7/26/21
We sat in the taxi, bumping around on the unpaved roads in the small SUV with its cracked windshield. The roads had to be unpaved because of the permafrost beneath the surface. It made sense, considering we were in Utqiagvik, or Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in all of the United States. We were visiting the only tribal college in Alaska, Ilisagvik College, for a culture exchange with some Iñupiat (native) youth.
Upon arrival, we met Janelle and Nestor who work in Recruiting at the college and brought in the locals. We went around the table and introduced ourselves before diving into our conversation. Donald and Shelley were high school students and Michelle had recently graduated from college and would begin teaching second grade in the next school year.
The Whale Hunt
Outside the college was a huge whale head skull from a whale hunt. Only people with native blood are allowed to participate, making the hunt a unique part of Iñupiaq culture. Donald’s mom was actually the captain of a whaling crew, so he was very knowledgeable.
The whale hunt starts in the summer during seal hunting season; they use seal skins to make their whaling boats. Typically it takes 9 skins to cover one boat. During the whale hunt in winter, a path is cleared out on the ice before the boats go out to hunt. They wait for a whale to come, which takes a while. The hunting crew are only allowed a certain number of strikes (attempts to kill the whale) during each year, so they have to be careful and use their strikes strategically. To bring the whale ashore, the whole town comes to help. A prayer is said, then the meat is divided up amongst everyone.
The locals brought out some maktak (whale skin) for us to try. It is half white and half black. The white is blubber and the black is the actual skin. Janelle explained to us that maktak warms you from the inside because of the blubber that keeps the whale warm. She joked that she always eats some before she gets on a plane, so she can stay warm if they crash in the ocean.
Daily Life
We also talked about their daily lives, which are very different from our lives in Indiana. For example, they eat seal and caribou (reindeer) meat, which I have not had before. There are also polar bears in the area that they have to be cautious about. Nestor told us about a very close encounter he had with a polar bear. He managed to hide from it and was not hurt. An interesting fact he shared was polar bear liver contains so much Vitamin A that people who eat it get permanent white spots on their skin.
The topic of winter versus summer prompted an intriguing discussion. It is natural for outsiders to assume that the locals would prefer summer, since Alaskan winters are so cold. Additionally, winter brings two months of total darkness since Utqiagvik is so far north. All three natives said that they actually preferred winter over summer, which was surprising to us. Michelle explained that in the summer, when the daylight lasts 24 hours, she gets migraines; whereas in the winter they have fun activities to do such as riding around on a 4-wheeler in the deep snow. They also said that when it is icy or snowy outside, they still go to school as normal. There are no snow day cancellations like in Indiana.
We experienced the 24-hour daylight there, which was very strange. At 10pm, the sun was still up, which made it feel like only 2pm. Our hotel had black-out curtains to help us fall asleep while the sun was shining outside.
Local Traditions
One of the town’s most important traditions is the Christmas Games which start the day after Christmas and last until New Year’s Day. There are many different games. For example, in the finger pull, two competitors lock their middle fingers and pull to see who wins. It is the same concept as arm wrestling, but pulling instead of pushing. The games originated as a way to show off skills to be recruited for whaling crews, but nowadays are more of a fun tradition. There are also teams that go to the international Arctic Winter Games, which are the equivalent of the Olympics for these competitions.
Overall, this trip was very eye-opening and a great learning experience for us. It was very interesting to learn about local customs and traditions as well as day-to-day life for the locals. Learning other cultures helps us keep an open mind in our similarities and differences. Our trip to Utqiagvik gave new meaning to our motto, One World, Many Stories.
