Majik_Imaje
Registered: Feb 04, 2008
Total Posts: 264
Country: United States
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Well, the month of March is upon us and that is what we have to do now, March out to the ocean ice and begin chopping a trail for as many miles as it takes for us to reach the place where the ice will crack & open.
Final preparations are being made to all of the equpment and it is time to go whaling again.!!
One of the very first most important things that will be done, is to have the "blessing of the Umiaq's". Anything can happen, this is a dangerous place, and you have to obey all of the rules*. even so,, were in a land of frozen unpredictability, out on that ice.
I have heard people talk of stories in which during the middle of the dark night, (early April) asleep in the tent and the sound of the ice cracking woke everyone up only to see the crack getting wider, from right inside their tent. All of a sudden, there is no such thing as "cold" it is time to hustle and run !!
Two of my very close friends that I haven't been able to spend time talking to you about is Issac & Sally Killigvuk. hmm? yes, that is the same "word" used when we have to evacuate the Ice, in a mass panic, 700 + people running at once for a mad dash to safety, all at once. (done gathering items) in 15 minutes, moving, exiting a mass exodus in a silent choreographed type "ballet" !! That is tons of stuff to move, including children, babies, machinery, etc. I wish there was a way to photograph this from above, but planes are not allowed anywhere near the lead or the ocean ice on the south side when they are out there whaling. Planes must approach from the north side of the beach. Any excessive type noise will spook or scare the animals, this is why these people are "hidden" in the ice. Certain colors are not allowed down at the lead opening. and red is one of those colors.
But at least twice, each year, during whailng, we have to Killigvuk. These people are always prepared, in a moments time to run.
so again come along and lets go whaling, again & again. It doesn't matter which year it is. it always looks the same.
Realize this. you are going to be out there for two months, with absolutely no money. You will not receive any money at all for two months time OR EVER. The captain of the crew your assigned to, will make sure you eat very well 3 - 5 times each and every day for those two months. Once your out there,, you are out there, that's it. YOU OR ANYONE ELSE, doesn't have the room to store 60 pairs of socks to change every day. and the same goes with ALL of the other "different" clothes you change EVERYDAY. ha ha ha..!! After a few weeks, you can take your socks off and "lean" them against anything !! (that was a joke).. no it wasn't.. no it really is !! (chuckle). And just where are you going to go @ 30 or 40 below zero .. .. to change ? (chuckle) LMAO !!!
YOUR on a different planet for two months time, cut off from everything. no newspapers or radio.
Sally's nickname is "Zak" This is one incrediblly smart woman.(she can't read) a very hard working woman with a very large family.
Issac is one of the few and proud people that have a full time permanent job n the village. He drives a huge front end loader, to scrape the streets of the village, keep the airport road open. so that snowmachines, hondas and vehicles can travel back & forth.
Issac is Umailiq of course, Any Inupiaq can / may become a whaling captain, if you can afford it. Opportuinty is knocking and my son Mark is going to take advantage of it. In a different way.
Mark's crew will of course consist of his other 3 brothers, We have one "cook" who hates to cook! but our plans for next year's whale hunt is to "acquire" a crew through people like you ! (yeah !) We will set up camp out on the ice for special people that wish to "live" out there, and have the experience of a lifetime.
You will only be allowed to shoot animals with film not with a rifle. although you are allowed to shoot ducks w/ permit.
IT IS AGAINST THE LAW: for anyone other than an Inupiaq to be in that umiaq when it is in the water. during whaling only. But to have a crew and to have visitors out there, is perfectly acceptable.
There is Issac again, shooting a duck. boom! .. .. and if I said. the duck fell you would never believe me, and rightly so. because that just can't happen. but it has, many times.
I have heard countless times about the rifle that was too rusty. I have heard numerous stories abuot Sharmin who would go hunting with no rifle. and get ducks to drop out of the sky, but pointing a no rifle and saying boom. is like playing an air guitar and hearing the actual music.
the person to the right of Issac, is his (lucky to be alive son) Lazarus.
Story time: !! Once upon a time; Jonah (zak's son) had a girlfriend (Crystal), that was Jonah's girl-friend, they had a child together. Crystal left, Jonah and walked out on him and got a new boy-friend, that was just too much for Jonah to handle.. boom. he committed suicide.
then lazarus decided he didn't want to live either, two days after his brother checked out, Lazarus got the bright idea he would do the same thing. He put the gun under his chin and blew half of his face off and lived !!!
I really didn't ever think that someone could be that stupid, and live.
If you look closely, at the images, of hunters out on the ice, they are usually dressed in earth type; enviorment type, colors only. white for the ice & clouds; blue for the sky & water and brown for the earth.
Hondas and snowmachines and such are not allowed, down at the lead opening, because of the "foreign noise" factor. These are wild animals, easily "spooked" to swim & hide, and avoid the area, animals have many methods they use to communicate with one another, either with "actions" or sounds or "smell".
