Student Subsistence Activities

Being that Kivalina is a whaling community, all family members do their share of work on the crew. Students who are children of a captain have not choice but to be on the crew and/or learn as the go. The boys are called boyers, they have to get ice, snow, chop wood, take thermos bottles back and forth to the boat from camp, etc. Professionally, they'd earn the title of expeditor. After several years of being boyers, than they are promoted to deck hand so to speak. They get to go in the boat and become a crew member. If they get lucky after being a member in the boat, than maybe they'll get a chance to become the one who gets to shoot the whale gun and/or harpoon. After they've been there and done that, maybe they get promoted to co-captain. If they're really really lucky, than maybe they get to be the captain of the crew. Most likely in their dreams.

The students, be it boy or girl, learn the traditional hunting ways of the community. Parents take children hunting, fishing, berry picking, egging, and/or whaling. Students get to know the traditional hunting areas. They get to learn the weather conditions. They tell when it will become stormy just by looking at clouds. All these traditions have been passed on from generation to generation.

Girls help cook, wash dishes, babysit, etc. Girls also learn a way of preparing and/or storing wild game. They get to learn how to prepare skins for drying for use as parkas, mukluks, hunting equipment such as pouches, pokes, soles, etc. If they're lucky to have an elder in a home, than they really, really, learn the traditional ways of measuring by use of a hand, elbow, use of one size string, etc. By learning all these skills, than they are able to make traditional clothing for use, show, or to subsidize the family's income.