Arctic Stories - Arctic life videos

Arctic Life

(click on a person to see their bio and a list of their videos)

Dr. Anne Jensen

Arctic Archaeologist
General Manager and Senior Scientist for UIC Science LLC

Richard K. Glenn

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation’s Executive Vice President of Lands and Natural Resources.

Dr. Matthew Sturm

Research Physical Scientist conducing wide-ranging geophysical studies on snow in high latittudes

Dr. Glenn Sheehan

Founding Executive Director of BASC (Barrow Arctic Science Consortium)

Eugene Brower

President of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association

Geoff Carroll

Area Wildlife Biologist, Alaska Fish and Game, North Slope

Eddie Bodfish

Inupiaq Elder from Wainwright, AK, descendant of a Boston whaler

Fran Tate

Owner of Pepe's North of the Border, Barrow, AK

Eugene Brower

Inupiaq Elder & Whaling Captain

Inupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower, President, Barrow Whaling Captains Association, Barrow, Alaska, speaks about early days in Barrow, about becoming a harpooner and then whaling captain, about a rogue walrus, an amazing polar bear, a white whale and a whale that showed him and his crew just who is boss.

Early Days

Iñupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower talks about living outside Barrow, Alaska, in the early days. Sod houses, stoves they used, dog sleds, ice skates they made.

Early Days 2

Iñupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower talks about living outside Barrow, Alaska, in the early days. Sod houses, fish storage, bone runners…

Whaling 1:

Brower talks about growing up whaling

As a young boy Iñupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower from Barrow, Alaska, moved up the ranks to Harpooner and finally to whaling captain. On a Sunday in March 2009, he took some time out to talk about whaling

Whaling 2:

Growing up hunting for the bowhead

\As a young boy Iñupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower from Barrow, Alaska, moved up the ranks to Harpooner and finally to whaling captain. On a Sunday in March 2009, he took some time out to talk about whaling

Whaling 3:

From Harpooner to Whaling Captain

Whaling 4: 1970s from subsistence to cash economy

Iñupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower talks about the changes that have come to the Iñupiaq Eskimo community after oil was struck. From dog sleds to snow machines. The expense of continuing the Eskimo tradition

The Whaling Camp & What the Whales know and see

Iñupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower talks about whaling camp and what the whales see and know and how the whalers must learn to keep quiet and undetected if there is to be a successful hunt.

Amazing Bowhead Whale Stories

Iñupiaq elder, whaling captain, and President of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association, Eugene Brower tells some amazing stories about bowhead whales that he has witnessed when out hunting in the Chukchi Sea, off Barrow, Alaska.

President of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association, Alaska

Eugene talks about being mayor of the city of Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in the United States. And about being president of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association for more than three decades.

Breaking Trail & Finding Whales

Iñupiaq elder, whaling captain, and President of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association, Eugene Brower speaks about breaking trails to the open water during the spring bowhead whale hunt and finding whales

Amazing Story of a Polar Bear on the Ice

Iñupiaq elder and whaling captain Eugene Brower from Barrow, Alaska, tells an amazing polar bear story, something he saw with his father, Harry Brower, Sr. (1924-1992), out on the ice.

Story of a White Whale

Iff the coast of Barrow, Alaska, in the Chukchi Sea, whaling captain Eugene Brower has seen one white whale, and he's seen it multiple times. He knows it by its markings..

Inupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower talks about ice fishing with his father

Eugene's father was Harry Brower, Sr. (1924-1992), out on the ice.

The Story of a Rogue Walrus

Iñupiaq Eskimo elder Eugene Brower talks about confronting a massive rogue walrus out on the ice while hunting whales, Barrow, Alaska.

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Geoff Carroll

Wildlife Biologist

Geoff Carroll, Area Wildlife Biologist for Alaska's Department of Fish and Game, talks about his job looking after the animals in a 56,000 sq mile region on the North Slope. He also talks about his love of the Arctic, and especially the sea ice, and about his passion for sled dogs. In 1986, he accompanied Will Steger on a National Geographic sponsored 56-day dog sled expedition to the North Pole. One of these clips shows Geoff out on the snow and ice his Greenland dogs.

Moving to the Arctic & a Bowhead Whale Census

Wildlife biologist Geoff Carroll in Barrow, Alaska, talks about the extirpation and reintroduction of muskox on the North Slope.

Area Wildlife Biologist

Geoff Carroll, Area Wildlife Biologist for Alaska's Department of Fish and Game, talks about his job looking after all the animals, especially caribou, in a 56,000 sq mile region.

