Not All Spirits Are of God: An Arctic Adventure of the Inupiat Whaling People of Northwest Alaska

By Jerome V. Lofgren

A thrilling Arctic Adventure of the Inupiat Whaling people of Northwest Alaska.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 11, 2001
• ISBN: 9781469776330

Jerome V. Lofgren

Jerome V. Lofgren lived and wrote in Poulsbo, Washington. His work, "The Search for Jack London" won International EPPIE 2000 Award for the best non-fiction book published in the year 2000. Writing primarily in the historical format he has written a total of six books as well as a collection of short stories. He passed away on January 16, 2014.

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BOOK I

THE TRAINING BEGINS

CHAPTER ONE

GRANDFATHER KAYOURAK

Anchorage, Alaska June 1943

This summer you’re going to Finger Point to live with Grandfather Kayourak for one year, said Charlie’s mother.

It sounded like a twelve-year-olds’ dream come true. Charlie envisioned a year living free from his mother’s nagging voice; of hunting and fishing every day, of camping and exploring, and, above all, adventuring.

That illusion was quickly dashed when he stood alone on Finger Point’s rough gravel airstrip. The cold north wind blowing off the Arctic ice cut through his light jacket and nipped his ear lobes. He regretted not listening to his mother when she told him to wear a warm cap.

It had been 65 degrees in Anchorage when he boarded the big airplane that took him to Kotzebue where he connected with a small single engine plane that carried him the 175 miles northwest to Finger Point. There he had been dumped like surplus freight at the furthermost corner of northern Alaska. The wind chill was ten below and the sun was high in the June sky.

The little plane’s arrival had brought a maze of people surging from the village, two miles away. Relatives and friends greeted the arriving passengers. Young Charlie was pushed aside by three departing white people, a man and two women who had just finished their year at the village school, eager to board and be on their way outside. The interchange was completed in less than ten minutes.

As the plane wheeled and roared down the gravel strip the people turned their backs and hunkered over against the storm of dust and flying gravel. Airborne, the plane quickly banked and disappeared into the southern sky.

Like a flock of surging black birds, the villagers who had rushed to the airstrip disappeared back into the village, leaving young Charlie standing alone beside the battered brown suitcase that his mother had packed for him.

His initial excitement quickly ebbed. He was alone in a land where there was nothing in all directions. Everything was flat, barren and silent.

Slowly Charlie turned around, looking for grandfather Kayourak. He’d never met the old man. He couldn’t imagine what a one hundred and twenty year old man would look like.

The ancient village of Finger Point was located on a flat narrow finger of gravel, thrusting defiantly into the Arctic Ocean. The horizon was unbroken in all directions; flat barren tundra stretched to the east, flat white ocean ice wrapped its icy hands around the protrusion seeking to crush it beneath its grinding weight.

Young Charlie’s unaccustomed eyes saw nothing but flat white expanse. He didn’t see The People standing in the distance like clumps of black brush watching him. Soon, he’d see them and talk with them but not yet.

The People watched everything in their land. They watched as another dark shape rose up from the ruins of old town.

Charlie didn’t see the dark creature as it materialized out of the ground and moved toward him until it was nearly halfway. As the dark creature drew nearer, it took on the shape of a man, a very old man, hunched over and taking very slow and very deliberate steps. His face was hidden beneath a parka hood pulled forward. A fearful chill came over young Charlie, as he stood frozen in place, hypnotized by the approaching dark one.

It would take a long time for young Charlie to overcome his fear of the wrinkled old man, who was so old even the old people addressed him as great grandfather Kayourak. Speaking with the utmost respect, even with fear, the villagers made every effort to appease and placate Kayourak by bringing gifts and showing deference.

How go school today? Asked the old Inupiat as he sat, cross-legged, leaning back against the sod wall of his ancient house.

Charlie was very slow to answer. His feelings were all in a jumble. Those first months of living with the great old man had been precious. But living as they did in a musty, damp, sod house, the last one in their village, was humiliating. He tried but he knew he couldn’t hide his feelings from the old man. Looking up with sad eyes and speaking in a soft whisper, Charlie answered.

The other kids say I stink.

Humm, replied the old man softly with a bit of disgust.

