CARIBOU AND KING CRAB

A very good little 95 year young friend asked if I would bring back some caribou and king crab when returning to visit her in Seattle.  She said that her husband used to hunt game and made wonderful stews using sauerkraut and pineapple.  Wouldn’t it be fun to have fresh caribou and make a feast along with some King crab for our mutual friends on a visit down?  Yes--absolutely…so part of my being here is revolving around finding a source of caribou.  Although I’ve heard that there are King crab deep in the ocean here, there is no way to harvest them.  I’ll need to go to Southeast Alaska for this incomparable, melt-in-your mouth meal that only needs a drizzle of butter to transport you from a normal to an extraordinary day.

While walking home from work several weeks ago, I saw a truck with two large caribou being pulled behind it on a trailer.  I began to feel encouraged as it was my first sighting.  There is no caribou or other subsistence meat sold in the stores here, but if one is fortunate enough to know someone who hunts caribou, there is hope.   A 16 year old Inupiat teenager came into the Wellness Center with his mother and siblings last week, all needing to receive immunizations.  He couldn’t say what his favorite subject was in school, but lit up when he talked about him, his father and two friends spending a week 50 miles south of Barrow hunting for caribou.  They had returned the previous day with 22.  22…really?  Amazing!  They had butchered their catch at their hunting camp and returned with sleds full of meat.  The temperatures have dropped to below zero with the wind chill factor on most days, so what he described sounded like a cold endeavor to me, but he seemed very happy and was anxious to go out again.  His mother said that it was now time for him to catch up in his studies, but as soon as he was, he could go out on another hunt. 

A young woman I met recently shared how she and her sister love to hunt caribou.  I was in the middle of eating a salad while she shared how the caribou were butchered before bringing the meat back on sleds.  They leave much of the skeleton, all of the intestines and intact stomach behind for lemmings and fox to enjoy, making their trip back easier.  Their nephew loves the kidneys, so they always bring those back for him.  Mmmm…  She said that the work was hard physical labor so they kept warm, even in the coldest of temperatures.  I’ll have to ask how they keep their hands warm while cutting the meat. 

Somehow I’m feeling closer to finding a source…at least they’re coming up in conversation now.  I learned that if I apply for a hunting and fishing license that my limit would be seven caribou a day.  That should be enough although I’m not sure that I could bring myself to shoot one.  Am sure that by the time I return to Washington for a visit in the Spring, that I will be carrying an ice chest filled with caribou meat, kidneys for my nephews and King crab. 

Speaking of ice chests, men in the community are now digging up whale and caribou meat that has been stored underground to be used at Thanksgiving meals this week.  It’s fascinating hearing about the Inupiat culture.  I don’t know any individuals well yet, but look forward to making friends among them in the coming months and years.  I’ve heard that in the spring and summer when they harvest whale on the beaches, if you’re walking by, someone will always call out and ask if you’d like some Maktak.