Six Arctic communities celebrated successful whaling season in June

The spirit of collaboration and sharing spread across the Arctic as the communities of Point Hope, Nuiqsut, Wainwright, Point Lay, Kaktovik and Utqiagvik celebrated whaling feasts last month.

In Nuiqsut, the sole Nalukataq happened on a sunny day on June 14.

“What a blessing to see everyone and fill their totes with food,” co-captain Katt Napageak said. “Happy faces with only one whale caught.”

[‘Joy overflowing’: Point Hope whaling captain and widow shares harvest at Qaġruq]

In Wainwright, Jerry and Stephanie Ahmaogak hosted their first Nalukataq. This spring, the captains of the Iceberg 3 crew landed their first two whales.

“We have tried fall whaling for several years, and this spring was our first year out,” Jerry Ahmaogak said.

Their first 33-foot whale caught on April 28 opened the season for the community, and the captains held the first of the five Wainwright Nalukataqs of the year on June 17.

The couple spent three days preparing and cooking for the feast, Jerry Ahmaogak said.

“Thank you to everyone who took part in the hunt, to butchering, to helping with cooking and serving,” Jerry Ahmaogak said. “Our thanks are not enough, but we appreciate all the help that was given from beginning to the end.”

Residents, as well as family members and visitors from other villages, enjoyed warm weather with a light breeze during all five days of the celebrations, said the captain’s wife Edna Ahmaogak.

“It was just a time to be with people, to bless people with the whale, with the food that was harvested, all the shorebirds. ... There was just a busy, happy time for Wainwright,” she said. “People were fed, people were happy. The delicacy of the mikigaq was a hit.”

In Utqiagvik, the Makalik crew led by Justina and Ross Wilhelm were one of the two crews wrapping up the celebrations for the community and the region.

The celebrations followed a season with unstable ice conditions that needed constant assessment, Justina Wilhelm said. The Makalik crew was not able to harvest some parts of their whale but gathered as much as they could safely, she said.

“My 15-year-old son, Hunter Qimmiuraq Wilhelm, harpooned his first whale this season,” she said. “My husband Ross and I are incredibly proud of the young hunter he has become.”

After landing their whale in early May, the Makalik crew started preparing for the June celebrations. They harvested the whale piece by piece, hauling it on sleds from the ice to shore and cutting it into individual servings, she said. The process “takes many hands,” she said.

To prepare the mikigaq, or fermented whale, from whale meat, skin, blubber and tongue, the crew took turns stirring it three times a day for over two weeks before the Nalukataq, she said.

“There is much time and hard work that is put forth year-round and Nalukataq allows for a time to celebrate and share,” she said. “What makes me proud as a mother and aunt is to see my hard-working children, nieces and nephews, eager to learn and continue to carry on our cultural traditions, along with our elders ready and willing to guide and teach us as well.”

When it was time for the feast, the crew woke up early in the sunny morning to raise the flag and pray. The celebration went late into the day, wrapped up with Inupiaq dancing.

“The happy faces and eager-to-serve crew members set the energy which was definitely positive, warming our hearts,” Justina Wilhelm said. “The gift of the whale brings our community together to celebrate, spend time together and fill our freezers. Family and friends flew in for our special day, and I lost track of the many hugs that were given.”