They say, I stink of rancid seal oil, of smoke and of moldy dirt.

They’ve grown a white man’s nose now, sniffed the old man.

My teacher kept me after school today. She asked me why I never take a bath and why I always wear the same filthy clothes.

She asked that? Asked the old man, straightening his back in indignation.

"Great Grandfather, my hair is greasy. My clothes are caked with seal fat and dirt. They haven’t been washed in three months. I haven’t had a bath in three months.

Great Grandfather, why are we the only ones living in a sod house? All the other people live in modern houses.

The old Inupiat elder sat quietly on the opposite side of the flickering oil lamp, which cast a yellow glow over the interior of the house. Outside, the wind chill had dropped to 80 below as the wind shifted to the north, off the ice pack.

We live here to be close to mother earth like the ancient ones. They drew their life from her breast. This house was cut from her skin. The ceiling is made from the bones of our brother, the whale. These wooden platforms give us a place to sleep on the skins of our friends the polar bear, the fox and the wolf. Here we can talk and meditate and quietly work at the carving of the walrus ivory and skin sewing. And when we do these things, we become one with the spirits.

Who built this house?

Charlie was small in comparison with the other boys of his sixth grade class; a fact that further increased his withdrawn, quiet personality.

The old ones built this house long before the coming of the white man.

Kayourak’s eyes glowed yellow in the dancing light as he looked reverently around the interior of the small room with it’s low ceiling.

Charlie had measured the room and found it was twelve feet by twelve feet. The old man and young boy sat Inupiat fashion against opposite walls. Their body heat, aided by the oil lamp, was adequate against the sub-zero temperatures that raged beyond the thick sod walls.

Whenever our people gather, we sit in a circle to give expression of oneness. In the old days, we spoke very softly because a house like this would be filled with six to eight people. Even the young ones learned to sit quietly. Our ears were good then. But now, with radios and phonographs, the people have lost their hearing. Now everyone shouts.

Charlie learned to be patient when talking with his great grandfather. They would sit for long hours when nothing was said between them. And yet Charlie came to realize they were communicating but on a level he was just beginning to understand.

Mrs. Michaels wanted me to ask you if she could bring my class to visit our house. She said it was important for them to see how the old ones lived.

Charlie hoped Kayourak would say no. He’d be embarrassed to have his classmates see how he had to crawl down into a tunnel then up through the trap door to enter the first small room that served as their kitchen and where the honey bucket was kept. From there they’d have to climb down through another tunnel and up through a second trap door to reach the main living room.

Does she know how these houses are made? Asked Kayourak.

Yes, we were told that the tunnels and trap doors lock out the cold air. But, great grandfather, the smell?

The old man sniffed the air in all directions then replied, I don’t smell anything.

Charlie shrugged his shoulders in acceptance.

How old you now? Asked the old man.

I was twelve last January, Great Grandfather.

When I first sent word to your mother that it was time for you to come back to the village she said no. She said you must finish white man’s school first. I promised to send you back in one year, that you could attend the village school.

The old man spoke softly in the Inupiat fashion leaving much to be understood intuitively.

Great grandfather, I’ve enjoyed this time with you. But I wonder why do you live like this? And, why am I here?

I live here to be close to mother earth, to learn from her. You are here because it’s time for you to begin your training.

My training? What do you mean?

The Elders told me you are the one I’m to train in the ways of the ancient ones provided you are ready to learn what we have to teach you.

Charlie’s eyes widened with anticipation as he sat up straight tense and alert.

Yes, great grandfather, I am ready.

The old Inupiat reached under his platform and drew out a bundle wrapped in an old wolf skin. Charlie’s curiosity was immense because he’d been warned never to poke around under that bench.

Slowly the old man, struggling with ancient gnarled fingers, untied the gut cord that secured the bundle. Carefully, he wrapped the cord around his waist and tied it with a loop. He unrolled the bundle in the center of the dirt floor.

Our family has a special relationship with the wolf. That is why we always use a wolf skin.

Picking up a long gray eagle feather, he gently fanned the air.

The Eagle comes to guide us. His eyes are seven times keener than ours. As he soars in the heavens on wings spread wide he is in tune with the spirits from whom he receives guidance. He is a messenger.

