STAFFAN WIDSTRAND TFA WIDSTRAND STAFFAN M AGNUS ELANDER KN U TB R Y K N U T B R Y TFA WIDSTRAND STAFFAN M AGNUS ELANDER STAFFAN W IDSTRAND In mid-April, when the weather is warming and open leads are forming in the sea ice, the bow- head whales start to appear in the dark waters off the northern coast of Alaska. The Iñupiat whalers have been preparing for this since the previous summer, catching caribou, fish, seals, and birds for food, clothing, and the skin cover of the umiaq, the six-meter-long whaling boat. They have scouted the ice to gauge where the leads would form, prepared all their equipment, and headed out onto the floating sea ice to make a camp. Hiding behind blocks of snow, they Peoples of the North look for the sleek black back of the bowhead and the puff of spray it exhales, waiting for one that swims close to the ice edge. The hunt is successful today, and the crew can haul back a large whale, cut it up, and make piles of meat and maktak to be shared among all those who helped with the hunt. Women serve coffee, doughnuts, and boiled maktak to sustain the workers, and amid all the hard work is laughter and joy, the joy of being Iñupiat. Everything from the whale is brought back to the village, and the captain holds a feast in his house. Soon, he will be preparing for the large feast at the end of the season. He and his crew will serve hundreds of people, sharing the whale and its gifts, renewing communal ties, and danc- ing to show their gratitude to the whale. These scenes from Alaska give a glimpse of the role of catching, preparing, and sharing food in one Arctic native community, but food is at the heart of people’s lives everywhere. We eat to get energy and nourishment. We share our meals with family and friends to strengthen social ties. With food, we celebrate our cultures and reaffirm our sense of community. PAUL NICKLEN In recent years, food has also become an is- sue in the discussion about contaminants. A cru- cial question for many Arctic peoples is whether their traditional foods are safe to eat. Public health officials struggle to weigh risks against benefits, whereas the communities themselves also see how environmental threats from an outside world may hasten the pace of cultural change. Therefore, an assessment of the impact of contaminants on Arctic environments must consider the context of northern cultures. This chapter describes the people living in the Arctic, with a focus on indigenous populations. The goal is to provide information about the role of different foods, both as sources of nutri- tion and as cultural ties, and about other factors that are important for people’s health. Together with data on the specific contaminants, this in- formation will form a basis for the assessments made in the concluding chapter on human health. A second, equally important goal is to provide a brief description of how northern people live, because an accurate understanding of this is KNUT BRY crucial when communicating information about Y R B contaminants in the Arctic. T U N K 52 United States: Alaska Peoples of the North Alutiiq Alaska is the northwestern-most of the United The Alutiiq, or Sugpiaq, live in southwestern States and the only state that extends into the and south-central Alaska, on the Alaska Arctic. Most of the state is included in the Peninsula, Kodiak Island, the southern Kenai AMAP assessment, the exception being the Peninsula, and the areas surrounding Prince southeastern ‘panhandle.’ It is a wider area William Sound. They share cultural attributes than the US definition of Arctic Alaska; see the with both the Aleut and the Yup’ik. Alutiiq figure opposite. communities are situated along the coast. Fish There are three groups of Alaska Natives, (mainly salmon) and terrestrial animals (mainly commonly called Aleut, Inuit (or Eskimo), and caribou) are the most important food sources, Indian. About 73000 of them live in the area but birds, plants, and marine mammals are of AMAP’s responsibility, where they make up also part of the diet. Commercial fishing is the about 15 percent of the population. In many primary economic activity. rural areas, they are in the majority. All native cultures of Alaska are in the Athabascan midst of change as people are trying to adapt The Athabascans live in the boreal forest of to a wide variety of modern influences. Politi- interior Alaska and parts of the Yukon Terri- cally, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act tory and the Northwest Territories of Canada. of 1971 established regional and village corpo- Traditional activities include salmon fishing, rations. These corporations are to protect na- caribou and moose hunting, and trapping. tive interests and encourage economic, social, Birds, other terrestrial