Hello, My name is David, I live in a tiny whaling village 200 miles
above the Arctic circle in a village of only 750 Inupiaq Eskimos. Point
Hope Alaska.
The oldest continually inhabited settlement or village in all of North America.
Life can accurately be traced back some 3,000 years, to this one spot of land.
I am originally from Boston Mass. I moved to Alaska to work on the Trans - Alaska Pipeline in 1977. I fell in love with the Arctic and Alaska needless to say, when I had to return to Boston, I cried, I didn't want to leave, In 1981 I returned to Alaska. I was working in Anchorage as an electrican in the I.B.E.W , I was sent to this village for just three weeks, when the job finished, I quit the company and stayed, that was 27 years ago. I am still here.
Come learn from the comfort of your home or office the Eskimo way of living, High in the Arctic, Eskimo!
Aaka & Aapa - Grandmother & Grandfather - Lilly & Donald Oktollik
Donald was a Whaling Captain and an Episcopal minister, in his day.
Lets go out to the ocean ice, Currently at this very moment over 600 people are camped 7 miles out on the Chukchi Sea in the Bering Strait of upper Alaska.
Hundreds of people are involved blazing a traill with pick's axe's all types of tools to manually smoooth out a way to transport all the equipment and supplies out to the edge of the ice where the lead opens for the animals to migrate.
This seven mile journey will take many hours, it is a very rough ride, and I was convinced beyond all shadow of doubt that all the lenses would be cracked from the constant falling and bashing of the sled against the ocean ice when we went over little hills. the snow mobile would go over smoothly but the sled would rise as high as four feet in the air at times and come crashing down.
This is a typical whaling camp 7 miles out it is mid may and this is midnight. By the end of June, 12 noon is the same as 12 midnight! It will not get dark again till the end of August.
This is home, for the next two months, We hunt, sleep , eat, right here, 24/7 no matter what the weather, except if the wind shifts, which it often does, but generally we have a very strong wind needed to crack that ice open for the animals to pass through, we are here before they arrive and we wait, sometimes weeks, we are ready. We sleep outside by the edge of the ice, no tents, 30 - 60 below zero with vicious winds non -stop.
Due to the 24 hour constant sunlight and the incredibly bright reflections all around, we become solar powered and can easily stay awake and alert for 3 days or longer. When your tired, just sit down on that sled that is covered with caribou skins and lean back, close your eyes and rest, in just a few hours time, you will be all charged up again for another 3 days or longer.
this is the most exciting time of the year. The suspense is all over the place and everyone is acting like it is The night before Christmas !
This is how we go food shopping! Each whaling crew has 8 hunters, one boyer, and 3-5 women in the back. 1/2 3/4 a mile back from the lead opening on much safer ice. The women do all the cooking in the tents. they have a boyer to help them with other chores. He stays in the tent area and works most of the day.
At night when the women go to sleep, He is alone, all night long, by himself, keeping the home made wood stove fired up just right, He has to chop wood, keep that fire going all night long, hand him your lighter, or matches, he will need them, He must use "sicpan" to help wet wood burn, this is extremely flammable seal oil, his other duties include melting snow for cleaning cups, thermoses and melting ice for delicous fresh drinking water to make coffee, tea, and hot chocolate and fill those thermoses and bring them down to the lead opening. lHe is armed with many rifles, and must keep a viglant eye on the wind and keep watching and checking for cracks in the ice, Anything can happen out here.
your in good hands, lie down and go to sleep, He will make sure everything is ok.. hand him that lighter and matches and go to sleep This boyer, is only 3 years old !
I am shocked, astonished at what I see happening out here. 3 years old and that kind of responsiblility ? go figure ! I have seen many boyers this young! and it is just the most amazing thing, to see these childlike grownups working !
When the cooks wake up in the moring, he has coffee, tea, all ready for them! all dishes are cleaned and ready to go for aonther busy day, He is now allowed to go to sleep in the tent, iagainst the back wall in the left corner. lhe will be allowed to sleep about 4-5 hours then he is up again helping the women ..
How do you suppose we get delicious fresh drinking water way out here in the middle of frozen no where, full of salt water and frozen ocean ice.? We melt snow for washing dishes and such. but for cooking and drinking we want / need delicious fresh drinking water.
We use Eskimo Technology to get the salt out of the frozen ice. how ? any ideas ?
