Subsistence hunting of the bowhead whale

The bowhead whale is of great cultural significance to the Iñupiat in Utqiagvik, Alaska, who say that one cannot live without the other.

For the Iñupiat, subsistence hunting and fishing are important and viable economic strategies, which provide food and raw materials for the whole group.

They work non-stop to prevent the whale's body heat from melting the ice too much.

"[1] On the way to the hunt, they travel by snowmobile across the ice until they find a safe campsite, which can sometimes take all day.

[2] Once on the hunt, they kill with harpoons and dart guns[3] while sitting in their umiak (made from seal hide and part of a caribou).

According to the Iñupiat people, the whale's maktak, the thick black skin and attached oily blubber, contains body-warming energy and vitamin C. The whale's bones are used to frame sod iglus (igloo), and the elastic baleen is woven into baskets.

"[4] Under this definition, Alaskans would be able to hunt the bowhead whale despite conservation efforts, which creates a need for official regulation.

Congress enacted the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971,[4] which removed "all aboriginal titles, if any, and claims of aboriginal title in Alaska based on use and occupancy, including submerged land underneath all water areas, both inland and offshore, and including any aboriginal hunting or fishing rights that may exist".

[5] The act also titled Natives with "44 million acres of Alaska and extinguished remaining claims with a $1 billion payment.

[4] In 1980, The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) was adapted to include subsidence hunting and fishing rights.

Game for use as food in customary and traditional Alaska Native religious ceremonies may be hunted out of season and more than the allowed limits.