FIRST WHALE OF THE YEAR, HARVESTING ON THE BEACH

These photos probably won't appeal to everyone, but for me they represent a way of life that has been lived for centuries, one that honors the whale for gifting itself to a community that depends on it to survive.  

There has been much concern that the majority of whales have already migrated east and past Barrow.  Poor ice conditions prevented whaling crews from going out to find open water and to hunt when they were in the waters here this spring.  Many Inupiat people here could face near starvation without the whale meat and parts that they depend on for the bulk of their diet.  Last year 22 whales where caught and harvested.  

Last night Joseph Leavitt's crew was out on the water 20 miles southwest of Barrow where they found this 54 foot bow head whale.  Jacob Adams harpooned it, the first for the whaling crews here this year.  The crew towed it back to the beach where they and others worked for hours cutting and systematically distributing its many parts.  The work took much longer than in past hunts as whaling crews that would normally take part in the process left in their boats with the hopes of finding more.  The entire Inupiat community depends in large part on whale for the main source of protein, so finding more is a priority.  Today was a day to celebrate and be grateful.

I and others heard that another whale had been caught, but by the end of the day, no one that I asked had heard any more and there was no new work party on the beach surrounding their catch.  































Comments

  1. cathyJune 28, 2013 at 5:07 PM

    Susi - what a privilege to see this traditional practice! I don't know what I think of the practice of killing whales - because I don't know all about the culture and the nutritional options of the indigenous people. But to see this certainly connects us with the past and how people survive in a land where traditional ways of producing food (growing plants and livestock) isn't possible. Thanks for being there and showing it to me.

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