a seal to surface to breathe. One quick look around by the seal, and it is all over,.. ... ... .. burp!

BILLLY WEBER WAS OUT ON THE OCEAN ICE; and a polar bear came around the corner and ran towards Billy at full speed.
Billy turned and ran. he had a .22 rifle with only one bullet left. he took off running, he had no choice but to run.. that bear was gaining on Billly as he ran for his life. Other hunters out on the ice saw this event unfold, but were too far away to offer any assistance. There is only one place to shoot a polar bear to kill it.
that one vital spot is in the ear. While running for his life, with that bear quckly gaining on Billy he merly pointed that rifle back as he ran and took the shot.. .. ..
.. .. Billy lived to tell about this and everyone up here knows of this famous event.

That bear was that close, because Billy waited, and waited until the last possible second to point it at the ear and take the shot while on the run. That bear went down.

A very close personal friend in Point Lay Alaska, My electrical apprentice, Charles Stalker Jr. III was not so lucky. A polar bear was going after his pregnent girl friend. Charles distracted that bear away from her, and armed with only a knife, and a very thin jacket, that bear literallly cut him in half with the swing from the left paw. The villagers came out and blasted that very skinny bear, but much of Charles had already been eaten. Dec. 1990 sob!

1950's Allan Rock was out on the ocean ice. Same predicament.. A polar bear was charging him, armed with only a large knife, Allan was successful and jumping on that bears back and taking him down the hard way.!!!!!

During the 1970's it was LEGAL for the white man to hunt the polar bear in Alaska.
A permit had to be obtained and it was good for only one day. The cost of the permit was 10,000 dollars, This practice had to be discontinued because too many of the great white hunters were shooting polar bears from the planes they chartered.

Polar beat meat is the most delicious meat I have ever tasted in my life.
It is jet black, grainy like old gnarled wood, but it is so sweet and tender, 10 times better than the best prime rib I have ever tasted. In fact it was the ONLY time I had ever asked for seconds at a meal, and all at once everyone responded NO!

Scientists are puzzled at all the recent drownings of polar bears. They say it is because of the huge distances between ice packs, that the bear cannot swim that far. That is not the real reason for bears drowning, no.
The real reason for their drownings is they have no fear, they will attack a sleeping walrus on the ocean ice. A walrus will sleep on its back with head back revealing the vital neck region. when that bear pounces on that walrus, the walrus merely lowers its tusks around the bears head and rolls over into the water bringing the bear down to huge depths !



Polar Bears were recently put on the endangered species list and then quickly taken off that list. We are only allowed to take them down as a last resort to protect innocent lives here in the village. Each year a few bears will enter the village. Bears stay on the ocean ice pack, sometimes they wander into town.
We do our very best to get them out of town, back onto the ocean ice. Sometimes
that is not possible and we have to take them down quick, due to the fact there are children outside in the village. This year three bears entered town, two of those bears had to be taken down quickly, as they were trying to gain access into homes.. A mother with three cubs entered town.. We were successfull in getting that mother and those cubs, out of town back onto the ocean ice.

The bear and the meat is the responsibility of the hunter, the skin is worked on by the women. It takes many women to perform a "Native Tan" on the skin using very sharp Ulu knives. This can take as much as ten hours or more.



These women work hard to scrape that skin clean, this is not an easy task to accomplish. Sally Killigvuk, the mother of the hunter with the polar bear. Elizabeth Oviok (postmaster) work hard with these other women. Six - Eight women will spend the entire day, working on this skin, when that skin is cleaned, then it is put into the ocean, tied up to soak for a week or two, then it is placed up on a rack in the strong north winds to dry, for many months.



Well we live a simple life in a very dangerous place, under the harshest conditions known to man on the entire face of the earth. We would not have it any other way.
Believe it or not, YOU are all invited to take part in whaling festival next June in Point Hope !! A three day non-stop event held every year (coming soon).
J.J. Russell Lane, displays the skin of his very first polar bear.
J.J. caught two whales this year! His first, and His second.
Khristopher Nashookpuk caught these two bears, in fact his girlfriend took down the big one.!!






Well I truely hope that you found this all "bear-y" interesting !

Lots more to come, lets go back to the ocean ice and see what happens when a whale is received !!

Am I alone in not being able to view the images in this thread?

All i see is a series of blue '?' where images are supposed to be

Mark

Up till yesterday I saw the images but today that's all I'm getting as well.

I just found this thread and no images! d'oh!

I apologize for the temporary breakdown in the links.

A (mindless hacker) took down one of the servers at startlogic.com. hundreds of web sites went down. mine included. immediately after this happend, someone ??? decided to overwhelm my e-mail account with massive amonuts of very dangerous viruses which have been neutralized before they reach my computer here in the Artic. The police in Anchorage have been notified, Start logic .com has notified the FBI; as much damage was done including the destruction of many MYSQL databases that will take a bit of time to repair or rebuild.

I took this opportunity to apply for SSL certificates for my web site as our online store featuring Inupiaq Arts & Crafts is about to go online.

The server is back up and working, but I have to wait for the SSL certificates to become valid.

SO FOR THE NEXT WEEK.. these images will not be visible on any forum, including this one that I am currently working on.

This also gives me a chance to fix somethings that are very wrong with my web site when it was first originally designed by me ( a rookie at web design)

I am very sorry for the inconvience in this thread coming to a screeching halt.

I PROMISE YOU everything should be back to normal in one weeks time.


this educational, interesting, informative, lifestyle / culture thread WILL CONTINUE, with all photographs.

