Thursday, May 21, 2009

Savoonga Pictures

Fish hanging out to dry (these must have been from last summer)
Only the men go out hunting (for walrus and whale). While we were out walking we saw this man burying two infant walrus in the snow.
The Bering Sea
A sled attached to a snow mobile carrying some of the day's catch (walrus blubber).
Anthony displaying my oosik.

Here are a few pictures from my trip to Savoonga. Savoonga was by far my favorite village that I've visited in Alaska so far. The people were really friendly and it was pretty interesting just to walk around. The village itself has about 700 people and is apparently growing. To get there you take a flight from Anchorage to Nome (where the iditarod finishes), and then a little plane from Nome to Savoonga. I didn't see any cars while I was there, just a bunch of snow machines and four wheelers. It is right on the Bering Sea. On a clear day I think you can see Russia.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

and whale blubber is a great source of vitamin D!!!!!

Anonymous said...

My word....you can see Russia??? You and Sarah Palin, huh?

Sarah said...

Perhaps Sarah Palin has a summer home there, so that she can see Russia from her porch!

That penis bone is quite large...

Mom said...

What is the meaning of an oosick? Why would they kill the babies and not use them for food? I am glad at least you got yourself a birthday present. Poor girl.

Neil Hoff said...

They do use the babies...they just burry them to refrigerate for later.