Arctic Survival
ESKIMO GAMES EMPHASIZED ENDURANCE, NERVE, TOUGHNESS
t By Howard Rock
Times Editor
The ancient Eskimos of the Arc
tic were ardent followers of sports
contests whenever an occasion pre
sented itself. Contests were held as
integral parts of whaling celebra
tions and other auspicious occa
sions.
A competition would become so
keen that toward its conclusion
much suspense built up as to which
of the men had the most endurance,
nerve, and toughness, and which
of the participants would be first
to say "uncle.”
The characteristic Eskimos have
always seemed to lean toward is
toughness. To keen their toughness
sharpened the ancient Eskimos de
vised some contests that certainly
required that trait.
Such contests emphasized tough
ness which the men especially need
ed to have in their pursuit of
hunting. A tough man was certain- i
ly looked upon with something of
an awe by the community. The
contests certainly brought the tough
men out into the open and they j
were respected and admired, es
pecially by the youth.
Two Factions
In the whaling community of Ti
gara (Point Hopei, the village, ap
parently through centuries papt. .
was divided into two factions or
sections, the north , side and the
south s.de. The north side was call
ed qarqmaktuuq and the south side. '
nngasaksikaaq.
Each side had a roughly corres
ponding number of whaling cap
tains and crews. The main purpose
of this setup was competition be
tween the two factions to see which
side would catch more whales.
At the end of a successful season
both sides celebrated. The first
celebration was held by whichever
side had celebrated second the sea
son before. When the south side,
for instance, finished its festivities,
the celebrants moved to the north
side.
At each of these celebrations, the
nalukatuk (blanket toss), feasting,
dancing, were performed along with
visiting, and friendly banter.
Loser Challenges
When celebrations on both sides
had been completed, games or con
tests were started. The opening.
performance was usually a tug of
war between the north and the
south. The loser of this event pick
ed out the next challenging event.
The challenge might be Eskimo
football or wrestling where rules
were liberal. Such things as clip
ping were allowed. If you felt rea
sonably safe from retaliation, one
might dig his opponent's face into
the ground. It usually got rough
enough where some broken bones
resulted.
Ano‘# r challenge might be a foot
race between the two factions. To
the east of Tigara is a small hill
five miles away. The runners round
ed a certain point agreed upon to
come back to the starting point.
The trouble with the track was
that about a four mile stretch of it
was gravel. When you kicked for a
stride, you slipped back about six
■inches.
Become Difficult
As the challenges progressed, they
became tougher. High kicks were
performed where the better ones
kicked up to nine feet. The re
quirement for this sport was to kick
botli feet into the air simultaneous
ly and kick a suspended ball with
both feet at the same time. To
touch the ball with one toe did not
count.
Next came the ear pull. The men
had their wives make a braided
loop of sinew to about the size of
fine twine. The idea was to loop
one end around the ear of one man
and the other end around the car
of the opponent.
The contest begins by slowly
tightening the loop with the base
of the ears. The tension was built
up to a straining pull until one of
the opponents gave up. Both con
testants usually come out of this
where the sinew had breken the j
skin and dug into the flesh.
Next came the skull crush. The
idea of this one was to clasp one’s
hand around the back of the neck
of the opponent. The two men then
began to pull each other’s neck,
straining hard forehead to fore
head.
When one gave up. a sizable
goose-egg usually resulted on the
forehead of each man.
Swollen Knuckles
The next contest was a knuckle
and toe hop. A starting line was
marked. A contestant got on his 1
belly on the floor at the starting
line, doubled his fists and then
suspended his body resting on his .
knuckles and toes.
It began with the contestant hop
ping on his knuckles and toes across
the floor, rounding a point on the
opposite end of the starting line.
A good contestant could stride j
about two feet at a time and the
winner was the one who rounded
the floor mere times than his op
ponents. When this was over, the
contestants came out with highly
swollen knuckles.
Next came the difficult and one
of the most painful contests. The
contestant had to be a tough man
to bp in this contest.
A starting line was required for
this one also. The participant took
off his mukluks and socks.'At the
starting line he hopped lightly com
ing down on his toes. The signifi
cant part of this was. that he land
ed on the knuckles of his toes
which he had doubled back at the
light leap.
At this position the contestant
commenced to hop across the floor
landing each time on the knuckles
of his toes. It was not hard to
wince each time he landed with an
unmistakable sound of bone hit
ting the hard floor.
Need Nerves
Next came the contest that was
usually done as a finale of the
games. To perform in this con
test was to have a good set of
nerves as well as toughness.
A piece of stout driftwood of
about a yard long was whittled so
that it had knife-sharp edge.
The contestant then would lie
down in a prone position on the
ground or on the floor. Then two
men stood on each side of him tak
ing hold of the piece of wood at
each end and placed the knife edge
against the bridge of the nose of
the contestant who was lying prone.
The contestant stiffened his body
as the two men slowly started lift
ing at each end of the stick. If the
contestant didn’t falter he was lift
ed into a standing position with the
knife edge on the bridge of his nose.
The result of this, of course, was
a clean cut to the bone.
And so, the ancient Eskimos took
their games seriously. They were
geared to the conditions around
them, that of necessity of maintain
ing ruggedness, toughness, and
stamina. They considered those as
vital in their struggle for survival.
There were, of course, light and
amusing games that were played.
But in the name of keen competi
tion difficult contests were held
and they never failed to arouse
great interest in the community.
Americanism Means
Freedom and Security
By Melvin Brown
Staff Writer
My being part of a great country, j
the United States of America, gives
me a feeling of security.
