Connecting Family & Friends, Food & Freezers

A Friday evening phone call between Executive Director Athena Copenhaver and team member from Savoonga Bryan Rookok, Jr. turned into an hour-long discussion of hunting, weather, family, and food. Never far from the edges of these topics lingers the specter of a changing Arctic environment and how these shifts in the living world impact people. In April, Savoonga community members hunted for bowhead whales off the southwest side of the island. Bowhead whale meat is traditionally frozen in an underground ‘meat cache’ carved into the permafrost. But with thawing permafrost, these traditional caches are often compromised. “The meat is wasted due to water leaking into the meat cache,” explained Bryan. Communities turn to freezers to preserve their harvests—but this adaptation comes with drawbacks. “We see freezer burn on the meat, which we did not see when using the underground meat cache,” said Bryan. Adding to the concern of how to maintain traditional food harvest practices are the complexities of adaptation: “We have to adapt, but this can sometimes mean the introduction of processed and store bought foods along with microwaves, ‘convenience’ foods,” Bryan said. “We see the difference in our people.” Recognizing the power and opportunity presented by complex collaborations such as SEARCH, Bryan closed the conversation by saying, “We have to work together, more than ever. That’s how we adapt.” Bryan’s knowledge in hunting, foraging, preserving traditional foods, and observing changes in natural infrastructure are already informing a developing SEARCH synthesis centering Arctic subsistence lifeways and their connections to the global food system.