I will be back for more, soon after "dinner" burp !
The oldest continually inhabited settlement or village in all of North America.
Life can accurately be traced back some 3,000 years, to this one spot of land.
I am originally from Boston Mass. I moved to Alaska to work on the Trans - Alaska Pipeline in 1977. I fell in love with the Arctic and Alaska needless to say, when I had to return to Boston, I cried, I didn't want to leave, In 1981 I returned to Alaska. I was working in Anchorage as an electrican in the I.B.E.W , I was sent to this village for just three weeks, when the job finished, I quit the company and stayed, that was 27 years ago. I am still here.
Come learn from the comfort of your home or office the Eskimo way of living, High in the Arctic, Eskimo!
Aaka & Aapa - Grandmother & Grandfather - Lilly & Donald Oktollik
Donald was a Whaling Captain and an Episcopal minister, in his day.
Lets go out to the ocean ice, Currently at this very moment over 600 people are camped 7 miles out on the Chukchi Sea in the Bering Strait of upper Alaska.
Hundreds of people are involved blazing a traill with pick's axe's all types of tools to manually smoooth out a way to transport all the equipment and supplies out to the edge of the ice where the lead opens for the animals to migrate.
This seven mile journey will take many hours, it is a very rough ride, and I was convinced beyond all shadow of doubt that all the lenses would be cracked from the constant falling and bashing of the sled against the ocean ice when we went over little hills. the snow mobile would go over smoothly but the sled would rise as high as four feet in the air at times and come crashing down.
This is a typical whaling camp 7 miles out it is mid may and this is midnight. By the end of June, 12 noon is the same as 12 midnight! It will not get dark again till the end of August.
This is home, for the next two months, We hunt, sleep , eat, right here, 24/7 no matter what the weather, except if the wind shifts, which it often does, but generally we have a very strong wind needed to crack that ice open for the animals to pass through, we are here before they arrive and we wait, sometimes weeks, we are ready. We sleep outside by the edge of the ice, no tents, 30 - 60 below zero with vicious winds non -stop.
Due to the 24 hour constant sunlight and the incredibly bright reflections all around, we become solar powered and can easily stay awake and alert for 3 days or longer. When your tired, just sit down on that sled that is covered with caribou skins and lean back, close your eyes and rest, in just a few hours time, you will be all charged up again for another 3 days or longer.
this is the most exciting time of the year. The suspense is all over the place and everyone is acting like it is The night before Christmas !
This is how we go food shopping! Each whaling crew has 8 hunters, one boyer, and 3-5 women in the back. 1/2 3/4 a mile back from the lead opening on much safer ice. The women do all the cooking in the tents. they have a boyer to help them with other chores. He stays in the tent area and works most of the day.
At night when the women go to sleep, He is alone, all night long, by himself, keeping the home made wood stove fired up just right, He has to chop wood, keep that fire going all night long, hand him your lighter, or matches, he will need them, He must use "sicpan" to help wet wood burn, this is extremely flammable seal oil, his other duties include melting snow for cleaning cups, thermoses and melting ice for delicous fresh drinking water to make coffee, tea, and hot chocolate and fill those thermoses and bring them down to the lead opening. lHe is armed with many rifles, and must keep a viglant eye on the wind and keep watching and checking for cracks in the ice, Anything can happen out here.
your in good hands, lie down and go to sleep, He will make sure everything is ok.. hand him that lighter and matches and go to sleep This boyer, is only 3 years old !
I am shocked, astonished at what I see happening out here. 3 years old and that kind of responsiblility ? go figure ! I have seen many boyers this young! and it is just the most amazing thing, to see these childlike grownups working !
When the cooks wake up in the moring, he has coffee, tea, all ready for them! all dishes are cleaned and ready to go for aonther busy day, He is now allowed to go to sleep in the tent, iagainst the back wall in the left corner. lhe will be allowed to sleep about 4-5 hours then he is up again helping the women ..
How do you suppose we get delicious fresh drinking water way out here in the middle of frozen no where, full of salt water and frozen ocean ice.? We melt snow for washing dishes and such. but for cooking and drinking we want / need delicious fresh drinking water.
We use Eskimo Technology to get the salt out of the frozen ice. how ? any ideas ?
I will be back for more, soon after "dinner" burp !
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