As an Alaskan Eskimo, I think
of fhe way Eskimos regard, and
work for true security. Our past
security depended on natural re
sources, wild game and much faith.
We knew what the long winters
would bring, so we worked for
warmth, food, and shelter. We had
to depend on our dogs for trans
portation. This was all the securi
ty we knew, but we were happy.
Then when Alaska was purchas
ed from Russia by the Uni'ted
States, we became more in touch
with many different kinds of people !
who at first came only for wealth. 1
Later they began to live with us. I
First of all was the trader who
brought guns to kill game—we had
been using spears, and a bow with
arrows. Then came the mission
aries who traveled many miles to
give us the Gospel of God and
started the first schools. Later came
the doctors and nurses who helped
the sick. All these new ideas and
the ways of life proved to be better, j
so we accepted them. These ad- ;
vances gave us a stronger feeling
of security.
Then more people came. We be
gan to depend on this new security.
As we advanced with the white
people, we had to learn their lan
guage and customs. Teachers came.
From them we learned the Ameri
can way of life.
Since becoming a new state and
really, for the first time, part of
the United States, we have a chal
lenge to work toward a modern
world. Our parents have been en
couraging us, the younger genera
tion, to go to school so we can pre
pare ourselves for the future. They
know that in order to face a mo
dern world one has to know more
than what has been learned from
our ancestors.
For our true security in this age. |
vve have to get an education. We not j
only have to go to school, but also 1
go on to college or a trade school.
Therefore, I believe that in this
world of science and its great ad
vances. education is the key to true j
security. Then after getting our
education we will have the feeling
that we can raise a family without
the fear of not getting our next
meal. I believe this is what native
Alaskans are working toward.
Our ancestors had to work hard
for their security. We. the young
er generation of Alaskan Natives,
must also work hard in school to
ward making our security possible.
When our training is completed,
wre will be able to face the world
in an easier way. We will bo able
to buy modern conveniences neces
sary for easier living. Thinking of
this makes me recall the days of
our ancestors when they had no
motors to run their boats, no rifles
to kill their game, and no conveni
ences. Contemplating that makes
me glad that I am living in this
day and age. Most of all I am thank
ful that I am an American citizen.
In this age of nuclear power and
the advance in it, we look forward
to a world of peace and security.
All of us hope that the atomic
powder will be used wisely and not
as a force to destroy our security.
If the schools of America con
tinue to teach moral responsibilities
and civic responsibilities, the new
generation of citizens of the 49th
state will be able to enjoy true se
curity in a way that has never been
known before.
To us true security is freedom
to worship as we please, freedom
and opportunities to train ourselves
for our future, freedom from fear
of dreaded illnessess, and freedom
from fear of aggression by other
powerful nations. These freedoms
are guaranteed to American citi
zens and give us our true securi
ty — the American way.
Letter to Editor
Spokane, Washington
January 18, 19G3
Dear Editor:
Congratulations on your news
paper. Sounds like just what I've
been looking for, "The Eskimo, In
dian. all Alaska news.”
How much would a years sub
scription cost me? And would back
issues be possible to obtain?
I am very anxious to be one of
your ardent readers.
Very truly yours,
Lewis Hendrix
I
SPACE CAPSULE—Seven students of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
assembled the replica of the space capsule of Colonel John Glenn
that was on exhibition recently in Sitka. It was also exhibited at
at the inauguration of Governor William A. Egan. The students are:
W. Amuktoolik, X. Joseph, J. Parent, C. McNeill, A. Nanouk, E. Harry
and G. Takak. The students worked under the direction of Mel Hart,
of the National Air Space Agency. The capsule is slated to be exhib
ited in other Alaska cities, including Anchorage and Fairbanks.
—Tundra Times Photo
Parakeet Throws Staff Into Tizzy
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
There was a crisis in the Tundra
Times’ office recently and it threw
the personnel present into a tizzy.
The office has a parakeet boarder.
It belongs to the assistant editor's
relatives who are now spending a
year in Richmond, Virginia.
When the assistant editor was
getting ready to go to Juneau,
Alaska to cover the Governor’s In
auguration Ceremonies he hurriedly
left the parakeet so the office could
take care of it.
Somewhere along the shuffle, the
bird had lost its name and we just
. don't call it anything. We didn’t
i even know whether it was a boy or
a girl.
One morning the bird became sick
and the office personnel thought it
was deathly sick. We became very
worried, of course.
The bird began to go through
throes of agony and contortions and
soon it was vomiting. As soon as
it vomited, it would go through
new series of contortions.
The worried personnel watched
the suffering bird helplessly and
began to voice their concern. One
said, "Gosh, it’s really suffering
isn’t it?” Another said, "What shall
we do?”
When it looked as if the bird
would choke to death, the book
keeper said excitedly, “Let’s call a
doctor, I mean the bird people—you
know what I mean!”
The bookkeeper at once started
to consult the telephone book. After
shuffling through it furiously she
finally located a number and dialed.
The party on the other end said
hello, so did the bookkeeper who
explained the symtoms of the ail
ing parakeet. Then she listened fur
ther and blurted out,
“What? You mean the darn thing
is going through the courting per
formance? Well, I’ll be-•”
The Tundra Times staff also
found out that the bird is a boy.
Space Capsule
Touring Alaska
A full size replica of the space
capsule that Colonel John Glenn
used to orbit the earth was on ex
hibition during inauguration cere
monies of Governor William A.
Egan.
And soon it will be placed on ex
hibit in several towns and cities in
Alaska.
Accompanying the 850 lb. space
craft that Col. Glenn actually used
is on exhibit in the Smithsonian In
stitute.
Inside the capsule is a dummy
astronaut in full space suit.