On October 8 of last year, I posted a memorial notice for Arnold Brower, Sr., one Barrow's most accomplished and respected whaling captains. I used a picture that I took at his table, of him ladling caribou soup from a big cooking pot with many family members gathered around. I noted how, just by the taste of it, Arnold could tell you the location where a caribou had been shot and in what season of the year.
He died while hunting caribou at the age of 86. Shortly after he shot his last one, he fell through the ice of the Chip River on his snowmachine. He pulled himself out of the water and, as the story was told in the tracks that he left behind, went to that last caribou and used its fur to pull water from his clothing, and its heat to warm his body.
But it was not enough and so Barrow lost this wonderful man.
This is Gordon, one of his 17 children, and Gordon's son, Bradley. Bradley is already a successful caribou hunter and not too long ago he shot his first seal, which, as Iñupiat tradition demands, he gave away to elders. He is an accomplished fisherman and already knows many of the skills necessary to live on ice and in snow.
Two afternoons ago, I stopped by Gordon's house, which he was busy remodeling. We did an interview hours long and he told me of several experiences that he had had with his dad, and also the process that he and the ABC Crew went through to rise above their grief, get themselves back out on the ice and bring home a whale to feed to the community of Barrow.
Due to weather and ice conditions, this past season was an extremely hard one in Barrow and the first whale caught was not landed until the first hour of May 17 - by Gordon Brower and the ABC crew that he captained in his father's stead.
May 17 was also Arnold Brower Sr's 87th birthday.
After the interview, Gordon fed me some caribou soup and had some himself. And guess who shot the caribou?
Arnold Brower Sr. It was from one of the animals that he had taken on his last hunting trip.
He has been gone for nearly ten months now, and still he continues to feed his family and many others. I feel honored that one of those he fed was me.
And this is Gordon's sister, Dora, and her husband Ned Arey, taken the next night. They are about to feed me mikigaq - fermented meat and maktak - from the whale that the ABC crew landed. Arnold Sr. also taught Ned much of his knowledge and the Arey's have formed a whaling crew of their own.
The second whale of Barrow's season came to them and when it came time for Nalukatak, the two crews joined together as one - because they are one family - to feed the community.
Before we ate, the Arey's also spent a couple of hours telling me of their experiences with Arnold, both before and after his death.
It is going to be a challenge to do this story justice in the special issue of Uiñiq magazine that I am making, but I will give it the best that I can.
Whaling captain Ned Arey loves to barbecue and that's why he placed this tank of propane gas on his deck - to barbecue with. But before he could fire up the grill for the first time, a redpole built a nest and laid some eggs.
So he has not used the barbecue.
About six baby birds have hatched and there is one more to go.
Shortly after Dora showed me the nest, the momma flew away. I was very worried, because it was cold and windy.
"Don't worry," Dora told me. "She will come right back."
And she did.
See the AC and the heart with the arrow through it? That same heart and arrow is on the Arey Crew flag and speaks to God's love in creating the abundance of this world, most notably the whale, which gives itself and is then fed to the people.
This is Qiñugan Teigland, the niece of Julius Rexford, who hosted the Point Lay Nalukatak. Another of her uncles, Olemaun Rexford and his wife, Thelma, recently opened Arigaa Coffee in Barrow, thus creating what is the farthest north roadside coffee kiosk in the world.
At the time of this purchase, a hard wind blasted Barrow and it was cold in that wind. But it hit the kiosk from the other side and so the tiny structure served as a nice little windbreak for me. Furthermore, the kiosk acted a bit like a reflector oven and reflected the sun's heat back to me, so it was kind of pleasant standing there, waiting for the Americano that Qiñugan holds in her hand.
I then walked to the offices of the North Slope Borough, about 400 yards away. By the time I got there, the wind had blown the heat of the American away and it was cold.
Into the microwave it went.
Then I spread some Goobers Peanut Butter and Jelly across two pilot bread crackers, kicked back for a few minutes and enjoyed.
Very soon, a much, much, MUCH colder wind will pummel the little kiosk, a wind that will drive snow with the consistency of powdered sugar before it.
This stay in Barrow was very short. You don't see me but here I am, inside a Beechcraft with a planeload of others, all of us going to a youth and Elders conference, headed toward Nuiqsut.
And here is the view from my hotel room in Nuiqsut. It is the first hotel that I have stayed in this trip and it rocks and shakes in the wind. I hear that an Eskimo dance practice is about to happen at the community center.
I will walk over, and see what is happening there.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 4:02AM ;)
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