I haven't even reached the half way point of this thread YET !!!!!! There is so much more to come that no doubt you will enjoy so much.

A sneak preview of what is about to happen:

A whale is caught.


whaling festival.


cape thompson. google : project chariot


July 4th games, races, parades umiaq races.

The Barge Arrives (yearly event)

and.. .. so much more !!!

hundreds of spectacular photographs with stories and spell binding text that will amaze you.. THEN...

THE WIERD HAPPENINGS of what happens out on the vast empty regions of the EMPTY ? tundra..

this last chapter you will find very amazing, interesting and IMPOSSIBLE to believe!!

so for the next week... I am sorry to say.. we wait!!

Oh, Majik! I think you took the photos away just to increase the suspense.

I look forward eagerly to their return in a week or so. Good luck with your website redesign.

NO!! absolutely not !!! I wish I could go on.. I dont like being stuck like this!!

believe me! As soon as I can, these images will show up. It has nothing to do with the re-design I want to impart to this web site. but rather I have to wait for the certificates to propagate and of course be checked out by GeoTrust and other firms to authenticate my certificates !!

Back up and working !! sorry for the inconvience. SSL is on hold due to a different problem which will be resolved soon enough, hopefully. so back to the ice to receive a whale and see what happens.



Beluga whales have been caught and divided and quickly brought back to the village for the elders as shares.
Beluga whale looks almost exactly like a dolphin. They are (maktauk) (muck tock) instead of Maktak. (muck tuck)

Fresh beluga is delicious when boiled and eaten with "mustard" ! It is grey in color and I enjoy beluga much more so than whale. Although I am from back east in Boston I still miss the food from back east.! Pizza !, fried clams and steamers and lobster.!

Alaska King Crab is a delicacy and is much sought after but visitors. It is one of the main foods that tourists crave. Salmon, King crab, are just two of the food items tourists search for when arriving in Anchorage.



1 A.M. in the morning and this crew is ready to head out. Something seems to be happening and more and more umiaqs are leaving the camps to head out south.

I am not aware of what is going on, I just notice that people are leaving.

and a lot of conversation is going on that I am not understanding


A world of ice, in all directions, except for the narrow lead opening which grows and opens wider and sometimes closes when that wind shifts.




Twenty-Four hours a day, sitting, watching, looking, waiting, days on end, NO SLEEP. The wind is constant, it is strong, it is cold, each "" day "" is the same. Whcih day of which week of which month is irrelevant, it doesn't matter, nothing matters except to accomplish the work, to obtain FOOD...

no pay... no unemployment.. .. no funds.. .. no sponsers.. .. .. it takes a whole year, just to get "ready" to begin!! This hunt is extremly hard work in the worst conditions imagineable. It was impossible to capture images in "bad" weather, nothing but a white horizontal snow wall moving past you. In white out conditions you cannot see but a foot or so in front of you.. if that .


NOW. with some modern technologies we can communicate along that vast ten mile or so "gaunlet" of whaling captains & crews that are "hidden" behind & in the ice.

Not only do the captains at the edge of the ice have C.B. radios & VHF radios, the tent areas and the homes back in the village can all stay in touch with each other over many different channels.. Ch68 for VHF and CH2 for C.B. and the static is always heard, and adjusted, and then the familiar voice comes over and is heard in every camp and home throughout the village.. .. .. Can You hear me now ?


When a whale has been caught, a FLAG IS put up so other crews can see where EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY must converge to the help organize the enormous work that lies ahead. NO SLEEP for days & days, !!!
the hunters are at the ready constanly, in any weather, the sun provides the power to keep going, on and on and on!!
Everything is white and blinding, constanly!

But every now and again, for some reason, it is time to go home. Hi honey, I'm home.. .. .. .. mmm that smells so good ...

One by one, umiaqs and crews are taking off from the ocean ice. Something is going on, I guess this is serious, so I head, to see which crew I can come upon that is close to my area.



This is Ernie Frankson's crew, casting off, getting ready to wait for a whale, the time has come, after six long weeks of sitting and waiting, and watching in this frozen cold windy climate of ice and brilliant sun. a cloudy day is always a relief for me.


Each and every crew I reach is just leaving as I approach them. whew I am out of breath, walking carrying all of this camera and tripod. fully dressed I have over 38 pockets !!! ha ha.. !! Having a simple system for placing items in my pocket(s) was always a very disclipined procedure, because it is so easy to loose things that can't be found with that many pockets, just to discover at a much later time, oh, there it is!
Out here on the ice, I was a dumb as could be. simple obvious things such as drinking water was a complete mystery to me. Where is all this delicious fresh drinking water coming from ??? I just wasn't observent enough to notice in the begining.
Take any large piece of ice and stand it up. brush all the snow off the top and most of the sides. We gotta take the salt out of the ice, out here in the middle of frozen no where. We use the sun for that, and or sand! We wait.. ... .. and the sun beats down on that ice and the ice begins to become "clear" at the top. Wait and the ice will become clearer and clearer going down into the ice deeper and deeper. NOw walk over to that ice with your Kettle and chip the ice horizontally and fill your kettle with the most delicious drinking water you have ever tasted !!!




