Point Lay Nalukatak: Warren Neakok comes to the feast (Part 7 of 10)

About midafternoon, an announcement is made that Warren has decided to come. Bill Tracey, his son-in-law, goes to pick him up, with some help from the youth.

Bill wheels his father-in-law backwards down the ramp built to his door.

The ride to the Nalukatak grounds.

Warren is helped out of the truck. The gospel singers are now performing, "How Great Thou Art."

Warren is greeted by his daughter, Marie Tracey.

Warren, Surrounded by his children.

More relatives gather, including sister-in-law Grace from Anaktuvuk Pass.

Captain Julius shows his appreciation. Before the picture taking was over, probably everyone present, including all of Atkaan gathered.

Even with all the attention, she gets him for herself.

Warren Neakok.

The ambulance is not here for Warren. It is here just in case someone should get hurt during the blanket toss. Warren has moved beyond the years of life when he might be thrown from the blanket, but thanks to him and his wife, young people get tossed off the blanket on this day.

(To be continued)

Point Lay Nalukatak: Time to sing gospel, catch candy and keep eating (Part 6 of 10)

Oh what a day, glorious day... even as the feast continued, Point Lay gospel singers sang this and others for those gathered.

Singing gospel.

Jack Stalker and Williard Neakok played gospel guitar.

Captains Thomas Nukapigak and Julius Rexford. Nukapigak holds a bite of bowhead meat.

There was candy, too, thrown over the windbreak, creating a bit of a free-for-all among the kids.

And then mikigaq was served. As I noted earlier, this mikigaq was exquisite!

Point Lay Nalukatak: To Feed the People (part 5 of 10)

Julius and Marie Rexford - captain and wife of Atkaan crew, who brought the whale home and fed the community.

Sadie Rexford, mother of Julius and wife of the late Atkaan (Burton Rexford) addresses the crowd before the blessing is said.

Nora Itta offers the blessing.

As Nora prays, member of both the Atkaan and Nukapigak crews join hands. Atkaan put the first harpoon, with float, and bomb into the whale and that made it their whale. Even so, Julius explained, the Nukapigak crew came right behind to help finish the kill and land the bowhead.

After the blessing, everyone cheers.

Captains Rexford and Nukapigak are joined by Lily Anniskett, daughter of Warren and Dorcas Neakok. As explained in part 1, the Neakok's were the couple that remained in the village when it was abandoned after World War II. They kept their peoples' claim strong upon the land. Both wanted to see bowhead whaling return to the village.

Thanks to a letter written by  the late Dorcas in the 1930's describing her own role in helping to harvest a Point Lay whale, the people were able to prove that they have a history of whale hunting and so received a quota.

Lily tells the crowd that if her 87 year-old father is up to braving the wind and cold of the day, he might put in an appearance later.

Time to serve the people.

Whale meat is distributed.

Duck soup is served.

There is food for all the families that come.

Iceberg 14: those who were in the boat

Wainwright's Ahmaogak family Iceberg 14 whaling crew is much bigger then this, of course, but these are those who were in the boat when they harpooned the whale. At left is Artie, who, since the passing of Ben and Florence is the Elder of the crew. He was not actually in the boat, but as the Elder he commands the same respect.

Next to him is Bennie, who fired the shoulder gun, once the whale had been harpooned. Robert is co-captain and Captain Jason, whom long time readers have already met on the ice in the spring. The young man on the right is Jerry, the harpooner, who did his job well.

Yesterday, they hosted what will be Wainwright's only Nalukatak, or whaling feast, this spring. Due to weather, current and bad ice conditions, it was an exceptionally tough whaling season all along the Arctic Coast and Iceberg 14 was the only Wainwright crew to land a whale.

They fed their community, just the way Ben and Florence used to do, just about every year.

Well, it is Sunday and I am in Wainwright. As promised, I will try to find the time to do at least a quick edit of the Point Lay Nalukatak and post some representative samples.

Need to try to get a few hours sleep - hope to find time to post some Point Lay Nalukatak photos Sunday (part 4 of 10)

I just grabbed this photo without even trying to take a look at my take - a take that is, in fact, still downloading and has quite a ways to go. It is Nita, Uavauq, Kuoiqsik, who have just been served "mikigaq" from the Atkaan whale. Mikigaq is fermented whale meat and maktak. Maktak is skin with blubber still attached.

When I got today's first taste, I thought that I had gone to heaven. It was exquisite - so good. Perhaps because I haven't had any for awhile, but I have always loved mikigaq since I first tried it nearly three decades ago  but I don't ever remember it tasting better than it did today.

Remember when, just before noon, I headed toward the Nalukatak grounds and estimated that I would be working out there for the next 12 to 14 hours? Right now, it has been 13 hours and 53 minutes - and I just got back from the shoot.

I must catch a morning Frontier Flying Service flight which will take me almost directly over Wainwright and into Barrow. Once I get to Barrow, I must almost immediately get back on another Frontier flight so that I can fly back to Wainwright. When there was competition among air carriers here, it wasn't like that. You could get on a plane in Point Lay and get off in Wainwright - and that is the fare that you would pay, Wainwright to Point Lay.

Now they make you pay Point Lay to Barrow, then pay the full Barrow to Wainwright fare.

And those fares are much more than they used to be.

It is very aggravating.

I need to get my own airplane again.

That was the best yet.

My hope is that Sunday I can find some time to do pull out some representative images from the Nalukatak that I just covered and post them.

So please come back.