A Day in Barrow, Alaska

A Day at the Top of the WorldBarrow, Alaska

June 29, 2010

Welcome to Barrow

Welcome to Barrow

Our host was Ryan Rock of Tundra Tours. Ryan is an Inupiat Eskimo, and for the next eight hours he drove us all over the small town of Barrow and immersed us in the Inupiat culture and life in the Arctic.

Welcome to Barrow

Ryan began by offering us a chance to join the Polar Bear Club, by completely submerging in the

Arctic Ocean. He even demonstrated a partial dip, in case we couldn’t figure that out. With the

air temperature at 40 degrees and the water at 36, we opted just to dip our hands in the water.

Welcome to BarrowThe ice is beginning to break up on the Arctic Ocean

Welcome to Barrow

We found Barrow to be stark…

Welcome to Barrow

…cold….

Welcome to Barrow

…brown…

These are the only “trees” in Barrow. Someone nailed whale baleen to a pole.

Welcome to Barrow

… and depressed

Maybe Steve should make a sales call here

Touring the TownDespite the first impression, however, the day was sunny – the first sun we had seen in 10 days – and the people were warm. It was a wonderful, wonderful day.

Touring the Town

There are a few places to eat in town.

Touring the Town

We had lunch here, at Pepe’s. – WAY north of the border.

Touring the Town

This is the store. Most everything is available here from groceries to clothing – if you can afford it (Milk ­ $9.99/gallon and Handcrafted parka ­ $950.00)

Touring the Town

The Police Dept – They refer to it as “The Blue Hotel”

Touring the Town

The Hospital – Maternity and Outpatient only. Have to fly to Seattle for surgery

Touring the Town

The new football field purchased through the fundraising efforts of a Jacksonville FL woman, who saw a TV special about the team playing on a gravel field (see ProjectAlaskaTurf.com)

Touring the Town

The high school

Touring the Town

The cemetery

Touring the Town

Ryan said we would go by the nicer, newer houses after lunch, and here they are.

Inupiat Heritage Center

We spent about 2 hrs in the Heritage Center in the afternoon. The local youth danced for us and we learned all about the whaling life of the Inupiat Eskimo.

Inupiat Heritage Center

To note in this photo… not only the reserved parking for elders, but also the cord to keep the car

plugged in so the engine doesn’t freeze. We saw these in Fairbanks as well – even at the Hampton

Inn where we stayed.

Inupiat Heritage Center

I snapped this photo of two local women chatting as they left the center. Note the dress –traditional mixed with contemporary.

Inupiat Heritage Center

The Barrow Youth played traditional drums and danced for us.

Inupiat Heritage Center

The day we were there, “Washington Dignitaries” were visiting, Larry Echo Hawk, Asst Secretary, 

Indian Affairs, Dept of Interior (under Ken Salazar) and Michael Black, Regional Director for the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains.

Inupiat Heritage Center

They sat in the row in front of us during the dance show, and at the end of the show, we all joined 

in the dance.  So I have danced with Washington dignitaries �!

Whaling

The Inupiat are whalers.  In the 

spring and the fall, the whaling 

teams go to sea in their seal skin 

canoes to hunt whales.  They are 

allowed to kill 22 per season.  This 

quota is based on the whale 

population and the number of 

native groups hunting them.   

My favorite part of the Heritage 

Center, and of the day, was 

learning about the whaling.

Whaling

In preparation for the whale hunt, each year they hunt seals, skin them, and use the skins to cover 

their canoes.  It takes about 6 seals to make a canoe.  This canoe was behind a house near the 

beach.

Whaling

Before the hunt, they gather around the canoe to pray for safety and success.

Photo from Inupiat Cultural Center

Whaling Photo from Inupiat Cultural Center

Whaling

When they find a whale, they harpoon it and then shoot it with a “bomb” that explodes. The exhibit included this explanation

We must be silent when the whale is dying. We request silence when we strike. and no expression of joy is made until the animal is dead, in respect to the whale’s spirit. After the whale is dead, the men surround the whale and say a prayer of thanks for the gift.

We join together and then give a yell of celebration and congratulation. Boats in tandem tow the whale with the largest boat in front. This is the only time we allow motor boats to be used during spring whaling in Barrow.

Whaling

Once they get the whale back to shore, they cut it up and share it among the crew, and store most of it for the celebration to come

Photo from Inupiat Cultural Center

Nalukataq

Spring whaling season was April and May, and in June, they celebrate the whales caught with a series of Nalukataq, ­ Whaling Festivals.

This spring they killed 17 of the allotted 22, and we were fortunate enough to be in town on the day of the Nalukataq celebrating four of the whales caught.

Nalukataq

The festival was hosted by the four crews who killed these four whales.  The flags of the crews were flying, and the crews were providing and serving the food – including a huge cake decorated with the four flags

Nalukataq

We could only stay about 15 minutes, but after we left, they would have music, food, and, the famous “Eskimo blanket toss”.  They really do this!  They remove the seal skins from the winning boats and use the skins to toss people in the air.  Now this is done for fun and celebration, but it commemorates the days when they tossed men into the air to look for whales on the horizon.

Nalukataq

We were there, however, to watch them finish carving up the whale.  One of their values is sharing food, and the whales had been stored to be shared with all at the Nalukataq.

Nalukataq

Boxes and bags of whale meat to be shared

Nalukataq

After I had been out of the van for 15 minutes, my face was cold and I was ready to get back in the warmth.  The Eskimos had been at the festival all day, enjoying the sun and the “warm” weather.

Nalukataq

This is Leo. I don’t know why he has on an NC cap.

A Barrow Day

From the second week of May until the first week in August, the sun never sets in Barrow. It is broad daylight 24 hrs a day – not even any twilight. From mid­November to late January, the sun never rises, although they do have a period of twilight at mid­day most days.

It was a wonderful day in Barrow, Alaska

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