Photo from CutterLight. Bowhead whale mother and child: Walrus tusk ivory with bowhead whale baleen eyes set on bowhead whale baleen. The baleen is scrimshawed with marine animals commonly hunted for subsistence by the Inupiat people of Point Hope, Alaska.
The Inupiaq and the St. Lawrence Island Yupik People The Inupiaq and the St. Lawrence Island Yupik People, or “Real People,” are still hunting and gathering societies. They continue to subsist on the land and sea of north and northwest Alaska. Their lives continue to evolve around the whale, walrus, seal, polar bear, caribou and fish. The north and northwest region of Alaska is vast. The land and sea are host to unique groups of people. To the people of the north, the extreme climate is not a barrier, but a natural realm for a variety of mammals, birds and fish, gathered by the people for survival. Excerpt from the Alaska Native Heritage Center (Learn more here)
Children's Literature Featuring the Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik Cultures
Hill, Kirkpatrick. Bo at Ballard Creek. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Henry Holt and Co., 2013. 288 pages, Secondary, Adult Setting: 1920s Alaska Summary: "Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the nearby Eskimo village. Bo learns Eskimo along with English, helps in the cookshack, learns to polka, and rides along with Big Annie and her dog team. There's always some kind of excitement: Bo sees her first airplane, has a run-in with a bear, and meets a mysterious lost little boy." (Back Cover)
Murphy, Claire Rudolf. Caribou Girl. Illustrator Linda Russell. Roberts, Rinehart Publishers, 1998. 32 pages, Primary, Intermediate Note: Simultaneously published in English and Inupiaq (translated by Jana Harcharek) Setting: Arctic Summary:In this authentic tale of the nomadic Inuit people, Caribou Girl relies on traditional values and her own instincts to find the Caribou herds her people depend on.
Rogers, Jean. Goodbye, My Island. Illus Rie Munoz. Greenwillow, 1983. 88 pages, Intermediate, Secondary Setting: King Island, 1964 Summary: Narrated by twelve-year-old Esther, this fictional story about the last year that the Eskimos who inhabited King Island, Alaska spent on the island before relocating to Nome in 1964. Although the pace is slow, it is in the everyday occurrences and happenings that are written in narration, dialogue, and journal entries that the reader is able to appreciate both the simplicity and the hardships of life on King Island. Esther’s love for her home is exemplified by Munoz’ heartwarming illustrations.
Joosse, Barbara M. Mama Do You Love Me? Illus by Barbara Lavallee. Chronicle Books, 1991, Unp. Early Childhood, Primary Setting: Arctic Summary: In this heartwarming story, a child, who lives in the Artic, tests the limits of her mother’s love by creating hypothetical scenarios. Despite any emotions her mama feels about her child’s actions, the child is sweetly reassured that her mother’s love is unconditional. The use of a warm and playful question and answer format, soothing illustrations, and a child-centered viewpoint create a sentimental tale about family and love.
Dahl Edwardson, Debby. My Name is Not Easy.Skyscape, 2011. 248 pages, Secondary, Young Adult Setting: 1960's Arctic Village Summary: "Luke knows his Iñupiaq name is full of sounds white people can’t say. So he leaves it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles away from their Arctic village. At Sacred Heart School, students—Eskimo, Indian, White—line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there’s some kind of war going on."
Kittredge, Frances. Neekluk: An Eskimo Boy in the Days of the Whaling Ships. Illustrated by Howard “Weyahok” Rock. Alaska Northwest Books, 2001, 88. Everybody Setting: Wales in the early 1900s Summary: This is a story about a young boy, Neeluk, and his family and village community during the early days of whaling ships inspired by time that the author spent in Wales in the early 1900s. Kittredge depicts the seasonal changes that local natives experienced in a year’s time focusing on what was experienced by one family and their close community members. The illustrations were done by Rock, an Inupiat man who lived just north of Wales and his own experience and knowledge to accurately portray the lives and culture of the people of Wales.
Dabcovich, Lydia. The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale. Clarion Books, 1997. 40 pages, Primary, Intermediate Setting: Arctic Summary: A lonely old woman adopts a polar bear and cares for him until he is grown. When the bear must leave the village, he continues to visit and provide for his "mother" in this gentle story.
Hitchcock, Bonnie-Sue. The Smell of Other People’s Houses. Wendy Lamb Books, 2016. 240 pages, Secondary Setting: Opens in late 1950s before statehood and jumps to 1970 Alaska Summary: The Smell of Other People’s Housesand follows four teenagers as their lives become entangled. Ruth, Dora, Alyce, and Hank take turns narrating their own story and the reader is able to make connections between the stories throughout the novel. Hitchcock masterfully shows the interconnectedness of Alaskans from all different backgrounds, and through her descriptive writing she truly captures an in-depth look into each character’s thoughts and conflicts.
Cox, Loretta Outwater. The Winter Walk. Illustrator Bob Crofut. Alaska Northwest Books, 2003. 224 pages, Secondary, Adult Setting: 1842 Bering Sea Coast Summary: The tragic yet triumphant story of a young mother's winter journey to the Bering Sea coast with her two young children.
Edwardson, Debby Dahl. Whale Snow. Annie Patterson. Charlesbridge, 2003. 32 pages, Primary, Intermediate Note: Published in Iñupiaq Setting: Arctic Summary: "Amiqqaq is excited when his family catches a bowhead whale. As his family prepares to celebrate the traditional Iñupiaq whaling feast, Amiqqaq learns about the spirit-of-the-whale." (In-Book)