Love of the Arctic, the Sea Ice & the Freedom of Open Spaces but Big Changes Afoot

Geoff talks about the freedom of the open spaces but also about the changes that have come and are coming to the Arctic

Sled Dogs

Geoff Carroll, area wildlife biologist for Alaska's Dept of Fish and Game, hitches up his sled dogs. After taking his sled out onto the ocean ice, Geoff talks a little about Greenland Huskies like the ones he took to the North Pole with Will Steger in 1986.

To the North Pole

In 1986 Geoff helped Will Steger and others reach the North Pole by sled. In the first month they had only gone 100 miles and soon had to shed a great amount of gear in order to reach the pole. From years of working with the Inupiaq Eskimos Geoff knew the ice conditions and helped read the changing ice so that the expedition could make it a successful trip.

Geoff's Polar Bear Story

Geoff Carroll tells the story of an early morning polar bear in a whale census tent out on the ice.

Muskox on the North Slope

Wildlife biologist Geoff Carroll in Barrow, Alaska, talks about the extirpation and reintroduction of muskox on the North Slope.

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Richard Savik Glenn

RICHARD K. “Savik” GLENN is Arctic Slope Regional Corporation’s Executive Vice President of Lands and Natural Resources. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (“ASRC”) is the Alaska Native-owned regional corporation representing more than eight thousand Inupiat Eskimos of Alaska’s North Slope. The shareholders of ASRC own surface and subsurface title to nearly five million acres of Alaskan North Slope lands with oil, gas, coal and mineral resources. Richard is a member of ASRC’s Board of Directors. From 1995 to 2001, Richard headed Alaska’s North Slope Borough Department of Energy Management, where he supervised the energy programs for all of the North Slope Borough villages.

Richard received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from San Jose State University in 1985 and a Master of Science degree in Geology from the University of Alaska (UAF) in 1991. Richard has special expertise in resource development in an Arctic setting, and is well-versed in on and offshore Arctic geologic processes. He is a certified professional geologist in the state of Alaska, and holds positions on many boards and commissions, most of them dedicated to education and scientific research. In addition to other postings, he has twice been appointed by the President to the United States Arctic Research Commission, is the Board President of the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, and has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Ilisagvik College.

Richard also serves as co-captain of the Savik Ahmaogak subsistence whaling crew. He is a member of the Suurimmaaniichuat Eskimo dance group and a budding rock-and-roll keyboardist.

Richard Glenn talks about the intersection between Inupiaq Eskimo and scientific knowledge

Richard's mother an Inupiaq Eskimo married Richard's father who came to the Arctic to work on the DEW Line (a system of radar stations set up in the Arctic to detect incoming Soviet bombers during the Cold War) and Richard grew up in two worlds--that of San Francisco during the year and with his Inupiaq relatives in the summers, until at 20 he moved permanently to the Arctic that he loves so much.

Richard Glenn talks about his teachers, Inupiaq and scientific knowledge about his love of the Arctic. No Fences. Open Horizon. Abundant Wildlife and Culture that capitalizes on real knowledge of the Arctic environment

Glenn talks about the beauty of traditional Eskimo knowlege and how it works. He talks about his role as a whaler in his family crew, and he tells a harrowing story about being out on the ice hunting the bowhead when the ice broke off and he and his crew started to flow away and were rescued by helicopter.

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Dr. Glenn Sheehan

Executive Director, BASC

Barrow Arctic Science Consortium

Dr. Sheehan is the founding Executive Director of the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC), which started in 1996. BASC provides scientists with field logistical support, including serving as the ashore contact for U.S. and foreign science icebreaker missions. In a recent year over 626 visiting researchers were assisted.Prior to BASC's creation Dr. Sheehan was principal investigator for the three year NSF-funded Point Franklin Archaeology project on the North Slope.

Glenn Sheehan came to the Arctic as an archaeologist then became the Director of BASC

The Barrow Arctic Science Consortium is centered in the old Navy Arctic Research Lab in Barrow, Alaska

Glenn Sheehan talks about what makes the Arctic such a great place to live.

"What I love about the Arctic is the people. If it wasn't for the people, the Arctic would be a nice place to visit. The people here make it a great place to live."

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Fran Tate

owner of Pepe's

Fran Tate, owner, Pepe's North of the Border Mexican Restaurant, Barrow, Alaska

Fran #1

Fran Tate of Pepe's North of the Border Mexican Restaurant talks about opening up in Barrow, Alaska

Fran #2

Fran Tate of Pepe's talks about being an electrical engineer and coming to Barrow in the 1970s and the community spirit of the Arctic

Fran #3

Fran's compares growing up in the lower 48 to living here in the Arctic

Fran #4

Fran Tate of Pepe's North of the Border Mexican Restaurant gives her take on goose poop..