Setting aside the feather, he kneeled down and carefully felt the seven stones that had been wrapped in the wolf skin. They were small stones of various shapes and texture.

The oldest living things on mother earth are rocks. They remember the ancient past. These stones are special. I walked many, many miles, all over this land, until they made themselves known to me.

He carefully placed the stones around the outer edge of the skin, adjusting them until they formed the desired pattern.

In time, you will find your stones. That may take you many years but when you are ready they’ll appear to you. They’ll tell you their place in the medicine wheel.

The last two items remaining on the wolf skin were a piece of cedar driftwood and a stick.

You are not all here, Charlie, the old man chastised softly.

What do you mean, Great Grandfather?

Your body is here. Spirit is here also. But your mind is not here. You must bring your mind here. Concentrate on what I’m doing. Shut out all other things.

Charlie shifted in embarrassment. He had known for a long time that the old man seemed to know what he was thinking, just now his mind had been with his friend, Dave, at Fairview Elementary School in Anchorage. He was wondering if Dave was getting so far ahead of him in his chess game that when he got back he could no longer beat him.

You must know importance of being one with mother earth and to all her children. This is what you have been sent to learn. Now let us begin.

The old man knelt and with his left hand felt each stone one more time.

The stones will speak to you. They will tell you their place on the medicine wheel.

The old man slowly repeated the process until the seven stones were in their proper place around the edge of the wolf skin.

I recognize that pattern, exclaimed Charlie.

Yes, you should. It’s the hunter in the southern sky. It’s your sign and it’s sacred to you.

The old man stood up and began to slowly walk clockwise around the medicine wheel three times before sitting down in the middle, facing to the north. He sat with legs crossed, back straight, eyes closed. Then he took slow deep breaths, pausing a few seconds between each breath. He started to count softly, backwards from seven.

Seven…Six…Five…Four…Three…Two…

Charlie was startled as the old man called out Onennnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. He hummed the n sound until his whole body vibrated with its resonance. As the nnnnnnnn faded, Kayourak remained fixed in place for fifteen to twenty minutes while Charlie watched quietly. Then the old man drew a deep breath and stirred back to consciousness. Upon rising, he again walked slowly around the outer edges of the wolf skin. He walked in a counterclockwise direction before returning to his platform.

Now, You do what I’ve just done. Did you watch me closely?

Yes, great grandfather.

Charlie was a bit nervous about what he was being asked to do, for he’d never experienced the ancient rite before.

Good. Begin by walking quietly around the wolf skin following the movement of the sun.

Charlie did as he was told and when he was sitting quietly in the middle of the wolf skin the old man explained what he was about to experience.

You’ll see the earth open and you’ll slide down into the earth. You’ll see things of the spirit world. You’ll hear the spirits speak to you. Don’t be afraid. I’ll be with you. My spirit is strong and will protect you on your journey.

Kayourak picked up the cedar piece and began to tap it gently with the stick. The tapping was a sharp contrast to the silence of the sod house. It’s clear crisp tap, tap, tap, tapping fell into harmony with the beating of Charlie’s heart.

Now, follow as I lead you inside mother earth. Should you meet any animal that bares its teeth, back away and go around. When you see a friendly animal go in that direction. I’ll bring you back when it’s time.

The old man spoke nothing further but bowed his head, closed his eyes, and concentrated on tapping the cedar wood. The pitch rose and fell as he moved the beater along the cedar piece.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.…

The tapping continued for nearly twenty minutes. Then ended abruptly with three sharp cracks

TAP!…TAP!…TAP!

Kayourak set the cedar and beater aside and quietly watched Charlie as he returned. He was relieved when Charlie drew a deep breath and relaxed.

Sit quietly, Charlie, and tell me what you saw.

Oh, great grandfather, I slid through an opening in the earth and came into a large cave. I heard a raven call. When I looked in its direction I saw a tunnel. When I entered the tunnel it led past a bubbling pit of molten lava. The sulfur smell was strong. I passed by the pit and went through another tunnel that opened on to a very beautiful, lush, green valley filled with all kinds of flowers and birds. The sun was warm and bright. It felt so good that when I found myself being pulled back into the tunnel I was disappointed because I wanted to stay longer. Then I found myself back here.

