The most exciting event of my educational path occurred during the summer of 1999 when I completed my WMU Master's degree in History. Thrilled and scared I took on the job hunt. Fortunately, other graduate students were going through the same experience and their support proved invaluable. My criteria was modest, I wanted to be close to a Native American community, in a cold and remote place. The Inupiat people, also known as Eskimo, are concentrated in eight villages throughout the North Slope, of which Barrow is the largest with a population of circa 4,500.
Subsistence harvest remains central to people's lives.
Eskimos rely heavily on hunting and whaling as a source of food, tradition and trade. The whaling season in particular causes great excitement in the community, and as the curator I was expected to observe the butchering of bowhead whales during the whaling season. These animals can weigh a ton per foot and reach up to 60 feet. I had always wanted to see whales, but I did not expect to see only dead ones. Nevertheless, it was an interesting occasion.