NALUKATAQ 2014 IN BARROW...A DAY TO REMEMBER
I couldn’t stop laughing as Jennifer and I, both cold to the bone, made our way from Simmonds Field, along the dirt path and then through mud puddles, each clad in heavy jackets, hats, gloves and tall rubber boots, both hanging onto a handle of her cooler that was filled with gallon sized zip lock bags containing fermented and unfermented whale meat, intestines, kidney, heart, tongue, maktak and whipped caribou fat. A collapsed folding chair was balanced on top as we walked, with me making brief stops to double over laughing at what we must look like and how different my life is here. Jennifer laughed too while saying "What are you laughing about!? We live in Barrow...this is what people do here!" I know, I know, but it still strikes me as very funny for us to be doing it. We had arrived empty handed and curious at close to noon to partake in Saturday’s Nalukataq, a celebration of the spring whale catches by the Hopson and Adams crews. We saw ma...