Humm…good, replied the old man. Charlie, I brought you back. It’s dangerous to stay too long in that place. If you stay too long the tunnel will close. Your way back will be cut off. Your spirit will be separated from your body. If another spirit doesn’t take up your body immediately your body will die. Did you see anything that made you afraid?

Yes,…I saw the glowing eyes and snarling teeth of a large black cat crouching on a ledge over a tunnel leading away from the bubbling pit. I didn’t go that way but went out the other tunnel.

Good, You’ve experienced the inner world.

Charlie and the old man took many journeys into the inner world during the long, dark, Arctic winter. They journeyed to places where they experienced the bright sun and warm sands; they journeyed to the moon to consult with the spirits of the ancient ones.

Entering the inner world was like stepping into a space ship, which could carry them wherever they wanted to go. It was a time of adventure.

In March, as the sun was returning to their sky, Charlie and the old man had just returned from a journey into the sea where they had visited with the Inua (spirit) of the whale when old Kayourak suddenly announced, That’s enough for now. Tomorrow is a very important day for you. You must get much sleep.

CHAPTER TWO

PREPARING FOR THE HUNT

Old Kayourak interlocked his fingers.

"Inupiat and Bowhead are locked like my hands. Whaling is sacred to the Inupiat. Village comes alive during hunt. Everyone has job. Everyone is important. And everyone shares in feast.

I saw first snowbirds near village two days ago. Inua of Bowhead told me they be here soon and hunt will begin. It’s time you go Joe Amok’s house. Begin training as his helper. Joe Amok best captain in Finger Point.

When Joe Amok answered the knock at his door he discovered a small boy, who stretched himself to appear taller than he actually was.

I’m Charlie Frankson. Kayourak has sent me. He told me that you need a helper.

Yes, Charlie, Kayourak has told me you’d make a good helper. Is that true?

Yes, Mr. Amok, I’ll be a good helper.

Do you know what a helper does?

Kayourak told me a helper does whatever the captain asks him to do.

That’s right, Charlie. Are you ready to do that?

Yes, Mr. Amok.

You may call me Joe, provided you are respectful and obedient.

I’ll be that, sir.

Men from the south had been arriving in the village since the middle of March. They came with their families from the Kobuk, Selewik and Noatok rivers in the Kotzebue region. Every house in the village was filled with cousins and relatives.

Today, we’re going to put a new skin on my Umiak, said Joe, grabbing his white down parka and starting down the steps. They’d walked but a few feet when a woman with a young girl behind her stepped in front of him.

Hello, Joe, the woman greeted him.

She shook Joe’s hand vigorously.

Esther, my youngest daughter, cook in your Umiak this year.

She’s too small and too young to go whaling.

Joe barely glanced at the petite twelve-year-old girl who peeked out from behind the broad body of her mother.

No, she’s not. She’s older than she looks and is smart girl.

I’ve a cook. Ellnou has cooked in my Umiak for many years.

She not cook this year. She went to Anchorage yesterday. Her husband has job there. Esther make biscuits and doughnuts, knows how cook ducks and seal meat. She stay on ice. She not come into town like other girls. You give her one of your old parkas then she can go.

The weather can be bad on the ice.

Esther smart girl. She knows her business. She go out on ice and never ask come back village until whaling finished. When crew go for whale she jump into Umiak, and paddle damn hard. She strong. She be good cook.

Joe studied the young girl intently for a few moments then gave a slight nod of assent, turned and walked off toward the community hall. Following close behind in single file came young Charlie and then Esther.

Joe was anxious to teach Charlie the Inupiat ways and was well aware of the extra pair of ears always close at hand.

In the warm hall, three women were standing next to Joe’s Umiak. Today, its exposed ribs were to receive a fresh cover.

"The cover on the Umiak must be replaced each year. Fresh sealskins have been soaking in the ocean for the past three days.

The women will sew five sealskins together to form a watertight cover. Sewing is hard work, requiring strong muscles and great skill. The sewers will share in our whale meat.

Joe, with Charlie and Esther at his heels, walked over to the waiting women. The Umiak frame rested, upside down, with the bow and stern on blocks of wood.

Good morning, Emma. Is your sewing team ready?

"Yes,