Point Hope ceremonial whale bones site vandalized

Several Point Hope residents expressed frustration after the whale bones at the historical ceremonial site were vandalized last week.

The whale bones at the Old Town Oalgi Site near Point Hope marked the spots where residents used to celebrate whaling feasts thousands of years ago. The City and the Native Village of Point Hope officials announced on July 8 that someone cut the bones. People with information about the incident were asked to contact the North Slope Borough Police Department.

“This news hurt our community and (we are) in shock that someone could do this to us,” said former city mayor Daisy Sage.

The incident happened late Tuesday or early Wednesday, according to Steve Oomittuk, a long-time Point Hope resident and community leader. Oomittuk said he witnessed the bones cut and lying on the ground on Wednesday and said that “it was a sad sight to see.”

“We are all pretty devastated – It hurts from the inside,” said Oomittuk who was born and raised in Point Hope. Generations of his family have lived in the village, known as Tikigaq in Inupiaq. “It really took a toll on the people, especially the Elders, who cried their hearts (out). It’s so sad that someone can do that.”

Martha Frankson, who was born and raised in Point Hope but currently lives in Delta Junction, said that Old Town Oalgi Site has two bone piles: The Uñasiksiqauk side, located toward the point, and Qaqmaqtuuk, close to the old ice cellars. The bones, some of which might be dated from the 1800s, were dug into the ground so they stay secure from falling over.

“They survived our time, our parents’ time,” Frankson said. “All the people in our town know to respect them and not to tear them down or, like what they did, saw them down.”

The bones at the gravesite remained untouched, while most of the bones at the ceremonial grounds were cut down and left at the site.

The ceremonial grounds are sacred to the residents of Point Hope, a village that is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America and the heart of whaling, Oomittuk said. The bones that were cut have been in the village for thousands of years, and some marked shamans’ graves, honored in the community.

“We’ve been hunting the whales for over 2,500 years, and the whale has always been the center of everything,” Oomittuk said. “Our houses, our graveyards are made from the whale jawbones. The ribs are what our ancestors made traditional tools from. The membrane of the whale liver is the skin of our drums used for the songs, the dances to tell the story of the people of Tikigaq.

“The animals that give themselves to us we celebrate as the gift of life,” he continued. “The animals that gave themselves to us – they fed us, they clothed us, they sheltered us.”

Oomittuk said that the community will restore the ceremonial grounds but seeing the bones down on the ground is still painful to residents who lived beside them all their life, and to Elders who want to pass their culture to the generations after.

“It’s just not right; It’s something that takes from the people,” he said. “We live in such a different time. We never know what’s gonna happen in this world, but we want to continue our way of life. We want the younger generation to understand the rich history, rich culture that lie in front of them, our way of life that continues.”