Anchorage, Alaska – David Smith was a new arrival to the North Slope village of Nuiqsut last year when the former resident of upstate New York cooked up a few turkeys and a vat of chili for the Eskimo community’s Thanksgiving dinner.
He was completely unprepared for another dish on the menu: hundreds of pounds of gleaming red, raw whale meat, served frozen solid in bite-size pieces.
“I thought we were going to have a feast. I never assumed it would be a feast of whale meat,” said Smith, 76, the village administrator.
In Alaska’s native villages, many Thanksgiving tables this year will be set with store- bought turkey and all the trimmings. But alongside will be delicacies such as reindeer stew, moose roast, stuffed moose heart and whale-blubber salad. For dessert, there might be akutaq, which is whipped animal or vegetable fat that is mixed with sugar, berries and sometimes fish.
In some ways, the feasts are very much like the Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving, the table spread with the fresh bounty of the land and the sea.
Nuiqsut’s gathering always includes a sprinkling of non-natives like Smith, teachers, government workers and North Slope oil crews.
Former Mayor Leonard Lampe enjoys the wide-eyed reaction from first-timers witnessing the bowhead whale feast.
“They’re usually very curious,” he said. “They’re always asking questions, like, ‘What part is this that you are eating? Is that normal to dip it in steak sauce like that?”‘
A bowhead whale can measure 50 feet or more and weigh up to 100 tons. Edible parts include the meat, tongue and muktuk, which is the blubber and skin.
In Nuiqsut, each bowhead caught is traditionally divided into thirds, to be distributed at Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations and at a blanket toss in June.
With four bowhead whales landed this year, whaling crews and other residents of the community of 400 have spent weeks cutting up portions for the Thanksgiving feast.
“It’s about respecting nature,” said Lampe, 39. “It’s reminding people and crews that we live in a unique land and for a creature this size to give itself to the community is a real honor.”
Whale can be cooked, but it is eaten raw and frozen – never thawed – at the Nuiqsut feast. With literally tons of meat available, people will get at least 100 pounds to take home.
No Nuiqsut Thanksgiving is complete without stories from the elders of past Thanksgivings, capped by Eskimo dances honoring the whaling crews.
The whale hunters are “the stars of the dance, you might say,” Lampe said. “People thank them right there on the dance floor for putting their lives in jeopardy to harvest the whales.”
The number of traditional community gatherings in Alaska has dwindled now that the full range of packaged foods can be found in single-family portions at even the most remote villages.
In the Arctic Circle village of Fort Yukon, Kelly Carroll’s Athabascan family is looking forward to baked king salmon – the fish caught by her husband in the Yukon River – and stuffed heart of a moose that was shot downriver.
“If not for us, there wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving,” Carroll said. “Pilgrims sat down with the natives who taught them how to survive off the land.”
Nuiqsut stuffed moose heart
Clean moose heart well. Pat dry.
Prepare favorite stuffing.
Sprinkle moose heart with garlic salt and fill with stuffing. Sew up openings with needle and thread.
Bake covered at 375 degrees for 2 hours. Slice and serve.
Beverly Peter, Fort Yukon
Fort Yukon salmon
Fillet king salmon, removing the bones.
Sprinkle with lemon pepper and Mrs. Dash herb and spice mix. Spread with mayonnaise. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees until golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Anthony Carroll, Fort Yukon
