Alaska's big catch
In the state's northernmost tip, whale hunting is a community affair


"Hey, hey, hey!"
The call comes through a crackling radio and it's a siren to the residents of Barrow, Alaska, a city located above the Arctic Circle at the northernmost tip of the state. The call means only one thing — fishermen have caught a bowhead whale and it's time for residents to gather by the shore.
Barrow is home to the Inupiat, one of Alaska's native communities, who rely heavily on the annual fall whaling season, The Associated Press writes. Skin and blubber from a bowhead whale — one of the world's largest mammals — can keep a family fed much more effectively than the overpriced grocery stores that fly in food and mark up the cost accordingly.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And so down to the shore the Inupiats go, along with officials who inspect the legality of the catch. Once they get the OK, everyone pitches in on the arduous and grisly job of butchering the massive whale. Using knives and hooks, the residents divide up the catch, a gift from the nearby Chukchi Sea. Below, a look at this 1,000-year-old hunting tradition, very much alive and celebrated in the great white North.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
What does the Le Pen verdict mean for the future of French politics?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Convicted of embezzlement and slapped with a five year ban on running for public office, where does arch-conservative Marine Le Pen go from here — and will the movement she leads follow?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Discount stores were thriving. How did they stumble?
The Explainer Blame Walmart — and inflation
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Kaja Kallas: the EU's new chief diplomat shaping the future of European defense
In the Spotlight Former Estonian Prime Minister's status as an uncompromising Russia hawk has gone from liability to strength
By David Faris Published