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ALASKA, BARROW TRAVELS
(Continued) |
WHITLAM ADAMS
Ivory & baleen carver |
We went again to Whitlam Adam's house, an elderly Native Inupiat, where he lives with his daughter. He shared his newest works with us (baleen boxes, jewelry, a baleen ship, a polar bear lower jaw below an Eskimo in a kayak): |
He took us up to his workroom on the 2nd floor where he has a well lit studio with a huge picture window where he works. |
He showed us a walrus head mount he planned to scrimshaw soon: |
He signed a piece of whale baleen with a polar bear etching for us |
His work room adjoins an enviable power tools room: |
The big picture window overlooks a Native cemetery where you see a pair of whale bones erected over the famous Charles Brower grave site. A beautiful and serene view. |
HERITAGE CENTER
One of many visits to the Heritage Center (also see the July photos, next page), these are additional of things not photographed before...the bowhead whale in the main lobby, a central figure in the lives of the Inupiat people here, and a colorful poster of a whale hunt: |
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A male caribou skeleton: |
The male ringed seal skeleton, both animals are important food sources for the people of Barrow |
An impressive walrus tooth necklace, yes they also catch walrus: |
3 polar bears feeding, on a whale vertebrae disk |
Caribou ivory carving | 2 drummers, 2 dancing figures | Dahl sheep ivory carving | The snowy owl for which Barrow draws many birdwatchers |
Artifact Whale amulet (dated 1920), and a Christian cross amulet |
HUGE Polar bear fur mittens at the gift shop, price below:
Yes, that's $720 Another pair of polar bear mittens in the museum for display only |
Bust of Inupiaq in what appears to be whale shoulder bone | Seal skin & wolverine fur coat, gorgeous |
Artifact Baleen sled | Artifact Snow goggles of ivory and baleen | Baleen ships, by Whitlam Adams | |
Two of the most helpful new friends we met there in the Gift Shop, Annie (a children's book illustrator of the book Whale Snow, among others), and Robin (a valuable worker for the ECHO grants people, and a friendly & patient friend who assisted us with our many questions about the Inupiat people. It is clear they have the Inupiat peoples' best interests in mind. Good people): |
BIRTHDAY |
By the 19th Glenn arranged an early surprise birthday dinner at Pepe's Mexican Restaurant with our new Native friends, what a special birthday to see them all smiling at us around one big table.
David and Clara even tried on Glenn's goofy wig that he bought at a local shop: Clara in her beautiful coat, with Angela: Unforgettable. We brought home lots of phone numbers and email addresses to keep in contact, and we'll track down the rest of the artists we heard about and lists we got, on another trip or two. By the end of our stay, folks were waving to us from pick-ups driving by, yoo hoo-ing us from down the street, in the grocery store. It was a wonderful feeling. In fact, the local radio station has a Birthday Hour each day on radio & TV, and Clara called in to wish me a happy birthday on the night of the 20th. How special is that? I will never forget this birthday as long as I live. |
Though Glenn takes the cake for scary guys wearing this wig, and in his full beach gear: |
PATKOTAK FAMILY
Carvings, and new bone & baleen |
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It's funny how we connected the dots on three people. We met again with Genelle Patkotak Okpeaha and her family that we bought baleen etchings from, and we invited them to our hotel room to give them sharks teeth and buy from what they brought (ivory carvings, jewelry).
Here is Genelle holding a lovely necklace made of walrus teeth with a huge polar bear tooth for sale And Genelle with her son and husband, rightfully proud of their jackets with the family name. They caught the first and largest whale this season: |
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Genelle's dad is a renowned whaling captain Simeon Patkotak (below, holding an oosik with artwork on it).