Floyd Oktollik is looking back at me, and I know exactly what he is thinking! "what is that dumb city boy from Boston going to do next"?
when they left I walked over to that calm spot to the right of the umiaq and stuck the tips of my bunny boots over the edge just about 2 inches and stood tall, My camera strap is abound my neck, I moved my hands and arms behind me and stodd just a little bit taller.. hey look at me.. this is so kewl. and I am here absolutly alone, everyone is gone, The women are all behind me 3/4 of a mile or closer. but for all practical purposes I am here alone. Six weeks out here, I am getting very used to it. I am somewhat cold but comfurtable. I gaze down at that water that is just like black glass. so calm like a mirror, not the slightest movement at all. I am starring at that one area, it is black glass.. so black, so calm, not even the slighest ripple of movement of water at all.. blink blink and ther is a huge hole in the water ? hmm?? I could have easily reaced over and stuck my foot right down into that huge hole. a big bowling ball would have fit in with room to "spare" !(pun intended).

There was absolutly no warning whatso ever. WHOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!
OMG. what a stink.. 5,000 gallons of "whale-aid' is raining down me.. oh what a stink..OMG. gag. running for my life to get the heck out of there and I am in the middle of a rainstorm of stink and yuk all over me!!! I am soaking wet all over, and I can't breathe because of this gosh awful smell of yuk.. I am running and I know what is about to happen.. Ice is forming all over me, I can hear it craking and falling and every place on me that is "dripable" if freezing and I approach the nearest camp all out of breath.. huffing and puffing and gaging and choking.

when them women looked up and saw me they instantly knew what had happend and they fall over into hysterical fits of uncontrollable laughter, NO STAY AWAY.. DON'T CME NEAR US. GEt back.. I tried to hand my camera over to one of the women to take a photo of me.. NO STAY BACK AND THEY ran into the tent.. STAY OUT.. GET BACK.. AND I could hear the high srhill of laughter as they threw out two towels for me to clean up! gosh that stink I will never forget. but I do want to know.. I want to ask two questions.. and some day I want the answer.
who? beside them women ... who laughed the hardest and the loudest.. that whale or the "persona" that sent it !!!!!!!
JONAH had his experience with a beast from the sea and it is written in a book called the bible.
I have had my true experience with a whale, and it is written on this web site and many others!!

BUT, ..I truely want to know.. whose idea was that ??.. that was tooo well precisesly and prefectloy executed with no knowledge of what was about to happen. Yes whales have a great sense of humor.! I only wish I had a photograph to show all the ice I was encase in !!! cracking all over my parky and everyting, I was a mess! cold and it stunk !!

Some of these same women still today, after all of those years.. just fall into fits of laughter when they see me about the village.!!!



IRMA OKTOLLIK explians to me the way of the whale. We are one with that whale.

It is impossible for us to "chase" a whale in that small umiaq, that whale can swim very fast, and deep, One flip of the tail or the flippers and the crew is gone, that does not happen. those whales know we are in the water, they are very smart.
Whales can see, they can hear.. .. and they can smell. whales are like little children, some are shy and timid, some like to play hide & seek, and some are pround and show off and boastfull, making a big show of their gift to us.

We wait... .. .. for that whale to give itself over to the captain of its choice.!!! This is something the world does not know. A whale will always match the personality of the captain that it gives itslef over to, no matter which year it is, and so does the weather. !! Each captain has his own personalilty & the whale will always match that captains personality no matter which year it is,,, t hat whale will always do the same thing, for that captain each and every year!

Some captains will never receive a whale because of their (bad) personality. Whales some how know this and respond accordingly.

WAIT & WATCH Irma said to me, laughing, she can see the look on my face, she knows I dont believe what she is saying, (we know better.. right??) Well . I don't know how to explian this. just to repeat what Irma said, using her exact words. I still don't understand all of this, but I am amazed beyond what words can ever express on how these people truely are one with nature and the animals.

Wait & watch Irma said to me. This year it is a very warm year ( it was 25 below) I dont consider that very warm at all, to me it is freezing indeed. Irma laughs. This is Joes weather. she added. laughing, watch, When Joe receives a whale it is all over very quickly she said. he will receive that whale near the edge of the ice.
but she added (laughing) when he harpoons that whale, It will die and give up quiclly, still & dead. The wind will come screaming in at over 100 miles an hour and the temperature will drop by 100 degrees as well. you better be prepared she said and laughed. Ididn't believe one word of it I have to admit, it all sounded preposterous to me.
So with much skeptisim I moved my camera and tripod over to Joes crew up high above him and behind him on the huge ice pressure ridges.
A very close personal friend of mine frmo Boston, Brad Parker came up to visit and view this intriguing experience. We were sitting up there, playing chess, looking at the board. we didnot notice or hear Joe's crew slip silently into the water, we were concentrating on the board and we hear BOOM (exploding harpoon). I look up to see a dead whale about 30 foot long beside Joes Umiaq, as I got up that wind came screaming in, the temperature was oh so cold and bitter and Joe was standing up .. into the wind, arms outstretched with a smile on his face.
HOw did that woman know, and explain everytihng so perfectly, two weeks before it ever happened I will never know or understand how she called it all so perfectlly!!


A whale giving itself over to the captain, and the actions of the whale will always be the same no matter which year it is.
I have been on 5 sacred whale hunts, each of the five years,
one whale
two whales
one whale
two whales
four whales

last year no whales, this year 3 whales

that is not much food for a community of this size and getting bigger each year.

There are many things that happen up there that just do not make sense to me!
If you have an explanation that makes any kind of sense please tell me, because I am totaly clueless how some of these skills are ever explained. One captain has a personality that is hidden.. his whale will always hide under the ice and he has to use his nose to find it.. !!! now how it is ever possible to smell through ice ten feet thick is way beyond my comprehension or understanding!!