I was almost killed, on purpose, because of "another" person, who just would not listen and obey the "rules". He was plainly told, he didn't care, he was going to do his own thing, his way,, with habits he learned and mastered in his world, they don't work up here. Two rifles were pointed at me from two of the hunters, because this person just drove a honda out to the lead, left it running (making noise) and screamed out.. Hey Dave !!
The two hunters were Jake Koonuk & His brother Rupert My captains ! Oh no .. Leave now or die they said. I turned around and quckly moved as fast as I could and with out looking back, halfway expecting to get shot in the back.
I ran up to the honda jomped on and told that person , get on and get outta here befoer we both die.. scram !!!.. we did..as I held my breath. when we were a considrable distance away headed back to the village. I stopped, jumped off and screamed at this person.. What did you just do ? Why ? you were told by elders, you cannot just go down there you must be part of a crew !
I was there, when he was told by an elder, and two other people, whew..
This was a person, a construction worker who had met me in town, before whaling had started, The next time he saw me was when I had to pick up some things for the whaling captin I was in town and I had my white hunting parky on. with camera on my chest. Well when I explained what was going on and such, he said wow I sure want to go down ther and see them hunt.
I had never met or known this person, . he is from a place, 5,000 miles away on the east coast - "southie" south boston !!?? ?? ??
huh ? that is where I was born, on emerson street.
Two days later, I was called back down to the ice by Jake & Ruppert, I apologized to Jake & Ruppert, I told them of the elder, they smiled and said yes. we heard. Word reached town on what this worker had done. and he was fired.
figuratively ! he was banned from the village (blue ticket). Literally.
My good close friend Jacob Lane Jr. although the Jr. has been dropped because he has a son Jacob Jr.
Jacob & barbara, were very close friends of mine - elders. sob, they are gone.
Jacob is quite the hunter, but he can't get around like he used to, because in 2003, taking a "ride" on the blanket, he tore up his leg, awful. He limps and it took a long long time to heal his leg.
We are located right on the south beach of Point Hope. here in this image. Hunting seals, and Jacob needs new skins for his umiaq. that requires ugruk skins, six of them to cover an umiaq. and a lot of food left over to store in the freezer.
Selling freezers to eskimo's used to be a big joke when I was a child. but in every house. there are at least two huge freezers. or more.
Continuing on with some "special news".
Formal Eskimo Dance @ Kivgiq held in Barrow (2007).
KIVGAQ is not held every year, but when it is held and announced. Natives from all over the entire state, merge on Barrow for a week long celebration of formal dance and singing. Heres Jacob & Della again. These people are just so happy all of the time and I seldom ever hear of people complaining ever.
Charlie Kinneavak dancing away. This 70 year old, does a dance one a year, only on the last day of Christmas festival and this dance is not allowed to be photographed. The dance is done using pullies for a life size Eskimo doll.!
It is a special dance that only Charlie can do. He made the puppet and he puts on quite a show with this every year.
I will post a few of some of the Point Hope dancers and one "special dancer" showed up and the crowd went wild. In fact you have heard of this very famous person. He is famous all over the world.
He is often in the news. and news was made this year at Kivgaq, when he showed up to dance. Although he didn't bring his guitar, and he is older than when you last remembered seeing him in public, he has also put on just a little bit of weight.. He used to play in vegas quite a bit, before he died. But rumors still exist, that he is alive. He is, he has been hiding in the Arctic all of these years..
Elivs still lives !!! HIGH IN THE ARCTIC.. .. Elvis glows
And the crowd loved him !!! just look at the suprised faces in the crowd!
ha ha ha. gotcha !
Sorry, but I just couldn't resist that "story" !!!
I had to find a way to place it in here to match
the photograph !!!  !!
tHIS THREAD: is growing in a most unique way. Stories of events that have happened to me are I admit extremly bizarre, but I assure you, these are too easy to verify.
Bizzare is the "norm' here in the Arctic. anything can h ahppen and usually does in strange more bizarre ways that you can't even make up or imagine. these are true events.
Amos Lane died in 1989, his dogs woke the entire village up. you remember that part, if you have been reading this thread. That fall, frank Lane was given a new snowmachine from his mother Suyuq - Little Momma.
One cold day in december of 89, Frand drove to Kotzebue 200 miles south of Point hope. He took his brand new sno-go's - snowmobile - snowmachine. etc.
all was well, until he began his return back to Pt. Hope. just south of Kivalina, Frank went through the ocean ice with his machine, He was able to jump off before it went completly under.. He was dry. some hunters from that village that were near by, saw this happen, they rushed over to his aid to make sure
Using a niksit, they were able to grasp the machne and bring it up, on the ice and back to shore a shrot distance away. The hunters wanted to take Frank and his machine back to the village so he cound work on it. Frank said no !
that entire engine was stripped down and cleaned and dried. I just want to get home Frank said.
I remember it quite well, when he arrived back in the village, that year, there were cables hanging out all over the top of that machine. He did manage to get it working and get back. but that machine was quite the sight to see.
but it takes a lot of guts to sit out there, in that wind, and successfully perform all of that difficult work.
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- OUTSIDE !!! Yes !! we have "hot springs' near the village of Buckland !!
