BARROW-TRUE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN
By Elise Patkotak

Travel in Alaska is difficult at best. But to really get to see and know this state, you simply have to get off the road system and get into the country where the real Alaska resides. I spent almost thirty years in Barrow, known by most for being the northernmost community in America and known by a declining number of the Great Generation as the place where Will Rogers and Wiley Post crashed and died in 1935.

I found Barrow to be a fascinating place to live for a lot of reasons. Perhaps foremost among them was watching the indigenous culture, the Inupiat Eskimo, deal with the strains of the pipeline boom on their subsistence way of life. Despite the pain and problems that this brought to their community, they still managed to take some good from it. Where once the village used honeybuckets for toilets and chopped ice from a lagoon for water, they now have running water and flush toilets like most of the rest of America. Where once they sent their children out to boarding schools after eighth grade, they now have both high schools and a community college. Where once the federal government through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) exerted control over their lives, they now have self-government and the ability to make their own decisions about what is important to them.

People who only visit Barrow in the summer are missing a lot of the wonderful times the community enjoys throughout the year. At Christmas, the community has traditional Eskimo games from December 26 through January 1, when they end with an Eskimo Dance. Everyone is welcome to participate.

In the spring before whaling commences, the city of Barrow throws a party called Piuraagiaqta. This is a time to celebrate the return of the sun with games such as golf on the frozen lagoon and a parade no matter how many degrees below zero it may be.

The North Slope Borough periodically hosts a festival called Kivgiq in late January or early February. This is a traditional Inupiaq celebration marked by dancing, gift giving, arts and crafts
and, of course, lots of good food. All North Slope villages send Inupiaq dance groups to the Kivgiq and the competition among the groups is fierce.

And, of course, there is no better time and place to see the northern lights than Barrow in the winter. During the dark season from the end of November till the end of January, the lights can be absolutely spectacular. It is simply spectacular to spend New Year’s Eve in Barrow watching God write her own fireworks across the sky over the frozen ocean.

BARROW WINTER ADVICE: Barrow is over three hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle. Despite global warming, it’s still a pretty cold place. In winter, temperatures can plunge to 30 or 40
below. With wind chill, it’s even colder. So the caution to dress warmly should be taken very seriously. There is almost always a wind blowing since Barrow is on the coast so be prepared to protect your face as well as your hands and feet with warm gear.

Keep in mind that Barrow is not Disneyland and the animals you see are not animatronic. They are real and view you as part of the food chain. In particular, be aware that polar bears do not
hibernate and may be encountered in the village itself as well as its immediate environs any time during the year. Use caution and always let someone know if you are planning any hiking out of town so that someone is prepared to worry if you don’t reappear on time.

The summer also brings wonders to the North Slope. For starts, the sun does not set from the beginning of May until the beginning of August. Alaska’s North Slope in the summer is all wetlands as the melting snow is unable to penetrate the permafrost not far under the land. Thousands upon thousands of birds make the migration to the North Slope each spring to nest and raise their young. Even if you aren’t a birder, you can’t help but be impressed by the majesty of the trumpeter swans, the eerie cry of the loon and the stunning beauty of the snowy owls.

Summer also brings Nalukataq, the celebration of the end of a successful whaling season. Despite the modern trappings you may see, subsistence is still critical to both the spiritual and physical survival of the Inupiat people. Nalukataq is usually held the third or fourth week of June and, depending on how successful the season was, there may be more than one.

Nalukataq is a huge community gathering on the beach where successful whaling captains share their food with the community. For a whaling captain, this is the greatest honor possible because the tradition of sharing is, along with the bowhead whale, at the heart of this culture.

Visitors are welcomed to join the fun on the beach but are cautioned that despite the summer season, an Arctic beach on the shore of the Chukchi Sea can still be quite cold.

You will find yourself offered a variety of foods served during the feast such as maktak and frozen whale meat. The Inupiaq understand that some of their foods are an acquired taste and will not be insulted if you decline. But seriously, why have an adventure and not at least try something different?

The day is divided into lunch, dinner, blanket toss and Eskimo dance. The day is long since the sun never sets and it will take stamina to keep up. Following closely on the heels of the Nulukataqs is the town’s July 4 celebration. This is usually a three to four day event full of games, races and food. Some of the activities will be familiar from your own July 4 celebrations and some, like the whaling captains’ umiaq race, will be very distinctly Inupiat. Again, this is the land of the midnight sun so the day can continue well into the night with no break in the activity.

Barrow also has an Inupiat Heritage Center that contains some of the most breathtaking photos and artwork of the Arctic you will ever see. It also has rooms where the women gather to sew the skins that cover the umiaqs or whaling boats as well as rooms for dance groups to practice. During the tourist season, the dancers have a daily exhibition of dancing and blanket tossing at the Center.

Finally, for all you sports fans out there, Barrow has multiple softball leagues that play their hearts our in the brief time given them for outdoor games during the Arctic summer. They play no matter what the weather, which means this could be the only place you will ever be able to watch softball played in the snow.

BARROW SUMMER ADVICE: There is a reason that Alaskans call the mosquito their state bird. Alaskan mosquitoes are big, mean and hungry. The mosquitoes of the North Slope are so sure of their place in the cycle of life that they won’t even fly at you. They’ll just hang in the air and figure you’ll eventually walk into them. Occasionally, though, they will gang up together
as all bullies do and swarm at you. If you plan to do any walking or hiking on the tundra or along the shore, come prepared to fight these bastards to the death. Bring repellent, netting and anything else you may need to make your walk comfortable.

Also, despite it being summer, this is the Arctic, which means it can go from sixty above one day to snowing the next. Come prepared with layers of clothing that can easily be added or
subtracted from as the weather dictates. Again, please remember this is a wilderness area. Bears are here all year long as are wolves and foxes. In fact, rabies is endemic in the fox population. So if you see one heading towards you, run. It’s not trying to be friendly.

HOW TO BOOK YOUR TRIP: Go to the Internet and type in the words Barrow, Alaska and you’ll find a multitude of sites to help you schedule your trip. Perhaps the best is www.kingeider.
net SOME BARROW FACTS:

1. Barrow, located on the Chukchi Sea 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, is the northernmost settlement in the United States. A predominantly Inupiaq Eskimo village of about 4500 residents, it is the economic and transportation hub for the North Slope Borough, a municipality of approximately 88,000 square miles that encompasses the vast Prudhoe Bay oil fields as well as the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

2. The Inupiaq name for Barrow is Ukpeagvik and means “place where the snowy owl is hunted.” Barrow takes its name from Pt. Barrow, which was named for Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty in 1825 when British Navy officers were in the area to plot the Arctic coastline of North America.

3. About 15 miles north of the current village, you come to the physical end of land in the United States. The geophysical Pt. Barrow is located at the juncture of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

4. The village of Barrow is divided into Barrow and Browerville. Browerville was named after Charles Brower, a New England whaler who set up the Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station there in 1893. The original building still stands and is currently used as a restaurant, Brower’s Café. It is the oldest frame building in the Arctic.     ©