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P*3* 4TUNDRA TIMESMonday, Feb. 4, 1963Arctic SurvivalCONSERVATION WOVENNATIVE HUNTING PHILOSOPHY' By Howard RockTimes EditorDo not kill animals you do not need. Tony Joule, at the Inupiat Paitot meeting at Kotzebue last October, quoted this ancient advice that has been handed down from generation to generation in the Arctic.This advice has been honored to a great degree down through time to the present day. To defy it is to invite loss of respect from the populace of a community.Infractions have been and are usually made by those of arrogant nature, Fortunately those are few and far between. 'The advice has always had the general respect of the people and therefore observed Quite faithfully.The Eskimos and Indians in their pursuit of game were not and are not heartless killers of animals, as they are sometimes pictured. They were and are very much aware of the finality of death and have made attempts to atone for the kills they have made In order to survive. Beautified WeaponsThe famous archaeologist Dr.Hi_l.gn Larson, director of the Arctic Institute of Denmark, had this to say;The Eskimo hunters were not heartless killers of animals. You will nonce that on their weapons, like the harpoon, they carved beautiful and intricate designs. There was a reason for this and it had been handed down from generation to neration. The ancient Eskimo hunters in making their weapons beautiful and attractive had convictions that the animals they took did not like to be killed with ugly weapons#There have been kills of animals that would seem to take slaughter proportions. This has been donebecause hunters knew the Takecould foe stored for future use.SigloaksThe people along the Arctic coast, apparently for centuries, had sig-luaks, underground food caches, to store meat a year or more at a time.The sigloak was usually excavated on high ground with the idea of having tlie deepest chamber above the water seepage level. At Point Hope, at the westermost point of the Alaska mainland, sigloaks were excavated among the old village ruins that were above seepage level.This community of ancient whaling culture, built its sigloaks with roof supports of whale jawbones, shoulder blades, ribs, vertebrae, and slabs of rocks. Wood was not used because it rotted in a comparatively short time.The Point Hope sigloak usually had two or three chambers orshelves at different levels. Thedeepest chamber was used to keep a frozen meat supply. Whale meat and muktuk were stored in it, the choice diet of the Point Hope Eskimos. This deep chamber kept meat frozen even during the summer months.The upper chambers were used for storing walrus, oogruk. seal, and other meats. These levels during summer were usually at about•mmwj |overtures of apologetic nature tothe animals they had to kill.This feeling must have been quite general. No doubt the advice, Do freezing point or at slightly warmer not kill animals you do not need. temperatures. This was desired be- sprung from this attitude.cause at these temperatures the meat went through a process of curing or tenderizing. The Eskimos had liking for meat that was curedto the point of pungent aroma.Wasted NothingAs was pointed out at the outset. the natives took animals proportionate to their needs. Through experience they had learned to waste nothing of what they had. The animals they took were utilized where almost every part of it was used for food or clothing.This manner of utilizing of animals was probably due, in part, to times of fuod shortages when hunting conditions were unfavorable.Akin To AnimalsThe natives in the Arctic regions,as we// as those in the interior, Inhaving to survive through hunting economy, had become akin to the animals they hunted.The animals were indeed vital to their existence and a great many of them had to be taken. In taking them hunters did not always feel justified to kill them. They madeThere were other overtures of atonement the ancient people of the north made toward their animals. Mi ntinned earlier was the beautifying of the weapons. Others were made in legends, songs, and dances.One great hunter on the Arctic const, not long ago, came across a wolverine. This animal’s fur was much desired for hood ruffs on the artegee, or the parka.The animal passed within easydistance. Upon closerscrutiny, he found the fur was not of desired quality and he let it go on unharmed. He said. Why should I shoot it? Its fur was not good for anything.Greiving Reindeer Back in the 1020s most villagesin the north had reindeer herdswhich they used for food andclothing.In the month of August when the hair • f the animal was prime for parkas, the herds were rounded up and butchering for food and clothing ensued. One of the most desiredparka material was the skin ofhalf-grown fawn.Male fawns were butchered for tins purpose. After butchering, the herd was driven off into the hills.It was usually the job of the women to skin and dress the fawns.Therefore, they remained for some time on the butchering grounds.And Women W’eptAbout an hour and a half after ilie herd had been driven orr. there appeared one by one. back from the hills tin mothers of the butchered fawns bellowing for they' young. This proved too much for son t v of the women and they broke down and wept.On another occasion, a pair of walrus, apparently mates, were in the water a short distance from the beach in summertime. Hunters at once got their rifles and shot the male.Its mate lingered for a lengthyperiod out of rifle range andtrumpeted its grief.One woman who had witnessed the incident said with feeling, It was so sad. She was crying for her male, but what can we do?King LoonOne young Eskimo hunter was hunting ducks. A king loon flying majestically approached him within perfect shooting distance. He raised his shotgun and fired. A flurry of feathers flew off the giant bird indicating that he had made a direct body hit.The king loon quivered visibly then spread its wings straight out and glided beautifully, landing with a smooth spray of wake on the quiet waters of a lake.The young hunter started to stalk it at once in order to put it out of its misery. As he did so, the head of the great bird began to droop until its bill whs half way into the water.When he thought he was close enough to shoot, the loon raised its head high, arched if and dived into the water. It came up far out of shooting range. As the young hunter watched the head ol the king loon drooped once again.Many years later the hunter said, I have never forgotten that loon. In the first place its meat is not good to eat. Even dogs will hardly touch it.•‘The thing I can't forget was the way that big loon took the shot, It would have toppled any other bird. Even under such circumstances, that king loon had dignity.“That incident has haunted me and since that time I have never taken any animal I didn't need.Eased ConscienceThere were probably many such incidents that involved man and his animals in the Arctic country. Native hunters and their families were far from being heartless when it came to killing animals. A great hunter was a considerate man who actually felt something akin to kindness toward the animals he hunted.In his attempts to make atonements. upon finding the vital necessity of taking game for survival,he eased his conscience somewhat and at the same time attempted to establish a compatibility between himself and the animals he hunted. In attempting to do this, he left a saying, Animals will not fear a man whose soul is good and who is kind and generous”
Newspaper Details
Tundra Times
Fairbanks, Alaska, US
Mon, Feb 04, 1963
Page 4
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 13 Apr 2022
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