A whale has been received: FOOD !!!
The celebration breaks out all over the ice.

Myra Lisbourned age 75 went running down to the edge of the ice to help these two captains carry the most prized portion of that whale up to the nearest sled.
I can't understand how she can do this. it is freezing out and she has no gloves on.


the flippers are rushed back to the village and the church bell is rung over and over and over and everyone still in the village knows what that means. SUCCESS!
the flippers are brough to every home of all the elders for close and careful inspection.

We do not want the big huge whales, they are just too much work and too tough. We want the "teenagers". 30 - 50 foot whales are our favorite.!

Now the real work begins. We have a 48 foot whale here. A ton per foot. That is an enormus weight to pull out of the ocean and onto the ice using people power only !!!
Calvin Oktollik is standing in the umiaq. The huge chunk of blulbber is cut out of the back of the whale in the back of the whale. it is visible in the lower right hand corner under the water.



First we eat before the hard work begins. A fresh whale cannot be eaten in the traditional manner which is raw & frozen. This blubber must be cooked, boiled. Everyone eats as the equipment is rounded up to pull this massive animal out of the ocean. This is very dangerous work. Back breaking work, exhausting work.

Hundreds of people are needed, EVERY-BODY is needed. Hey put that camera away and get in line I was told. I had to obey. but at one point in a long pause to adjust some equipment I was able to get out of line briefly and capture this image.

This is very dangerous work, the amount of weight is incredible 48 tons.

This is no easy task. anything can happen out here and sometimes does, in many tragic ways.

Barrow Alaska 1991 (no pics) Same exact situation: this is the dangerous part. Pulling all that weight with hundreds of people in a concentrated effort of raw strength in precise movements. The captain was noticing that the block & tackle was takingn on a huge strain when pulling the last portion of that whale upon the ice. He turned around and noticed 3 caucasian nurses from the hospital standing too close on one side. he motioned to them, He pointed to them, He shouted to them.. MOVE BACK, GET BACK. get off the way, they started to move, then stopped as the captain turned around, resumed the work at hand. Satisfied that everything was ok, he gave the command to pull.. and that "O" ring snapped.

The block & tackle speed through the air like a speeding bullet, I always noticed up here, that when people die, it is usually because they did not LISTEN & obey the very last words spoken to them.
Two women were decapitated immediately & suddenly, that mess smacked into the third lady who survived, but will never regain from her vegetable like state or condition. That had to be cleaned up quickly, prayers said & back to work. The ice is a very dangerous place. Anything can happen!


update: I was just informed by a member on CITY-DATA (Floyd Davidson)

He heard from a friend THAT this did not happen, and I was (discusting) for typing it out in this manner. ( I made a terrible mistake) and as such I must honestlly apologize for that mistake. (We were always told, it was TWO women who died)

that is not true. Only ONE woman died.! ( yes I am a very terrible person) for making that mistake..

AND oH !! THEY WERE NOT TOLD TO GET OUT OF THE WAY.
I got banned from City-Data dot com..

Megansmom (South Carolina) insisted I am not allowed to post images, on a photo forum of these people, and that I am not supposed to use real peoples names.
This woman insisted I was lying. and spent pages and pages harrasing me.
Each time I provided the proof. she picked another issue to hassle me about.

This has been posted on over 50 web photo fourms all over the internet.

Only 3 people have made these absurd mindless claims that I did not take these images and that I am lying.

I assure you. all it takes is one phone call to Point Hope to verify anything I have said, posted and writen.!




We had a very tough time with this whale, 48 tons= seventeen hours of backbreaking work, exhausted, tons of blubber had to be removed, before we could pull this massive animal upon the ice. Eveyrone is happy that this is finally finished, Now the work of dividing it all up as shares for each of the different crews, in order of how they reached this whale after the captain had harpooned it.



This is something I will never understand, I have seen it happen on 5 whale hunts. when that hunt is over, even though we are still out on the ocean ice. The whales know, when we are finshed.
All during the migration, during the hunt, these whales do not lift their tails out of the water when going past the point. Some how when this hunt is over, these whales know it, then, and only then, do they lift their tails out of the water as they pass by !!
As if to say, see you again, next year ! These whales have been passing this point for many many thousands of years, they know the hunters are here, they have a unique sense of smell, sight and humor, whales are like little children, they play and pass through here by the tens of thousands.. every year. we see them ! This is our food, for over 2,600 years !


After pullinlg up that whale, every one is exhausted, sitting down, resting, others are still working, I hear a big shout behind me.. 'Hey Dave" !!
I turnd around to see these three teenagers, sitting and smiling -=[click]=-

Once the whale is upon the ice then the elders carefully show the younger whalers how to divide a whale in the traditional manner. Point Hope is the only village that still uses the old traditional methods of whaling.

Dividing up this whale will take a couple to three days, then a few more days to get it all off the ice, back to the village and stored in the homes or siglauk (underground deep storage) units built deep into the permafrost.



Blubber= maktak (muk tuk) flammablel fat is the preferred diet of every eskimo above the Arctic circle. This is what these people live for, this food. this is their passion for all the incredibly hard work involved .. .. .. .. .. "just to eat"
But agencies and commmissions must loosen their grip on the indeginious peoples of the world. A motion is going before the United Nations this Dec. To allow the indeginious peoples the RIGHT TO EAT their foods in their manner with NO MORE OUTSIDE influences. These people waste nothing, they have never depleted any of the natural resources, the animals are in great abundance. But 3 is not enough to feed 800 people

Once the lip has been removed then the hundreds of slats of baleen are visible.
This is a much prized substance for many different purposes and uses.
Sears; in the late 1800's and earlly 1900s sold very popular corsets for women that had baleen slats sewn inside to keep the womans shape.!!