We saw whale bones outside one house, Glenn wrote it down and we stopped there on Friday before we left. It turned out to be Genelle's Dad Simeon's house. He was so hospitable, shared some interesting stories and a religious testimonial, and invited us to take photos of the bones & baleen that he sells to artists. |
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Caribou antlers, whale vertebrae & rib bones | Fresh whale vertebrae that will cure over time | Sheaves of baleen | Whale vertebrae on the left, baleen on the right |
Walrus skulls
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Whale vertebrae that are now ready to sell to artists |
ETHEL and MARY |
We bought 2 exquisitely soft chinchilla furs from the fur place with Mary's help (she was clerking at the Fur Shop), here's Mary with Glenn when she brought a lovely poem and a sample of fabric to our hotel room:
and had Ethel sew them on the collar of my coat, boy did that make a warm choice for walking on the beach. Plus, we made fast friends with Ethel: |
The next morning in the airport terminal, here's Simeon!. We greeted him and asked why he was there. He was seeing off his daughter and her son to the doctor in Anchorage - Ethel! Ethel is Genelle's sister, turns out also that Ethel is quite a renowned singer and has several CD's (link below). |
Patkotak Sisters CD albums for sale:
https://www.henryshavings.com/zina-1.0rc2/index.php?p=Patkotak%20Sisters-Albums%3B%20Barrow%2C%20AK
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ARCTIC WATER, WHALE BONES |
We also brought back samples of crystal clear Arctic Sea water:
Rough waves on the last night threw huge whale skull bones high on the southern end of the beach. We were astounded at the power of the waves to hurl these heavy bones. These had been returned to the ocean for the hag fish to eat remains of meat left on them from the whale hunt, after the birds and bears had finished with them: |
The pipeline was clearly visible from the airplane as we flew from Barrow to Prudhoe Bay for a stop-off on the way back to Anchorage |
ANCHORAGE AIRPORT
ALASKAN CARVINGS DISPLAYS One of the finest museum collections we have ever seen at an airport. Display only, not for sale. Enjoy! |
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Eskimo activities | Dancers | Seals, totem, walrus and blanket toss diorama | Eagle ivory knife, geese, swan, loon, puffin, arm of a seal intestine coat |
Beautiful carved ivory serving spoon, seal intestine coat, cribbage board walrus tusk and another walrus tusk | Native diorama of food cache building, Eskimo skinning seal and stretched seal hide, kayak, on antler | Eskimo pulling kayak with seal bladder float | Fantasy long-necked polar bear Ulu knife |
Overview of the above 4 photos showing the whole display case | Whale skull with bone face carving, front & back | Eskimo, walrus and polar bear bone carvings; also whale skull carving from the side, and close-ups of the bear and walrus | Eskimo doll cleaning seal intestine to make waterproof jacket |
Full sized Drum | Superb bear shaman made of whale vertebrae | 3 link chain ivory human figure, on whale vertebrae disk | Beluga and bowhead whales, graceful swans, Eskimo pulling kayak, baleen basket |
Grass and baleen baskets | Expressive walrus carving (by Ricky Kuzuguk), and otter carving (Aaron Oseuk), of whale bone |
Whale bone mask with labret (lip plug decoration) by Frd Nayokpuk of Shishmaref
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Ceremonial robe, typical of Tlingit style, Southwest Alaskan coast |
Carved seal head with whiskers, I believe it is made of wood |
Bear and walrus, whale bone carving, by Rudolph Noongwook
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Primitive human figure with enlarged head, hunting seal, made of whale bone
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Whale bone mask with labret (lip plug decoration) by Rick Seeganna | |||
Eskimo dolls in various types of dress |
FALL WHALE HUNT PHOTOS
September 2006 (Courtesy of Lisa in Barrow) |
We came home in October to fields of cotton in South Carolina, quite a culture shock |
AUGUST 2007 Glenn in his new sealskin-beaver Alaska hat, a gift from friend Doug in August 2007, Glenn tried it on in the 105 degree South Carolina summer heat to show him his thanks for the gift, he's taking it along for our October 3-16, 2007 trip: |
BARROW, ALASKA
(July 2-3, 2006) "Top of the world", far above the Arctic Circle, the furthermost northern point you can be in the United States, accessible by plane, boat or barge. Here we are between two whale ribs overlooking the Arctic Sea. These photos were taken on our 2nd day there, temperature was in the warm 30's: But the day before it was closer to zero, cloudy & windy, the ice still against the shore. The amazing power of wind actually broke the ice away from the shore overnight, the actual start of their Spring: |
POLAR BEAR
sighting at Point Barrow (Nuvuk) |
On our second trip out to the Point on July 3, far beyond where the tour buses can go, our experienced guide Bunna spotted a large polar bear near the bone pile the Natives leave for the animals to scavenge. We first knew he had seen the bear by his gasp, then "I love my job". We all sighted him through binoculars, and took photos and video as long as we could keep him in sight. The best part was that he never knew we were there.
Bunna put his own handprint beside this polar bear's paw print. Small by comparison. A stunning experience that is difficult to put into words. Other sights at Point Barrow (Nuvuk): Ice build up on the shore (remember this is July 2-3, a hot summer for almost everyone else) Buttercups blooming (weather is near zero with a strong wind, yet these delicate flowers thrive): Seal backbone and arctic fox fur, remains of polar bear meals: Whale bonesA series of dumpsters they call The Bone Pile at the Point, where the polar bears come to eat the remains, far from town: Glenn and Bunna looking for polar bear. A bone marker in the background, and up close: A formation of dirty ice that Glenn was SURE was a seal. We never found out for sure till we came home and viewed the photos. Darn! Nature can be cruel. Almost as bad as bending over on Myrtle Beach to pick up a fossil shark's tooth, only to find it is a piece of shell pretending to be a shark tooth. Here's Bunna and his beautiful wife Eva & son Edward, and with the owner Fran Tate, at Pepe's North of the Border Mexican Restaurant: And Bunna, doing what he loves, 4-wheeling out at the Point, looking for polar bears: |
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