Arctic Survival
NORTHERN NATIVES HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH ELEMENTS
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
The great storm that staggered
Barrow on October 3, happened so
suddenly that even the weather bur
eau did not have an idea that it was
coming. There was no warning,
which meant, the people of Barrow
had to do some quick thinking to
save themselves during the on
slaught. This they did amazingly
well.
No lives were lost in the savage
winter storm that lashed the town
with huge waves driven by a 80-mile
wind. Huge chunks of sea ice were I
hurled ashore and they swirled |
around among the houses as the
storm flooded the town.
The wind hit a pile of sheet metal
and they took off like kites. One
of them slammed into Lawrence
Ahmouak and knocked him uncon
scious. Luckily, the metal hit him
apparently with its surface. He was
the only casualty among some 1.350
people living in Barrow. A small
percentage of this number represent
white people.
Houses Float, Planes Took Off
Houses were freed of their foun
dations by heavy waves and they
floated around in the streets. Two
of them crashed into the guy wires
of a 200-foot radio tower and it fell
to the ground.
Four light planes that w’ere parked
near the village took off when the
sudden gale hit them. Two of them
are not accounted for and no one
knew how far or where they had
gone.
Fuel Lost
The most serious loss Barrow suf
fered was the loss of fuel oil. About
a 1.000 barrels were lost when the
waves crashed into piles of drums
and scattered them helter skelter.
Some of them washed out to sea.
The Native Store alone lost about
700 barrels.
Huge oil tanks were ruptured by
the force of the waves and they j
spewed their contents into the
streets and into a fresh water lake
used by Barrow for water.
When the storm abated, about '■
200 Eskimos were left homeless.
Except for three families that were
housed in a church, all of the storm
victims were quickly taken in by
relatives and friends.
It was amazing and miraculous
that no lives were lost in a storm
of that magnitude at Barrow. It
brought to mind the fact the Eski- i
mos have long faced many and ter- i
rible dangers during the span of j
time in their survival in the Arctic. '
Second Nature
During the ages past, survival in 1
One Girl's Views
On Integration;
Answer, 'Education'
Editor’s note: Following is partial
reprint of an article from the new
Nenana mimeographed newspaper,
“The Hoadrunner.’’ It is from a high
school essay by Miss Audrey Sonny
boy, herself of Indian and Eskimo
extraction.
The problem of school integra
tion in the United Slates will be
solved more easily if the people
who are blocking progress are re
educated. Any fine, sensible, edu
cated person would not and could
not be prejudiced against all of
any race.
People of culture do not look at
others to belittle them or reject
them; they look for the good qual
ities only.
A person should not like an
other person for his looks, clothes
or color; certainly It would take a
very narrow minded person to do
this.
Re-education will help in having
the people think and reason.
the north was the first order of the
day with the Eskimos. The constant ,
pressure on survival had gone on j
for so long that it seemed to have
become a second noture to the peo
ple of the Arctic. Time had sharp
ened their senses to cope with dan
gers with a rare gift of presence of
mind under difficult pressures of j
stress. . |
This was the first requirement to
meet the many dangers the Arctic
presented. These dangers repre
sented the Arctic’s treachery, the
unexpected, the lurking and the
sudden. With highly developed
sense of perception, they learned
to recognize them for what they
were and met them with knowledge
they had painfully gained through
the ages.
Panic Dangerous
The main tool of combat against
the Arctic dangers seemed to have
been the difficult manner of meet
ing them without panic. They had
found out long ago that to panic
was a dangerous thing. Panic was a
condition where the victim lost his
reasoning and that was when he be
came a prime target for disaster to
overtake him. In the Arctic, to al
low panic to overcome one was
asking for disaster. The north coun
try gave no quarter once it saw an
opening.
Unecessary Chances
Another important aid to survival
was the importance of not taking
unnecessary chances. In the village
of Point Hope, this was frowned
upon by village elders who, as their
ancestors did before them, saw it
as a definite threat to life and limb.
Hunters, especially younger ones,
were constantly deminded not to
over-extend their daring.
Strange Tragedy
The advice of the elders did not
always succeed as will be shown in j
the following example—a strange
and unexplained incident that hap- ,
pened at Point Hope in northwest- j
ern Alaska. 130 miles within the
Arctic Circle.
In the memory of this writer was j
a first cousin, Timothy Oomittuk, j
and another man, James Nashook
puk, who figures in the bazarre
tragedy. Both men had notorious
reputations of taking unnecessary
chances.
Timothy was not an easy man to
figue out. Why he went to the ex-1
tent of taking dangerous risks was
not known. He apparently did not
fear for his life. He seemed bent to
test his daring against the varied
pitfalls of the Arctic. He apparently
took strange delight in cheating it,
but in the long run he came out
second best.
Fine Man
Timothy Oomittuk had a per
sonality that was contagious. He
was liked by everyone in the vil
lage. If he had any sadness in his
lie he didn't show it. To be around
him was to have a great time and to
laugh. His home life seemed happy
| with a fine looking wife and four
; children.
His elders, who had learned to
take a great liking for him, gave
him paternal advice not to take un
necessary risks. He took these with
smiles and light-heartedness.
Carried Out to Sea
One day. he was carried out to
sea. He crossed the wide lead by
using a cake of ice as a raft using
his icepick rod as a paddle. A few
years later, he was again carried out
but had to use every strength he
had to get back.
A quite strong breeze had come
up and he paddled his ice raft on
an angle to the wind and finally
made it in what seemed an eternity.
Insurable
The two near tragedies apparently
did not cure him. When he was re
minded of them he laughed them
off. He continued to hunt in his
usual manner. Such apparent un
concern led his lenders to say sadly.