Fran #5

Fren Tate, Pepe's North of the Border owner, speaks about recent changes in Barrow, Alaska

Fran #6

Fran Tate, owner of Pepe's North of the Border, talks about growing up poor and coming to Barrow decades ago where she ran a sewage and water business while opening her Mexican restaurant.

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SHORT VIDEO HERE

The Streets of Barrow in March when the days grow longer

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Dr. Matthew Sturm

Research Physical Scientist

Dr. Sturm is responsible for conducting wide-ranging geophysical studies on snow in high latitudes. His work has taken him from the Antarctic to the Arctic, and he has been the leader of more than 30 expeditions in winter in pursuit of his science. He is based at the Alaska Office in Fairbanks, but collaborates with a wide range of scientists both at CRREL and elsewhere. His most recent work focuses on the role of snow cover on climate, with particular attention to snow ecology, and climate change resulting from snow-vegetation interactions.

Why Study the Arctic

Matthew Sturm talks about the importance of studying the Arctic and how it is connected to the rest of the world

The Real Arctic

Matthew Sturm talks about the contradictions, the complexities of the Arctic

Love of the Arctic

Matthew Sturm, ice and snow expert from Fairbanks, Alaska, talks about his love of the Arctic

Long Traverses

Matthew Sturm, ice and snow expert from Fairbanks, Alaska, talks about his long scientific trips across the Arctic on snowmachines.

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Dr. Anne Jensen

Arctic Archaeologist

General Manager and Senior Scientist for UIC Science LLC

Anne Jensen’s anthropological fieldwork in Alaska extends back 28 years. Anne has worked in villages throughout the state and been principal investigator on numerous archaeology projects, including ones at Point Barrow, Point Franklin, and at Ukkuqsi, where she recovered the little frozen girl who died 800 years ago. She is General Manager and Senior Scientist for UIC Science LLC, where she runs operations and support contracts for the U.S. Department of Energy and conducts a variety of environmental projects. Anne holds grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. She has written dozens of professional reports and has published on resource use and zooarchaeology. Her current research focuses on human adaptation in Arctic and subarctic environments, paleoeconomy and paleoenvironments and Traditional Knowledge of Iñupiat peoples. Anne’s blog on Arctic Archaeology can be found at iceandtime.wordpress.com and her Gardening in the Arctic blog at tundragarden.wordpress.com.

Meet Anne Jensen Arctic Archaeologist

Anne talks about how she began work on Nuvuk an Iñupiaq settlement at Point Barrow, Alaska.

Anne talks about her research at the cemetery at Nuvuk

With Inupiaq elder approval, ancient and modern dna analysis of North Slope peoples. They'll finish the ancient DNA and then follow up with the modern DNA analysis and correlate the findings.

Archaeology Across the Arctic

Ann talks about the interior of the North Slope not being explored archaeologically. Evidence of people on the North Slope over 10,000 years old. The coast has changed and been lost so we don't have coastal sites before 4000 BC. Not a lot of sites found and dated. People have been attracted to large coastal villages.

Dating ancient sites on the North Slope

Anne talks about dating of ancient sites in the Arctic and the relationship of ancient peoples across the Arctic, how people can communicate in their own language across 4 thousand miles of territory.

Eskimo Whaling Today & in Ancient Times

Anne talks about the whaling of the Inupiaq Eskimos today and thousands of years ago and how the transition was made from traditional whaling to Yankee whaling tools in the early 1900s, which is still being used today. She also talks about how bowhead whales may live a few hundred years; ivory and stone points pre 1880 have been found in recently caught whales. She also talks about an elder who once saw an 80-foot whale!

Why Live in the Arctic?

Anne talks about her love of the Arctic, everythin about itg, the long summer days, the sky, the plants, the people, one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The most interesting puzzle for her is why and how did people migrate when they did, what set it off, how then did people change into who they are today across the Arctic, and what can that tell us about climate change which happened during that time and still does. You can't take climate change out of an understanding of cultural change. So why do some people adapt to change and some don't?

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Eddie Bodfish

Inupiaq Elder from Wainright, Alaska, now living in Barrow

EddieRichard Eddie Bodfish's grandfather was a Massachusetts whaler.

Eddie grew up in Wainright, Alaska, a small Inupiaq village south of Barrow. Here he talks about what it was like to grow up out at fish camp for three months of the year and then start whaling for his father's crew until he went to high school in Sitka, Alaska.

He talks about how whaling crews had to walk 9-15 miles out on the ice to get the whales because Wainright, unlike Barrow, is tucked into a bay, and to get the whales, the whalers have to walk out to the open sea where the whales pass during migrations.

Eddie tells stories from his whaling days

Eddie talks about his role as project manager for the DEW line (Distant Early Warning) and for building airports in the Arctic, which he did for 24 years. He also talks about missing the whaling because he misses the stories of the old whalers that are told in whale camp.