All of the baleen is covered with very fine strong black hairs on the edge of each piece, running the entire length of each piece. This is how the whale sifts the plankton from the water, through the hairs.
Baleen baskets are in huge demand the world over. This rare and intricate designs are sought after the world over and comand huge prices, which are snatched up very quickly.
For some families, this is their only source of income for the year, Making baleen baskets!! This is a long arduous process that takes an incredible amount of work to construct (later).


The Skull is all that remains, nothing is wasted. This head bone is given back to the ocean from where the gift came from. I swear there was more rejocing over this part, than any other part of the hunt!


NEXT: Whaling Festival, blanket toss, This is not what you think it is!!!!!!!!!

do you think NFL football is tough ? No.. NFL FOOTBALL has rules !!!

BLANKET TOSS HAS NO RULES: no referees, no equipment, the players ? the oldest women in the village, as in 80 years & up; compete, diving, jumping, running blocking, throwing anything goes, diving head first into the gravel to get the "prize" (more soon) !

UPDATE: here in Barrow we met and spoke with people that were down on the ice when that accident happened.

TWO WOMENS HEADS WERE decapitaed smashed, when the block & tackle hit them in the HEAD. the real reason that person kept insisiting I was lying was to get me off that forum.

We spoke with too many people that verfied this. One of the hunters that was down on the ice was given a bag to pick up.. the remains of brain matter. Pieces of skulls with hair attached had to be picked up tHE POLICE took everyones cameras out of respect for the deceased.! I am extremly careful what I type. I only type facts as I have experienced and heard of.

The newspaper article of my friend who was eaten by a polar bear is posted on my Blog of ICE.

This is just finished, just off the cutting table so to speak:

Using a Panasonic FZ 50 DSLR: This movie of Eskimo drums & dance was filmed this weekend. The quality is exceleent. The original size of the *mov was 109 meg
converted to avi = 14 meg, using the microsoft movie maker this is now only 2.68 MEG !!!

@ 320 x 240 the view is more than adequate to see, hear, live, Eskimo dance of the TIKIGAQMUIT in Action:

The drummer at the far left, is young Erin Tyler, that boy that saved Robert Kingiks life when he went down through the slush and sank!

The Dance 2.7 meg

@ 640 x 480 this is just great !!

Luke & Daisy 5.7 meg

Irma Hunnicut & her three grandaughters @ 640 x 480 8 meg

Irma & the girls


A Cast of Many

4.71 meg @ 320 x 240 2 minutes 22 seconds !





I will post lots more here soon !!!

Blanket Toss = Nalakutaq

Blanket Toss was originally design and carried out hundreds/ thousands of years ago to toss a hunter into the air to see if anysigns of animal migration could be seen far away on the horizon.

Today however Blanket toss has a different purpose & meaning for traditional culture. anyone may get on that blanket and go for a "ride" so to speak.

But any mother that has had or delivered a "FIRST BORN SON" MUST get on the blanket with Prizes to throw. That mother may or can have, hands full of money, bills or coins, she may have many valuable furs to throw, or maybe a bag full of candy. anything goes for the prize to throw.

The oldest women in the village are here to collect it all. If any child gets his hand on anything, it is going to be a bad year for hunting next year and these elderly women play for keeps. diving, blocking that child. running, jumping, grabbing and throwing that person out of the way for them to grasp that prize. This all happens so fast it is impossible to capture due to the fact I was bent over in hysterical laughter.

It is not as easy as it looks, and some people soar high into the sky, and everyone has to run like hell because the wind can catch that person and move them quite a few meters away from the original launching area.

Sometimes Oops.. Gravity Takes over !!

Whaling festival begins with the successful captains umiaqs being honored as well as the members of each of the crews.

Visitors from all parts of Alaska and even some far away countries such as Russia, Japan and Frnace manage to end up here for this 3 day event. Even some people as guests showed up this year from New Orleans.



There are two clans left in the village of Point Hope, a far cry from the 20 or so that used to exist here before the arrival of the whaling companies. This festival is being held at Unigsicsiikauq. On the westt side of the village. Kamaktoaq is on the east side of the village. But this year we are celebrating because the successful capatins are each of that clan.

J.J. Russel Lane is being honored by his mother "Suyuk" and J. J.'s wife Anavak is in the fur parky to the right.


Each crew has its umiaq that was used in the hunt. 18 whaling captains, camped out for over two months and only 3 whales were received, we had just 10 attempts. Striking a whale is not something that is easily accomplished with such strict rules placed against these people. These meaningless laws and restrictions must be lifted so we can feed our people in the traditional manner which we need to survive.

These are a proud people. This is June and the wind is very strong, These flags are straight out all day long, those winds gust well over 50 mph at times. This wind is constant all year around with very severe wind storms that shake these house. You call then hurricanes, when the wind gets that strong, Here in the village it is just another day. Everything goes on as usual but with a bit more difficulty.


