Beluga Hunting July 1964

Living in Kivalina in 1964, My husband, Tiger was lucky enough to be part of a group of hunters who caught four beluga whales. It was early July and I remember the anticipation in his voice as he called out “Belugas.” He rushed out to be part of the crew to hunt down these creatures. I was excited as well and hurried to a spot where I thought I could watch the hunt taking place. There was nowhere to watch and I returned home hearing the sound of the boats and the occasional shot.

Tiger returned to the house he told me the crew had caught four belugas. I couldn’t help but think that the old way of hunting was with combined with the new. The umiaqs they used were wooden frames with skin over the frame. In addition, the boat was now powered by an outboard motor. Although they had rifles with them, Tiger told me the belugas were caught by harpoons. What an experience for him!

He said all the village would be at the area where the belugas were being hauled up to shore and suggested to me to come and join the excitement. I was surprised to find that the belugas looked more like white proposes than whales.To me the belugas looked huge. Tiger later told me that belugas weighed between 2,000 to 3000 pounds whereas a killer whale can weigh up to 12,000 pounds. I can’t even imagine the men hauling one up to land.

When I arrived, it appeared as though every man, woman and child had come to participate in an ancient tradition. Everybody had a knife to cut off pieces of the flipper and I knew I was witnessing something that had been part of the culture for hundreds of years. It was fun to watch the children as they eagerly cut off a piece and chewed it with satisfaction. The look of delight on their faces is something I will never forget.

I hoped no one would suggest that I try a piece but Tiger whispered to me “you need to try it Deanne.” I shook my head indicating I really did not want to try it, but he had already cut off a piece and handed it to me. Everybody was watching my reaction as I took a bite and I smiled at them to let them know it was okay. In reality, it was tough — perhaps a bit like shoe leather with salt on it but for the Eskimos it was a delicious treat, one they looked forward to every year.

Tiger told me the men would do most of the work the work on the belugas, cutting them up and laying them in strips to dry. I was happy knowing I would not have the work I had when I cut up the seals a month ago.

The day after the beluga hunt we were invited by a neighbor to eat as she put it “real Eskimo food.“ Some of the food served was muktuk which was the skin and the blubber of the beluga caught the day before. In those days it was most often eaten raw. It was too fatty for me to eat much of it but I was happily surprised to find I liked it. It is still served raw but now the natives often serve it finely diced, breaded, deep fried and served with soy sauce. Such a departure from the traditional way of serving it but something I would love to try. I look back on that time so many years ago, and realize how lucky I was to be part of a culture that is changing rapidly in part due to climate change.

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