Culture Camp was quite interesting yesterday

We had a few elders talking to us about Tikigaq and the history of the village.  It was very fascinating.  One man had on 30 year old Mukluks (high boots) which still smelled animalish.  I think it is probably the whale fat he uses to cure them every year.

They talked about the old ways and how they strive to live by the old ways.  They still get whales for the village and they talked about the traditions of the tribe.  They talked about how the old whale bone sod houses could be warmed with a single candle because of the construction.

They talked of the advancing sea and how the village used to be 15 miles from here.  Other villages are under water.  The point used to stick out miles further and that is where one old village was.

They talked about the circle of life and the ice being much less certain now than in the past.  30 years ago, the ice would be gone 2 or 3 months but now the ice is gone from April to October.  Their whaling lives depend on ice.  The whales and walrus were predictable when they had ice.

They also talked about whalers and how the took whales for the oil until petroleum was found and used.  The whales were devastated by whalers.  After oil was found, the whales were not taken as before and they came back.

During the Whaling years, the tribes lost 3/4 of the population from diseases brought by the whalers.  Every family a 100 years ago lost a lot of family members.  The population had been 2000 but went to 120 or so within 2 years.

the destruction of the environment and oil drilling is concerning to the speakers.  If they lose the whales, walrus, seals and fish to oil spills - there tribe cannot survive.  It would also increase the rate of melting ice.  It is losing ice too fast without the oil spills.

This is an old society and they are working to bring back the native languages for the youth.  I learned alot.  They are an amazing people to have lived in extreme weather for thousands of years.