Cora Ann, her Aapa Max and a cat named Siqñiq

This is baby Cora Ann, sleeping soundly on a love seat in the home of her Aapa Max Akpik and Aaka Cora Akpik in Wainwright. Aapa and aaka = grandfather and grandmother. The hand that rests so reassuringly upon her little leg belongs to her Aapa Max.

Here they are - Cora Ann and Aapa Max. 

But where is Siqniq? Siqñiq the cat?

Well, I needed to take a little break from this blog to give Grahamn Kracker a chance to put a post on his and he wanted Siqñiq all to himself. You can find his post here:

No Cats Allowed - The Kracker Cat Blog.

And if by chance you have come upon this post at a later time and you go there and find the site but cannot find Siqñiq, then here is the direct link:

Siqñiq - with her around, the Arctic is always a sunny, warm, place

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.

I put my mind back into India - and to Wainwright, where Jason Ahmaogak and the Iceberg 14 Crew landed a whale today

This waking day, June 5, 2009, is now 21.5 hours long for me and I feel a little bit sleepy. I had planned to get back to blogging the wedding before I went to bed, but, instead, I think I will go to bed. But here is one image, just to put the mindset of this blog back in India, at the wedding.

Compared to a typical American wedding, which is simple and over with quickly, an Indian wedding is long and complex, so I have a challenge to figure out how to condense the huge amount of photos that I have left into something that can summarize it quickly. If I keep going as I have been going, I will still be blogging this next month, but I want to get it done soon, so I will sleep on it and try to figure it out tomorrow.

Remember Jason and the Wainwright Iceberg 14 whaling crew? 

They caught a bowhead whale today. Up until today, it had been an extremely tough season in Wainwright. Normally, it would have been over well before now, with about four or five whales landed, but the ice just did not cooperate. As recently as this morning, I received an email from a Wainwright friend, telling me that the ice was still closed.

As for Jason, he had left a message on facebook stating that he was not giving up, but would stay out there as long as possible.

Jason - you and all your family and crew have done honor to the memory of your great aapa and aaka (grandfather and grandmother). I feel so happy and proud, just to know you, to be a small part of your life.

A 21.5 hour day? Ha! I know this one will probably be a 48 hour day for you - maybe longer. And I know you will be smiling, loving every minute of it - so pleased that a whale gave you the honor of feeding your community. Wish I were with you.

See you at Nalukatak!

Wainwright whalers make a boat ramp while waiting for a good east wind to reopen the lead

This is where the snowmachine ride from the previous post took me - offshore out onto the sea ice a few miles north of Wainwright. That's whaling captain Jason Ahmaogak walking farthest from the camera to study the thin, broken jumbled ice that has closed the lead.

Just a few days before I arrived, the lead was open right in front of where Jason is. He and other members of the Iceberg 14 crew had launched their boat and chased whales.  Under the leadership of Jason's late grandfather, Ben Ahmaogak, Sr., Iceberg 14 has long been an exceptionally successful and respected whaling crew.

Ben died in May of last year and passed the title of whaling captain on to Jason, who has an exceptional crew of both men and women behind him - including his Aunt Mary Ellen, who has thrown the harpoon and shot the heavy, brass, shoulder gun and brought bowhead home.

A jet passes over shards of the thin, jumbled ice.

When wind and current again takes away the ice that Jason stands on to reopen the lead, the edge of the shore-fast ice will be several feet above the water. Before this happens, the crew wants to make a boat ramp. Working with a chain saw, shovel and pick axes, they begin.

John Hopson, another whaling captain, uses the saw to cut into the ice.

You can see the ramp forming behind John.

Taking a break.

Time to eat some caribou roast.

Then back to work.

Finally, the job is just about done. Terry Tagarook gives John Hopson a pat and jokes that they need to make their trails as smooth as John's head. Terry is a school teacher and, with the exception of me, taught every single person working out here this day.

That's not quite true, because Terry has taught me, too, just not in the classroom.

Lolo carries tools out of the boat ramp, the closed lead behind her.

Wainwright whalers. 

I am home in Wasilla now, for just three more days. I did not want to leave the whalers, but I have a commitment of the heart in India and so I did.

I also have a commitment of the heart to this community, Wainwright. If I am fortunate enough to enjoy good health and continued survival, I will be back.

Before I leave, I will post a few more images from Wainwright and maybe Barrow, too.

Finally, I ignore these damned injuries and do something

For the first time since I took my big fall and got hurt June 12 of last year, I got out into the country and did something. Remember how I said that, in the situation that I am now, I did not think that I could drive a snowmachine and I knew that I could not hang onto the back of the sled?

Yesterday, Jason Ahmaogak was ready to go down to the ice to work on the boat launch in the hope that the wind and current would soon shift and the lead would open.

I could not stay on land. I was going to ride on the back of another snowmachine, but the driver hurt her wrist and could not go, so she said I could take it.

Of course, I have this brace on my wrist, not to mention the weakness and soreness, but I decided to give it a try. I found a way to do it.

It felt so good, to be out there on the ice.

So good! Wish there could have been water, wish there could have been whales, wish I could be here when there is water and whales.

I will be either on my way to or in India by then.

It will be good to be there, too, but I will miss Wainwright and the whales.

Too many places to be, all at once.

More on the little outing next post.