Photography as a "Hobby" .. .. ..

[Majik Imaje]

We could hear, whales in the distance, a few hundred feet in front of us, behind those big pressure ridges, it is obvous there is another lead open, in the distance. It is extremely quiet - the bowhead makes a distinctive noise when it reaches the surface. that 'whoosh' as water (spray) flies into the air at least 50 feet high.

When they pass by, and you view the photos, THEN you will notice, the whales do not lift their tails out of the water .. .... BUT.. .. (continued).

Photos will be coming, as soon as this lead opens

My son Mark has been whaling in Point Hope many times. On Killigvuk's crew. "Killigvuk" where have you seen or heard that word before ?

Killigvuk = to pack up and evacuate the ice pack because of a sudden shift in the wind.. DANGEROUS - ice is advancing towards our location.


Thursday afternoon of this week, (mid may) we left the ice, due to extremely high west winds. Sunday morning @ 8: 00 am we headed back out. Other crews have their sleds and showmachines parked on this property, (Edwardsons Crews). they headed back out @ 2:00 am this morning. The lead is wide open, plenty of open water, the time has arrived !!

and.. on a slightly different matter of what is involved, we witnessed a fire, down on the ice, near the land. A snowmachine caught on fire.

This is another one of the many reasons, that once you head out to the ice.. you stay there, these machines have a tough time, when there is no ice / snow to travel on, Ice must be used to cool the housing down, some goes as far as to jam ice / snow under the machine, when they have to ride on gravel. In this case, .. .. it is obvious what can happen. I am not saying this happens lots, but it can happen. Lots of people do not take proper care of their machines. Theft / or vandalism is a major problem in all villages ! Hondas, Vehicles, Snowmachines, ask any PSO !!

Especially @ dividend time. People fly to Kotzebue to purchase a new machine, and a day or two later it is gone, never to be found again. There are at least a dozen or so villages around the immediate Kotzebue area. I know what I have seen and heard about. so sad !!

A young boy here in Barrow died one beautiful peaceful day last year. Pressured to steal a honda by his 'friends', they went riding around the village. At one point they were getting fancy doing 'stunts'. There are many games children play on hondas, tag is one of those games, stunts is another. This stunt went wrong and the young boy died. His friends left the scene but were all caught a day or so later. Leo was only 12 or 13 years old. sob.

Leo's older brother Ben learned how to carve in our shop - He gave his first bracelet to his momma. Leo wanted to learn. We never got the chance. Sudden accidental death is no stranger in any village. Too many children die very young. We have witnessed too much .. people we were very close to in Point Hope.

 

[Majik Imaje]

We are back again, already, we left town this morning @ 8 am.. back in town 10 pm.

35 mph West winds drove us from the ice, in a rush, That ice was moving quick. we had to scram.

More photos, more stories -

No whales yet in Point Hope. (bowheads). and so far none in Barrow. Pt Lay is the Only successfull harvest so far .

It turned out 1 2 3 One for Point Lay - Two for Point Hope - 3 for Barrow. That is a terrible season for Barrow - all because certain people would not listen and let EVERYONE in on the hunt. Greed and selfishness took over logial common sense !! Too much of a rush.

you do not have to be an expert weather person to see it is time to get the heck out of here.. .. NOW !!

Windy, blowng snow, the wind shifted to the west again.. we have to get out of here..

Windy, blowng snow, the wind shifted to the west again.. we have to get out of here..

Another crew is set up, in our area. We have 3 crews in our area, every camp is identical in each and every aspect.

You can not tell one from the other !!

 

[Majik Imaje]

This is the daily routine now, sit, stand, wait, watch, look, and listen - all day - all night.

Two miles in back of our location is the tent. Walk.. no machines down here. no noise.

Three different crews, you can't tell the difference one from the other, everything is exacting down here.

those three crews are: Euguene's - Olemons- Harold Browers

The lead is a very quiet place, voices low, no vehicles, sssshhh.. listen - look, wait & watch.

 

[AKBassking]

The problem is that "Eskimo" is the only term in the English language which encompasses all Eskimo people, cultures, or languages (including ancient ones such as Dorset and Thule). Inupiat and Yupik are both Eskimo (people, cultures, and languages), but are distinctly different. When speaking in the English language, the term "Eskimo" is the appropriate word to use when both Inupiat and Yupik are included. That is why the AEWC is the "Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission"!

If one is describing something in Barrow only, it is okay to use "Eskimo", but is more specific to use Inupiat (Inupiaq is the language, and is also singular). But if one is describing Savoonga, where the people speak Siberian Yupik, it is also okay to use Eskimo but perhaps better to use Yupik. And it would never be okay to mix the Inupiat term with the Yupik term.

It gets even more complex, because Central Alaskan Yup'ik is "Yupik", but is spelled "Yup'ik" to differentiate it. (The two are pronounced exactly the same.) And of course in Canada and Greenland they don't use "Inupiat" and instead have several other regional terms.

(Disclaimer: I am not a linguist, but I know some of the best. After 40+ years I've gotten to the point where I can pronounce Kwigillingok well enough that an English speaker can't tell I'm not right, and a Yup'ik speaker will be amazed at how close it is.

Thanks for the lesson. This is very interesting.

 

[Majik Imaje]

This is the daily routine now, sit, stand, wait, watch, look, and listen - all day - all night. Sound boring ? nah, the excitement is so thick you can cut it with a knife !! It truely is an electrifying experience to witness first hand in person !!

Now here is a question: Why is that boys parky so long ? No it is not too big for him. It was made specificly for him for a certain purpose !! Do you know why this parky is made in this fashion ? Only an Inupiaq hunter would know the real reason !!