mammals, and some and political integration, but their success has plants are also taken, and coastal communities been hotly debated. Several questions sur- hunt marine mammals, such as beluga. Barter- rounding subsistence rights and traditional ing with Iñupiat and Yup’ik neighbors has hunting practices are also unsettled. brought seal oil and other marine products to Many people are moving from region to inland communities. region and from villages to urban centers. However, traditional customs and activities Central Yup’ik remain a common tie and are important The Central Yup’ik, also known as Yup’ik and sources of identity, even for people who live including the Cup’ik, live on the coast and outside the core areas described below. tundra of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in southwest Alaska. They are the most numer- ous of Alaska’s Inuit groups. Most children Peoples of Alaska still speak the native language. Subsistence Aleut activities center on fish. Marine and terrestrial The Aleut inhabit the islands of the Aleutian mammals, birds, bird eggs, and plants also chain, including the Kommandor Islands of play significant roles in the diet. The customs Russia, the Pribilof Islands of the Bering Sea, of Central Yup’ik remain strong in the villages and the Alaska Peninsula of the North Ame- of southwest Alaska, and include many tradi- rican mainland. Primarily a sea-going people, tions and beliefs around hunting and sharing. the Aleut depend mostly on fish, marine mam- mals, and birds for food. Commercial fishing Eyak is the most important economic activity along The Eyak are linguistic relatives of the Atha- the Aleutian chain. Military activity during bascans. They live on the southern coast of and after World War II forced many Aleut vil- Alaska, to the east of Prince William Sound. Roasting caribou at lages to relocate, and it has also influenced the Although Eyak are the least numerous of hunting camp, Alaska. economy of the region. Alaska’s indigenous groups and only one elder speaks the language, many Eyak are working to revive their culture. Iñupiat The Iñupiat live in the coastal and tundra re- gions of Alaska north of Norton Sound in the Bering Sea. Although their language is related to the Siberian Yupik and Central Yup’ik, the Iñupiat are more closely related to Inuvialuit, Inuit, and Kalaallit of Canada and Greenland. Coastal Iñupiat depend on marine mammals, caribou, birds, and fish, while the inland peo- ple concentrate on caribou, fish, and birds. Plants play a very minor role in the diet. Tra- ditional trade and bartering extend hundreds of miles. This trade, like many other customs, HENRY HUNTINGTON remains strong today. 53 Total and Indigenous population of Arctic Alaska –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Peoples of the North Region Total Indigenous % indigenous –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Arctic Circle Arctic Slope Athna 3047 564 18.5 Aleut 11942 2167 18.1 Arctic Slope 5979 4366 73.0 Bering Straits 8288 6173 74.5 Northwest Arctic Bristol Bay 7028 4646 66.1 Bering Calista 19447 16701 85.9 Straits Chugach 11446 1553 13.6 Cook Inlet 302517 18911 6.3 Donyon 91938 10772 11.7 Doyon Koniag 13309 2141 16.1 Northwest Arctic 6113 5241 85.7 Calista US delineation Total 481054 73235 15.2 A L A S K A of Arctic Alaska Cook Inlet Athna Bristol Bay Aleut Chugach Koniag AMAP boundary Siberian Yupik shared, and anything that threatens the shar- The Siberian Yupik in Alaska inhabit St. Law- ing of food is seen as very damaging to native rence Island in the Bering Sea, and are some- societies. This could, for example, be the pres- times called the St. Lawrence Island Yupik. ence of contaminants in the food, or even fear They are the same group as the Yupik of Chu- of contaminants, since hunters may be reluc- kotka, Russia, and share language, customs, tant to give away tainted meat. Total and indigenous and kinship ties across the international bor- Understanding the importance of sharing is populations in Arctic der. Today, the major subsistence resources are also essential when looking at what people Alaska by Native marine, primarily walrus and bowhead whale. eat. Production numbers, showing how many Corporation region. Fish, shellfish, seals, and birds are also part of animals have been killed or how many fish the diet. Plants play a minor role. Traditional have been caught, might say more about the customs remain strong on St. Lawrence Island, amount of certain foods that are available in and the renewed ties to Chukotka have re- the region than what people in a particular vil- vived traditional trade and intermarriage. lage might eat. For example, beluga harvests in Point Lay on the North Slope are high, but The time is almost here.