Elizabeth Oviok, Postmaster for the village of Point Hope (currently) is handing out a rare treat, fermented whale meat = "mikiaq" (mick E uck); this is supposed to be delicious. NO THANKS.. I will pass on this. This meat is very dangerous, it can kill you, if you have had any sugar during the day of consumption. So you better think very carefully before you eat this delicacy. any fruit, soda pop, candy, sugar of any type will cause the person to die from botulisim !! When this meat is eaten is gives off toxic gases which "boil" in the stomach and they are released and no harm can befall the person, but if any sugar is present, the surface of that "boiling" substance being digested will harden over as a hard crust and the gases cannot escape. Heny Attanguana a good friend died from such an event in 1989, He forgot, he had a can of soda pop earlier in the day. (this is true and very verifiable). I will pass today on this rare treat, I have a two day old piece of pizza in my backpack fermenting between two peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.
I am playing it safe!

blanket toss and the mothers of a first born son, get to throw gifts to the elders. But this is not as easy as it looks. Trying to ballance and walk on the blanket is no easy task with your hands full



trying to throw it some times jsut tears the bag and it gets gathered up and given to the elders. they always come first @ festival and other celebrations.



Learning how to "walk" the blanket when it is in motion is not easy to do. some women dance. some loose balance and some just go in differnt ways.






I think they call that Inertia. when you throw something one way and you go in the opposite direction.



Do you know ? when you call some companies on the telephone, they put you on hold and they play that "musak" ? Well I gotta put you on hold for just a bit !! Hope you don't mind ..

I have some eskimo music, and informal dance for you to download & enjoy




Dancing:

http://majikimaje.com/Dance/Luke.wmv

http://majikimaje.com/Dance/Henry.wmv

http://majikimaje.com/Dance/Irma.wmv

http://majikimaje.com/Dance/TheEnd.wmv

Whaling festival was held on June10th this year. That day was chosen because, J.J. Lane the first whale caught of his and of the season. he got to choose the date. The day was of his wife's birthday !

June 8th a very strong north wind was blowing and it cracked the landfast ice. The wind took it all out to sea, One last umiaq is in the waters on the 9th. trying despertly to receive one more whale. IT never happend. My son Jesse is sitting on top of this huge piece of ice.

I got inspired by this photograph and decided to use it for my new blog which I entitled.. "A BLOG OF ICE"

I try to be clever at times... Majik Imaje is the initials of my four inupiaq sons.

The children of this village fascinate me. I just love to walk up and catch them in rare and funny situations.

These sisters, Whitney & Ebony and a boy from next door; Eli, are just having a great time.

I walked up, and just had to get them laughing, they look so adorable just sitting there.

what no palm trees.

ed in florida

fantastic writing and images.

How do you cope with digital imaging in these conditions?

Henrik

PS: I should have taken that job in Nuuk, Greenland :-) but couldn't leave daughter at home

I'm seeing everything, no probs today.

Majik,

This is an amazing "documentary" you posted here. It's definitely not what I expected here, but it is great! You did a great job of portraying what life is like in those parts.

It's tough for most of us to imagine, since it's so "foreign" compared to what we're used to.

But it's fascinating!

Thanks for posting!

-Bill

Fantastic stuff, only just came across the thread - absolutely fascinating !!


simon

Tived - To answer your question about the use of digital under these conditions,

Yes & No...! No is the most obvious answer, miles out on the ocean ice. But it also depends on the weather (of course) Some times it is very cold and a digital will not last under those conditions. My camera(s) always had ice all over them, mounted on a tripod for hours / days at a time. Carrying the cameras was is cumbersome, walking around on the ice which at times is quite a chore.

Put it this way.. Using film.. you cannot go wrong, with digital it is a toss up.. Once that camera freezes @ 30 - 50 below.. nothing that requires the use of batteries, will not last very long.

I use mechanical camera(s) that do not require the use of batteries to function.

i.e. Pentax K1000 Mamiya RB 67

but now, I have a digital camera, I have mixed feelings... I do not like that "magaziney type look" FILM has "soul" that digital cannot match!

So to review just a bit of what you have seen so far... Whaling (April - May).

Whaling Festival, (June)

July is just as exciting starting off with 4th of July parade and games and activities that last the entire day far into the evening, ending at Midnight! Then the "dancing" begins for hours! These people know how to have fun and celebrate.

Now although this is July, it is not HOT.. well yes it is 30 degrees with an ever present North Wind but it is too warm for what we are comfortable with. The following images of this season speak for themselves,.. sorta.. !!













Deva Stone, sob, cry. A very close friend, sob. I honestly can't understand how her Momma can possibly get up, to face the "day" each day. SOB. CRY!
Rosella Stone is her momma, and I have been very close to Rosella since 1981, I don't know how this woman can wake up, and smile. She has buried.. ..
six of her Children ! Sob, all very close close personal friend of mine and I grieve so much to think about these six individuals that I was so so close to.

Rosella Stone is a miracle worker here in the village, she hs gifted with "healing hands" she is a tribal doctor. I could litlerally spend hours telling you about tribal doctors and what they can achieve that defies all of what we think we know about modern medicine. Perhaps the most famous Tribal Doctor ever was Della Keats from Kotzeube, she is a lengend here in the Arctic.

Deva & Her Husband Ned Weber @ whaling festival.



Ned & Deva had a daughter, Rose-ann. She was adopted by Rossella.

Rose-Ann was over my house, lots, she was very interested in my youngest son Khristopher, she was 18, My sons, especially Khristopher, would teach her how to make Ivory bracelets, she was interested in learning how to carve Ivory and make extra money as she had no job. Khris is 19. I CONSTANTLYkept telling Rose-Anne.. (half-pint) was my "nickname for her as she was very tiny. I constantlyl harped and preached to her, DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL I have seen too many people die up here over that deadly filthy vain vice. I do not drink alcohol only because I "saw" too much when I was growing up as a teenager.

