Ivory & baleen carver

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:

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:

Yes, that's $720

Another pair of polar bear mittens in the museum for display only

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):

 

We discovered the NARL buildings connected to the university (built by the Navy, now used by world scientists and university students) that have a great cafeteria and stomped the hallways reading about all the studies being done on the whales, bird flu, global warming, etc.  They have a huge bowhead whale skull displayed out front. 

This whale (as the sign says, among other interesting facts) was 51' 5" long, caught in 1987, weighed an estimated 100,000 pounds +, it took 14 boats to tow it in.  Some kind of record!

A Beluga Whale skeleton, now on display in Point Lay.  This photograph is in the hallway of the NARL building

David and Clara even tried on Glenn's goofy wig that he bought at a local shop:

Clara in her beautiful coat, with Angela:

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:

 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:

http://www.henryshavings.com/zina-1.0rc2/index.php?p=Patkotak%20Sisters-Albums%3B%20Barrow%2C%20AK

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:

ALASKAN CARVINGS DISPLAYS

and

September 2006

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:

(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:

sighting at Point Barrow (Nuvuk)

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:

A 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:

An appropriate place for sharing the cultural history of the Eskimo people from Barrow

Here Genelle is etching a wolf roarer of baleen (like the bull roarer you see in Crocodile Dundee that makes a roaring sound when swung in a circle around your head)

The next day, we find her etching another polar bear on baleen.  We bought this one too.  She is a very sweet and friendly person and an excellent artist in her own right.

Here are some of the meat sleds we saw in the yards around town that matched what we saw in the photos:

The Inupiat people (Native Eskimos of Barrow) have a high respect for the animals they take.  There is no sound of joy while a whale is being taken, only after its death.  Harry Brower, Sr. in his book "The Whales They Give Themselves" is quoted here:

The respect for the whale extends even to how the whale meat is stored.  The ice cellar to preserve the whale blubber (maktak) and meat is dug down into the permafrost.  Each year the walls are scraped clean and re-lined with fresh show.

Hunting boats:

Fish camp towards Point Barrow, rougher shelter like camping

Okay, so we found PALM TREES at the top of the world---made of WHALE BALEEN

Even the Nasa Astronauts wrote Fran from the Space Station "what's the delivery charge?"  You've still got the best Mexican food in the universe!

The women choose to prepare the seals because they have a finer way of carving the meat.  If the esophagus is nicked, for instance, digestive worms that live there would invade the meat and ruin it.  

Joe has lived in Barrow for many years now.  He currently works at Pepe's Restaurant and used to deliver water to many households by truck, known fondly then as The Water Boy.  

His 2nd floor apartment across the street looks like it could hold a modest collection of Barrow tools & artifacts (WRONG).  It holds a treasure trove of these PLUS numerous taxidermy animals...more items than we have seen collectively at 4 museums including the Heritage Center.  (He could use a minimum 10,000 square foot building to properly display what he has).  He purchases these from the Inupiat people here in Barrow (stating definitively that NONE of it is for sale).  

He is the guardian, caretaker & collector of these pieces of Barrow history that are truly special to him and to the world.  The Smithsonian has visited many times, as have many celebrities.  But no one will get past the killer guard dog without Joe there.  Here is the sign at the top of his stairs, you'd better believe it:

The tall baleen is set up with markings like a sundial for determining when certain migrating birds will be here or in other parts of the country, based on the shadows that are cast upon it.  Visiting scientists set this up on Joe's porch, it is extremely sophisticated.