Day after day, - same routine - they will come. Just be patient and wait.

Note: a .223 is all you need to take down any animal, in fact a .22 magnum can kill anything, even a bowhead ! That is what we were told last night in camp (story time).

That vital spot in the whale, in the eyeball ! Polar Bear - bottom of the eye or in the ear . Nose also if your that close, in fact .. the proper way to hold a knife against a bear, do not keep your arm horizontal, keep it vertical. that did come up !!

Young hunters with little experience in living out on the ocean ice pack are constantly taught by the elders and captains proper techniques to use for all sorts of circumstances !!

 

[AkSKeyMoe]

Well the person who sits at the rear of the umiaq is the helmsman. He uses an oar or paddle to steer the umiaq in the direction that the captain requests.

Ah yes, thank you. I'm just so used of hearing the captain as being the helmsman.

 

[Majik Imaje]

Well in some instances that can be true. For instance - sometimes a captain will steer and let his oldest son, harpoon the whale. The helmsman or Aquti has the best view, He is sitting much higher and he can (at times). see the whale under the water much easier than the person up front

 

[Majik Imaje]

This year during fall whaling. A whale was successfully harvested by a 9 year old boy who harpooned (Kappii) his very first whale !!

 

[Majik Imaje]

There are two types of 'hunting' winter parky's that are made for hunting. Each has a specific purpose.

Most of the parky's that are used here - out on the ice are mid-length.

this is a typical hunting parky. The long parky is specificlly used INLAND!

The main reason that the parky is made extra long: Is to keep your legs dry - when driving on the wet tundra, which will splash water on your legs/thighs and eventually make you very cold; wet and uncomfortable.

 

[Majik Imaje]

This is one dangerous weapon to have in your hands when that trigger is pulled !!

 

[Majik Imaje]

This is just the nicest way to spend the day - food shopping !! It sure beats walking into a supermarket. There is no comparison for the excitement value !!

The old traditions / Modern technology -high in the sky !!

Trying to snag a crab !!

 

[danattherock]

Cool pics Majik. I too like the shot with the plane up top. Quite the juxtaposition indeed.

 

[Majik Imaje]

o=a chuckle !!! Thanks Dan ! I can't really put into words, how exciting it is being here, out on the ice for whaling, Yes that jet flying over is quite the contrast !!
What makes that photo so interesting to me is the 'legs' on the sled - sleeping / resting!!

Old world / new world technologies !!

 

[Majik Imaje]

I have 'video's' of all of what is going on here, with the shoulder gun. I will post them a.s.a.p.

This is different - here in Barrow. Point Hope doesn't bring the tents this close to the edge of the ice. In Point Hope the tents are 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile behind the crews. This is the womens tent. the hunters sleep outside at the lead - no tents.

but here in Barrow the men are virtually the only crew members on the ice at the lead. Some crews do have women paddling - Point Hope & in other villages as well.


It is just the greatest most exciting way to spend the day, and I can't wait for next spring !!!

The Gauntlet : The Lead ! - 37 crews - spaced out @ 1/2 mile intervals. Waiting for lots animals to enter, through the lead. In other words.. Let them enter .. and move through with lots of animals.

then when yu have a huge selection (for everyone) then That is the time !! for Everyone to go all out and hunt for food for the ENTIRE VILLAGE.

But greedy - young - inexperienced people decided to JUMP THE GUN and rush before the animals entered the lead. This is against the Inupiaq Values !! Eugene threw up his hands in discust and said.. lets go home. Whaling is over for this year (meaning the spring hunt). So as a result only 3 very small whales were harvested and everyone paid a dear price for that greed !! I am telling it like the President of the AEWC repeated it again and again.. He was pissed off big time from people / crews being too lazy to cut their own trail and hyjacked two of our trails and complety took them over- forcing us to move for the third time.

We are first in line - Our crews were as far west as possible at the tip of the Point. The animals have to pass by us FIRST. We want to hide / wait until the lead is well populated for many miles - THEN STRIKE. !!

SO SAD ! to see so much work go into this. FORGET the expense of wasted money. You would never ever believe how much it cost a captain to bring & maintain a crew out on that ice for two months !!

 

[Majik Imaje]

and here they go.. This is called .. .. Hooray for us and screw you !!

None of the animals have entered the lead opening yet. They are approaching. wait.... NOPE.. others have their own agenda and 33 captains get screwed because of the rush. Al the animals scatter and the hunt was a total disaster!! tisk tisk. So sad - all of that months worth of work - for nothing !!

 

[minkedge]

Sorry to hear of the negative outcome this go round, but thank you for continually sharing with us, MI. This has to be one of the most, if not the most, informative, entertaining threads on the forums, in any category.

I've been more of a lurker than a poster, but I always come back to check out what else you've shared.

 

[Majik Imaje]

Two things you will immediately notice in this video. It is very cold and windy & people do not speak !! Only when necessary !! turn up the volume to hear the wind. This short clip is only 3.8 meg


Shoulder Gun Video

 

[Majik Imaje]

Sorry to hear of the negative outcome this go round, but thank you for continually sharing with us, MI. This has to be one of the most, if not the most, informative, entertaining threads on the forums, in any category.

I've been more of a lurker than a poster, but I always come back to check out what else you've shared.

thank you very much for taking the time to post and thanks for givng up of your valuable time, to read 'my labor of love' for the Inupiaq peoples of the Arctic.

 

[Majik Imaje]

Its all about 'food' !!

 

[Abitibi101]

Its all about 'food' !!

Hello Majik,

Long time no talk...... believe you had a good season..! What kind of animal is the dog is looking for.??

Regards,
Ghislain