The Gift of the Whale: Inupiat Bowhead Whaling in the 21st Century

In May this year, Te Ohu Kaimoana director Ngahiwi Tomoana and chief executive Peter Douglas travelled to Barrow, Alaska, for a cultural exchange with Inupiat Eskimos as part of their attendance at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, held in Anchorage. This is an abridged version of Peter's report.

Te Ohu Kaimoana director Ngahiwi Tomoana and chief executive Peter Douglas witnessed Alaskan Inupiat Eskimos fl ense and divide the last whale of the Bowhead hunting season amongst the people of Barrow, Alaska, 500km north of the Arctic Circle.

Barrow, Alaska, is the northern most settlement of the United States, about 500km north of the Arctic Circle. The majority of the 4500 residents are Inupiat Eskimos and their traditional marine mammal hunts and other subsistence practices are an active part of their culture. Barrow is the economic centre of the North Slope Borough, the “city's” primary employer, and numerous businesses provide support services to oil field operations. State and federal agencies also provide employment.

The midnight sun has attracted tourism, and arts and crafts provide some cash income. Many residents rely upon subsistence food sources: whale, seal, polar bear, walrus, duck, caribou and grayling and whitefish are harvested from the coast or nearby rivers and lakes. Bowhead, Gray, Killer and Beluga whales migrate near Barrow each summer.

Our visit was arranged by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) an influential group comprising representatives from the 10 traditional whaling villages. They have a strong relationship with the Barrow Arctic Scientific Consortium (BASC), who hosted us while in Barrow. The BASC is a non profit organisation dedicated to the encouragement of research and educational activities pertaining to Alaska's North Slope and adjacent portions of the Arctic Ocean. It is responsible for a great deal of scientific research on climate, weather and wildlife, including whales.

We arrived during the summer months when for more than 80 days the sun does not set. We met Glenn Sheenan, the Executive Director of BASC; Lewis Brower, Station Manager, and Richard Glenn, the BASC President, at their centre. Nok Acker, the BASC Project Assistant Manager, drove us from place to place.

Richard Glenn offered to take us on the ice to see a whaling camp. A whale was ‘struck' the day before and represented the last whale of the spring season. We had feared that the season being over might mean we would see very little. After short lessons on driving snow machines we headed across the tundra toward the sea on the eastern side of Barrow. Arlene Glenn (Richard's wife) joined us. They have had a number of Maori guests in the past few years primarily to help them with language retention programmes as a potential focus for social development and interaction.

We journeyed onto the ice which was some miles out to sea, about 45 minutes each way (round trip was 40km). There were regular outcrops where pressure from ice movements created upward movements of ice and required careful negotiation. Some way out we came upon a transportation station where there was meat and baleen (baleen is the filtering material through which Bowhead whales feed, it is used in crafts and women's garments) from a whale caught some days earlier. At this point we met Crawford Patkotak the captain of a whaling crew that had caught two whales this season. This is some accomplishment since there are 55 crews in Barrow with a small spring quota of only 6 Bowhead Whales.

About 100m from the whale we find that the ice was too thin and dangerous to cross. Any accidents in this environment would surely be fatal. The sea under the ice is freezing cold and as much as 25 to 30 metres deep. Richard tells us that it is too thin for us to cross and that it needs to be reserved for the many crossings yet to be made by the crew when they return home with the meat.

The skull of a bowhead whale graces the northern Alaskan township of Barrow, 500km north of the Arctic Circle. The bowhead whale, which is hunted annually by Alaskan Inupiat Eskimos, represents the importance that marine mammals, including seals, hold for the cultural and economic survival of the community.

One of the crew members, who met us at the crossing, returns after talking to the kaumatua of the Crew (Crawford's father). He wants us to come across to see the whale when he finds out where we were from. We race across the thin ice and manoeuvre the last 200 metres to the ice edge.

The whale is a big one, weighs about 50 tonnes, and has been dragged onto the ice by the men and women of the village using a block and tackle system attached to straps around the whale's tail. Sometimes up to 150 people help to drag the whale onto the ice. Karakia and waiata are used as encouragement.

The whale was almost 15 metres long and was a pregnant female with a 12 inch foetus. The hunters could tell it was pregnant when they cut the skin to find the blubber yellow instead of white. Their preferences are for smaller female whales, with pregnant whales being even more prized. The foetus is a particular delicacy for their old people.

Once the Whaling camp is set up, the hunt is a 24 hour job. Hunters take turns sleeping, but the work continues day and “night”. When the whale was spotted the small crew of four or five hunters gives chase in an umiak, the small seal-skin kayak. The harpoon is thrown at the head and a detonating round (whale bomb) fired from a brass rifle once the harpoon is lodged. The harpoon has a float which aids the recovery of the whale. The strike is recorded against the IWC quota.

The Inupiat People believe that the whale gives itself to them because they understand him or her and will dignify their death. There are 55 crews in Barrow the smallest is of seven men the largest are nearer to 20.

When a whale is struck and landed, word is quickly passed around through the community. Each of the crews still hunting must send a member to help with the landing and butchering. In the past someone was sent to the village with a flag to fly, indicating the catch, and seeking help with the landing of the whale on the ice or shore. This still happens but notice of the kill passes faster using phones and radio.

The whale is butchered in a particular way with special portions for particular community members. Special thanks-giving feasts are held in the summer to feed the entire community. Many family members return to Barrow for the whale hunts and these thanks-giving feasts and they feature as a special time in the Inupiat calendar. Being in a whaling crew is a rite of passage for the men and many women also. Crew Captains are highly regarded.

The place whaling holds in their world is far more central than I had imagined. Much of their identity and activity is dependent on this as an ongoing tradition. Their young people return from the cities for the hunt; they trap and hunt seals and caribou to make the boats needed in the whale hunt; and much of their language and traditions are centred round the preparations, hunting, storage and distribution of the whale.

This was truly an inspiring experience. The hunting for Bowhead Whales by the Inupiat people is not an incidental pastime. In remains central to their culture.

Under the rules of the International Whaling Commission, Alaskan Inupiat Eskimos are permitted to sell “handicrafts” made of whale bone, ivory or baleen (filters). Items range from small trinkets to sizeable art works ranging in price from US$300 to US$15,000 and are sold in numerous shops in Anchorage and other towns. The works, however, are only allowed to be sold in the United States and cannot be removed from the country by tourists

I asked how they felt about the limits placed on the use of whale products. At present the meat cannot be bought and sold and there are restrictions on trading in bone and baleen products. There is a prevailing view amongst many pro-whaling groups that if the whale catch is supported by the scientific committee of the commission then the uses of the whales should not be restricted. That would mean that meat and other products could be freely traded and sold internationally. The Inupiat view is that such a change could bring potential damage to their way of life. Were their hunt commercialised then it might see the gradual degradation of their practices. It may take many years but they fear it could eventually result in hiring someone to hunt the whales, instead of hunting themselves.

 

---

If you have any news or events coming up that you'd like covered
in an issue of Te Tai Pari, drop us an email at

Tiakina ngā rawa hi ika, a tātou kaimoana mo ngā uri whakaheke
Protecting Māori fisheries assets for future generations