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The Whale Hunters

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THE WHALE HUNTERS

  • Writer / Director: Steve Hoggard

  • Director of Photography: Ryan Hill

  • Executive Producers: Daphna Rubin, Steve Hoggard, Michael Cascio

This story takes us seven miles off the coast of North America’s northern-most settlement and out onto the arctic ice shelf with a family of whale hunters at the top of the world.

Here, above the Arctic Circle, men paddling sealskin boats hunt a 60-ton animal. Until recently, the bowhead whale they stalked was an utter mystery to modern science.

Now, with the help of Inupiat insight, bowhead whales are thriving but the traditional hunt and a 6000-year-old way of life are endangered. Because as the arctic ice disappears, the Inupiats of Barrow face greater peril than ever before.

This is the story of an Eskimo community’s unlikely & amazing collaboration with western scientists in one of the most remote places on earth, and of one family’s struggle to adapt and survive in a land that is literally melting beneath their feet…

PROJECT SLIDESHOW
The Arnold Brower crew sets out onto the Arctic sea ice.

The Arnold Brower crew sets out onto the Arctic sea ice.

Steve Hoggard waiting in the whale blind with the Brower boys.

Steve Hoggard waiting in the whale blind with the Brower boys.

Whaling 'captain' Arnold Brower is one of Barrow's most respected Elders. With 13 children and more than 100 grandchildren he connects past and present like no other. By film's end, this amazing man would perish through thin river ice.

Whaling 'captain' Arnold Brower is one of Barrow's most respected Elders. With 13 children and more than 100 grandchildren he connects past and present like no other. By film's end, this amazing man would perish through thin river ice.

Ryan Hill gathers aerials over Barrow and the Arctic ice shelf.

Ryan Hill gathers aerials over Barrow and the Arctic ice shelf.

Marine biologists Craig George shows us an indigenous harpoon tip recovered from a bowhead in a recent hunt. The flinting technology reflected in the tip went out of use by indigenous people here more than 150 years ago.

Marine biologists Craig George shows us an indigenous harpoon tip recovered from a bowhead in a recent hunt. The flinting technology reflected in the tip went out of use by indigenous people here more than 150 years ago.

Found embedded in a whale in a recent hunt, the tip adds proof that bowhead live as long as 200 years... Not news to the Eskimos who always claimed bowhead, 'live two human lifetimes'... Until recently, most scientists thought this was a joke...

Found embedded in a whale in a recent hunt, the tip adds proof that bowhead live as long as 200 years... Not news to the Eskimos who always claimed bowhead, 'live two human lifetimes'... Until recently, most scientists thought this was a joke...

Lewis Brower is on shift, waiting for Bowhead to appear 'in the lead' in the land of the midnight sun.

Lewis Brower is on shift, waiting for Bowhead to appear 'in the lead' in the land of the midnight sun.

Inupiat Whaling Captain Margaret Opie.

Inupiat Whaling Captain Margaret Opie.

Villagers of Barrow head out to the sea ice to help pull up the whale.

Villagers of Barrow head out to the sea ice to help pull up the whale.

Scientists used to think that Inupiat stories about the ecosystem here were nothing more than indigenous fairy tales... They've since come to realize that Inupiat insight is critical to understanding the Arctic.

Scientists used to think that Inupiat stories about the ecosystem here were nothing more than indigenous fairy tales... They've since come to realize that Inupiat insight is critical to understanding the Arctic.

Butchering the catch.

Butchering the catch.

Steve Hoggard with Lewis Brower at the whale harvest.

Steve Hoggard with Lewis Brower at the whale harvest.

Cheryl Rosa is a marine biologist in Barrow. Her teams heads out to every bowhead taken in the hunt making them the most intensely studied baleen whales on earth.

Cheryl Rosa is a marine biologist in Barrow. Her teams heads out to every bowhead taken in the hunt making them the most intensely studied baleen whales on earth.

Barrow whale hunters strip off muktuk to feed the village.

Barrow whale hunters strip off muktuk to feed the village.

Jenny Brower invites people in for the whale feast.

Jenny Brower invites people in for the whale feast.

After a successful hunt, the village is invited to the feast. The elderly are given a special portion. Folks here still rely heavily on local game for nutrition.

After a successful hunt, the village is invited to the feast. The elderly are given a special portion. Folks here still rely heavily on local game for nutrition.