“There will come a day when Tim
ithy will not return.”
Out on the ice one cold day, in the
presence of another hunter, Tim
othy Oomittuk noticed a likely spot
to hunt and he said, “I want to get
over there and see. There might be
some seals there.”
“It's too dangerous. You shouldn’t
try it. The ice is too thin,” said his
companion.
Timothy smiled and stepped on
the ice. The distance between frim
and solid ice was around 75 yards.
He crossed it and went beyond for
some time but didn't get anything.
To get back, he had to cross the
same thin ice. Each step caused it to
undulate under his weight. With
apparent elation he said, "That was
exciting!”
Brash Man
James Nashookpuk was a man of
different personality than Timothy
Oomittuk. He was heavily built
man and was known as one of the
strongest men irv the village. He was
brash to the point of being a brag
gart. He was one of the rare indi
viduals who openly antagonized his
elders. He thought those who gave
advice were cowardly and meek.
When he hunted he broke every
safety rule of his people.
One cold day while hunting, he
fell through thin ice and managed
to get out on solid ice. He made a
dash to the village, his clothes froz
en and his limbs were on the point
of freezing when he arrived. A man
of lesser strength would not have
made it. In telling about it later he
guffawed as he did so.
Gainful Returns
Because of their daring, the two
hunters were better than average.
They took many seals, oogruks. be
lugas. walrus, caribou, and many
polar bears. They were hunting all
the time. Inclement weather did
not stop them. When hunters stayed
home because of adverse conditions,
they were out roaming the ice.
The Fatal Day
One day in the latter part of No
vember, the two men went hunting.
Each went in a different direction. !
The day was anything but perfect.
There was a stiff breeze blowing
from southeast and a steady snow- [
fall was coming down. The sky
was gray and forbidding.
According to Helen and Chester
Seveck of Point Hope and Kotzebue,
the great fields of ice were in the
process of forming a solid shield
around the land. Cleavage, or lead j
lines, were not yet permanently set.
That meant no one knew just where
a lead might open. It meant also
that there were many patches of
open water that froze or in the pro
cess of freezing in the lowering
temperatures.
"They went hunting in two dif
ferent directions and at different
times. Some people wonder whether
they met out there on the ice but
that doesn’t seem likely,” said Helen
and Chester.
No Trace
When evening came, Timothy
Oomittuk and James Nashookpuk
failed to return, Early the next day,
the hunters of the village went out
to look for them. They fanned out
in all directions looking for tracks
but the snow had covered them
wherever they were. When each of
the hunters came home that even
ing, they had not seen any sign of
the missing men. They had disap
peared without a trace.
It was presumed that each of the
men may have attempted to cross
over thin ice to make shortcuts and
had fallen through. The Arctic had
claimed two men of different per
sonalities but who had one thing in
common. They defied nature in the
north.
Another irony in connection with
the two men—each of them left four
children with their widows. Except
for one of Timothy Oomitttuk's
daughters, they are still married and
have many children today.
Dangerous Indifference
And so men lived in the Arctic.
Most listened faithfully to their
elders and usually lived a full span
of life. Few other, unfortunately,
thought they knew better than the
older men and they paid high for
their indifference—the loss of their
lives.
A nervy man was much admired
by the Eskimos but if he used it
foolishly, he became something of
a man marked with doom. It was
just a matter of time if he persisted.
The Arctic, its nature the way it j
was, and is. never relaxed its pres
sure. It forever looked for weak
nesses and once seeing an opening
it struck viciously and mercilessly.
Intensive Studies
Through passage of time, the Es
kimos had learned to respect the
grim surroundings under which they
live. They had come to regard the
Arctic with something akin to a
being they had to understand. They
learned and largely figured out the
moods cf the country. They learned
its quiet moments and sudden up
heavals. They studied its calm
winds, gales and their effects on
land and sea. They studied move
ments of the icefields; studied what
winds and from what direction af
fected them. They studied forma
tions of clouds before setting out
to hunt and they could tell with
amazing accuracy what kind of a
day it would be.
They studied the animals, their
habits and the areas they frequent.
This was a great requirement. They
had to know the behaviorial pattern
of every animal they hunt for live
lihood. They had found that the
only way to live with the Arctic was
to know it from every angle—its
behavior under certain conditions.
In doing so, they learned to cheat
the many perils it dealt out from its
many-sided and dangerous nature.
Yields Secrets
An so down through centuries
the inhospitable Arctic had grud
gingly yielded its secrets to the Es
kimos who used them against it to
survive. Even with the vast know
ledge they had garnered from the
Arctic, the people still had to deal
with one of its dangerous facets—
its unpredictability.
Such was the sudden upheaval of
the recent vicious storm that did
great damage at Barrow. It was a
freak stc-m. It had to be dealt with
quick thinking and without panic.
There were no fatalities. It could
have proven otherwise because the
storm erupted without werning. It
was a storm with a murderous in
tent and it came in a cold, freezing
weather.
Heroic Behavior
The people of Barrow, both white
and its predominantly Eskimo pop
ulation. should be commended for
their heroic behavior under the
deadly onslaught of the vicious win
ter storm.
It was a classic example of sur
vival of man in the Arctic.
NEW KAKTOVIK SCHOOL—This Is the brand new school in the brand new location of Kaktovik
Village on Barter Island, 300 miles east of Pt. Barrow. Building materials for the school and other
village structures are being flown in from Fairbanks via Wien Alaska Airlines. The villagers asked
for, and received, a new townsite from the Air Force. The old location is bad, villagers feel, because
of the proximity to the landing strip, and because they are in the way of drainage from a DEWline site.
—Photo by Tim Bradner