RoseAnne is gone now, sob.. .. .. 18 years young, went to a PARTY. (gosh how I hate that word). went to a party and died when she passed out from too much alcohol and choked on her vomit.!!! My son was devastated when the news reached us here in Barrow.

Lets look, from the air and see, up close and personal what is going on up here in this vast huge unexplored & UN-inhabited area for all practical purposes.

Leaving Pt. Hope.. .. bye bye !!




A few minutes into the flight we pass the Kupak river..



Oh .. I smile BIG as I see and remember what happend to me here. TOTALLY PREPOSTEROUS!



My Experience here !



Lets take a trip and explore some of the land here in the Arctic.

some of what I am about to tell you will seem preposterous, but just ask ANY PERSON that lives in any village from

Nome clear up to Barrow, all of the villages of the entire North Slope Region, will tell you that what I am about to TRY AND EXPLAIN is "true". Do I have photos ? not yet, but working on it, there has to be a way to prove this.

with recent giant advances in technology I am sure it will become possible to "catch" & record proof of the Ignaugalurauks.. .. The Little People, that live underground, and in caves here above the Arctic circle.

This is no legend, or folklore, as new sightings are prevelant constantly, each and every year.!!

I will tell you stories and provide photographs of all that "can be seen" in this vast huge expanse of area of several hundred thousand of square miles. THINGS HAPPEN OUT HERE.. .. ... ... that just do not make sense!!

For instance.. ha ha.. you are NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT I AM ABOUT TO EXPLAIN.. you have to be here to experience

these happenings, no matter what I type, you will be very skeptical and doubtful ONLY because.. you know better, this does not happen where YOU LIVE.

therefore: ??



Lets start.. .. at the beginning so you have a better understanding of what is going on up here.. .. frequently, reports abound.. .. in each and every village!!

This is a vast area we are talking about in square miles.

roughly the size of ALL the New England STATES put together.. .. EMPTY !!

Ok.. nOW A Long TIME before the whaling companies arrived .. .. .. The Ingnakalaurak's LIVED AMONG the people of Point Hope.

One of their young was eaten by a dog.. .. and they moved out of the village. These people are small, 3-4 feet in height!

They live the ol ways, to this very day, dressed in caribou skins. They still hunt with bow & arrow. They live underground, and in caves all throughout this vast area.

They possess super human qualities, that you WILL NEVER BELIEVE:

They are incredibly strong and they can run, incredibly fast.. they sneak around the villages "stealing food".

When any hunter, shoots and kills a caribou, it requires two adult Inupiaq men to lift that caribou to place on a sled. It only takes ONE Ingnakalaurak to pick one up ...........and RUN WITH IT. Over his head (person carrying animal) running, with a dead caribou. Bush Pilots have reported seeing caribou.. moving, quickly, in a horizontal position

Well, lets stop right here and let me extend an invitation to you. Anyone, come on up here, talk to the bush pilots.

They will tell you.. what they have seen with their own eyes, but you will not believe them, becuase, YOU KNOW BETTER. even though you have never been up here or heard of this before.

Come on up !! See and experience it for yourself.

HAVE I GOT YOUR ATTENTION NOW ??



good. I have no need to lie or exagerate about any of what goes on up here. I have no problem with the truth however I do have a huge problem with Liars and phoneies. that is why I stay up here in the Arctic.. Heaven on Earth. IMHO.

Luke Koonuk Jr. was recently, out hunting, many miles from Point Hope, Imagine this, you travel hundreds of miles into a vast empty area, Luke's 4 wheel honda was stuck in the mud. He had tried and tried and tried to lift, move or budge it to get it out of the ruts to get free. He was exhausted bent over huffing and puffing, Exausted, bent over,.. .. suddenly out of the corner of his eye he sees,.............His honda rise in the air and come bouncing down on firmer ground and somethibng, a blur, was running away.

When ANY HUNTER IS LOST.. .. .. stuck. .. .. in trouble.. these people appear out of no where to assist and wisk away..Gone in a flash.

TOO MANY people up here have had too many experiences,.. .. !! I could go on and on with stories of what goes on up here and I promise to tell .. all I have experienced during my almost 3 decades of living among the Inupiaq peoples.



Hunters, experienced hunters often talk about caribou that they have shot & killed. Dead. & it disappears before they reach it.

Make no mistake, these people are very good in what they do, they are perhaps the best hunters in the world.

Jump on a 4 wheel honda or a snowmobile, and go 200 miles out into this empty region.....@ 50 below zero and stay out there for weeks... YOu see a caribou and shoot it, it falls down, motionless, they wait and watch. have a smoke. wait and watch. We do not waste time out here, driving. gas is too expensive. well over 5,00 per gallon for years up here.

That caribou is dead, said Joe Oktillik, I got on my machine and drove over those hills,. and ?? where is it? I know this is the spot, there is no blood anyplace, no tracks to the left or the right and no tracks going straight ahead...The last place I looked Joe said.. .. was up ! Caribou is gone, no tracks?



This happens a lot up here.



I am not going to waste time here tring to convince anyone. Come on up.. .. go out there.;. and see what happens. I can be your guide. Or connect you to a reputable source. The best time to come on up here, is in June during whaling festival, in Barrow; I live here now, and I am inviting any and all that wish to see, experience, life in the arctic. Although my house is small, I can comfortably fit 4 people @ any time. I have two spare rooms in my two story house here in Barrow Alaska. There are 5 adults living in this toasty warm house and two rooms to spare for any who wish to visit the Arctic @ the top of the world in Barrow. There are also a few hotels in town, but they do not offer free home cooked meals,5 times per day if necessary !!!

