The other day, a friend told me she was busy canning things to put away for winter. It was mid- September and I was looking forward to more warm days and perhaps Indian summer in mid -October. Winter was the last thing on my mind.
Suddenly, I thought about this time of year in Kivalina. The natives started preparing for winter in the late spring just after the remnants of winter had disappeared and the snow was off the ground. As soon as the salmon started to run, preparations for the winter ahead would begin. The men fished every day and the women cleaned and dried the fish. Seal hunting took place in early July. The women cut up the seals and removed blubber from the skins. It was rendered into oil, put in containers and used as a staple similar to olive oil. The seal skin had many uses. A primary use was to make new mukluks (warm boots that were often lined with fur) and cover the hull of the boats for fishing.

Beluga and caribou hunting followed and the meat was dried for the winter ahead.
The women went berry picking in mid- August and preserved the berries in seal oil. It wasn’t palatable to me and so I put them in water and they fermented.

Tiger asked me to go to fish camp and help Sarah Hawley with the cooking and the washing of the dishes. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go but on the other hand I didn’t want to stay home alone. I was nervous because the natives had started to talk about the Enuchen (spelling). They were known as wild people who played tricks on the people living in the village. Tiger told me not to worry about them because he didn’t believe in them. But I did — some said they might even be spirits and having been brought up by a superstitious grandmother, I was certain they existed. I was frantic when I had to stay home alone but Tiger kept assuring me the Enuchen did not exist. How could he be so certain?

Fish camp was the final preparation for winter. We traveled by boat thirty miles up river, where we pitched our tents. All the men slept in one tent with the exception of Bobby and Sarah Hawley and their two children who slept in the tent with Tiger and me and our dog Bubbles.

Every day, the men would go out fishing with a seine thirty to sixty feet long. The seining net could hold up to two tons of fish. These catches would take several men to haul the fish to shore.
The men returned from fishing hungry and exhausted, waiting for their dinner of Arctic char. Sarah cooked the fish from the previous day’s catch in a wood fired stove. She cooked it close to an hour. In my mind it was over cooked but the men didn’t mind as long as it filled their bellies. They ate it with the traditional seal oil which warmed them up after a long day. The men ate in a separate tent and Sarah, the children and I ate together.

One of the nights we were there, I expected to hear the men laughing and talking in the other tent as they usually did while they were eating. There was total silence. In our tent, Sarah sat in silence also and tried to keep the children quiet as well. Trying to ask her about this, she put her finger to her lips and shook her head.

Tiger and Bobby returned to the tent without making a sound. Later, after Bobby and Sarah were asleep, Tiger whispered to me “We sat with our backs against the tent. We were sure the Enuchen were outside. I didn’t believe in these people or whatever they are, but I sure do now. Did you hear the rustling?” I knew then why Sarah was sitting not saying a word. She too, had heard the soft murmuring. Sarah and I spent the four days inside the tent leaving only when nature called. We were both nervous about bears that might be lurking around and also of the wild people. I thanked God I survived fish camp and the Enuchen.

As we prepare for winter this year,we need to hide from our own demons or spirits.Its name is Covid 19. By social distancing, wearing a mask and getting a flu shot, we can perhaps protect ourselves from this monster. I remember the short time I spent in the in Kivalina during the dark days when we never saw the sun. Winter came howling in with a vegeance and social distancing became the norm as we huddled in our houses to keep warm. A scarf or a sweater pulled up over our noses was almost like the masks that we are wearing today. Life was not easy then. It will not be easy this winter either but we can all sacrifice a little to protect every one.