So lets talk about "what goes on up here in the arctic... ... ...

STRANGE THINGS YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE!!!!

there is so much more to come.!!!

This is ground zero, for finding fossil ivory, the best in the state because of the constantly changing swift currents, which are controlled by the strong winds


This one of the main beaches we hunt for fossil ivory, located some 30 miles north of the village. This is one of the great hot spots for ivory due to the swift, strong, changing currents in this area. May - Sept, people live out here for weeks on end, digging, walking, moving huge rocks, climbing cliffs and searching high and low.

The end of August in one area, this fossil ivory floats up and along the beach @ midnight. That is the best time to sit and wait and watch, People stay out here, waiting for an East wind to kick up the surf, and in storms people are out, waiting watching, You can "hear" the ivory in the waves, that distinctive "ping" as gravel hits the ivory as it is tumbling in the waves, some people have tied ropes to their waist and are secured as they run into the waves to "fetch" a piece that is seen. Some of these "baseball" bat size fossil tusks fetch many thousands of dollars when sold. The darker the ivory is, the more valuable it is. Black Ivory is said to be 10,000 years old, for it to achieve that state of absorbing all of the elements of the sea, Point Hope has the most dramatic fossil Ivory that I have seen any place. In Barrow the fossil ivory is different. because it just "sits" in the sand, the patterns are dull instead of sharp, dark contrasting patterns, such as we find here in Point Hope. But non-the-less, fossil ivory is a way of life up here. After any storm, get out on your honda or just walk the shoreline, put in the time.. .. and you will find it. I guarantee you it will sell in less than a new york second and that is pretty fast !@!

After flying for an hour an a half, we come across the next village, Point Lay,

250 people, if that, Live in this village.



Very few jobs in such a tiny village, and people have to provide a way / manner in which to live without having a "job". What are the other choices ? Hunt, fish, for food, Arts & Crafts, for cash ! The Barge has arrived, which is an annual event that all villages depend upon. Seattle - Top of the World with stops in each village usually lasting 3-5 days to unload the materials needed to survive through the next winter.



The don't go whaling in Pt. Lay, too far out, too much work, they do hunt beluga whales & walrus & plents of "fish" of all types, but for whaling, different people travel to different villages to take part in which is undoublty the best two months of the year. Living out on the ocean ice .. .. just can't be put into words, I can't. The rush, the excitement, another world, another planet ! HIGH IN THE ARCTIC .. .. !!

After another 1 1/2 hours we come upon the village of Wainwright, Population about 650. Nothing else exists upon the land between these villages for "human type" cities, settlements. this vast region is empty. ?? ha ha ha !



People, ?? have been spotted, observed, in all of these village areas, during the winter time, when it is dark out, & even when "light" out, as was reported by many individuals one July in 1988. It was about 2:a.m. in the moring, sun is bright and just like 2 in the afternoon in the summer, nice and bright.

3 different individuals from three different homes, looked out their kitchen window, toward.. Kamaqtoak "this was their view"



this image and the snow fence way off to the left side, This event took place between the 2 large whale bones and the snow fence. I must admit when I first heard this.. from a close friend, I did not beieve it one bit, then another person from a different house told me the same story, I still did not believe. Then a person who witnessed this told me what he had seen.. I was shocked, astounded and my mouth was hanging wide open, only because this person was not an Eskimo.

I had known him for many years, and we spoke quite often and I was amazed at his articulate speech & intelligence, He was very well educated in California.

When Joe told me this story the hair stood right up on the back of my neck.

This was a different Joe, 800 miles away, near Nome. Joe Garney, He has been on television on the history channel and I have met him in person and we spoke for over 4 hours, whew.

But Joe Cassados in Pt. Hope was telling me what he saw during the daylight hours. Something black, darker than black, was "spooked" behind the snowfence, looking, agitated, scared. He darted out from behind the snow fence and ran to the bones @ Kamaktauk. He is scared, hyper-active, peeking from out behind the big bone, looking in all directions scared, This "blacker than black" figure is noticeably very afraid of "something' ?

Then this figure all "black" - blacker than black. darted out from behind the bones and started to run back towards the snowfence. STOPPED. half way... and just a figure skater will spin, on the ice... this figure began to spin,.. ... on the dry tundra,...

and went down, down, down, clear out of sight !

Joe Garney in a small village near Nome Alaska tells a story much similiar of blacker than black figure with red eyes.. walking acrouss the tundra as the figure is going down down .. just like it is walking down "invisible stairs".

Quite a few sightings in the last couple of years in Point Hope of these red eyed figures, Darting quickly under a house, and disappearing.



One particular hunting cabin outside of the village near some very old graves, this cabin had to be burned down and destroyed. Stranger than strange events took place on a very regular basis here. Witnessed by too many people from Pt.Hope reported, hearing someone knocking on the door, Faces in windows when no one else was around. Objects flying through the air inside of the house. This house was burned down because of the repeated freaky events that took place on a regular basis.

Hello from the Top of the world; Barrow Alaska




Barrow has a long old history, well over 1000 years or longer,
One of the most fascinating movies I have watched up here, was a movie made here in Barrow about "Mound 44".

600 years ago. the Ocean ice advanced enough to crush a whole family inside of their iglu. The entire family was perserved, with all of the artifacts used for daily living. This two hour fascinating video is available from the North Slope Borough, I will provide a link if anyone might be interested.