LORI PANICO

CONTENT CREATION
EDITORIAL
- Standing Rock
- Protest
PERSONAL
- Utqiaġvik
- Travel
VIDEO
PORTRAIT

As winter approaches, days become rapidly shorter on the North Slope. By November, they seem to be little more than an extended sunset.

Ruth Aiken slipped on the ice and broke her wrist, but insisted on taking a photo while wearing the fur parka she sewed with her mother before going to the hospital. For more serious issues, travel to Anchorage or Fairbanks is common.

Small fishing huts dot the landscape outside of town.

A storm covers the town in thick sheets of ice, and makes a good reason to play outside once it clears.

Several lagoons divide the town. In winter, they freeze solid and can be walked across or driven over with snowmobiles.

A young woman sews a pair of mukluks, or leather boots, in a traditional sewing class she's taking at the local tribal college. She sews with caribou sinew thread that her grandmother made, an increasingly rare choice.

Joseph Penigue is a volunteer at the Barrow Search & Rescue.

The announcement that a whale has been caught comes crackling across the CB radio at the Search & Rescue. It will be hours before the crew reaches shore, but many in town will be listening for updates on the radio.

Crew members struggle to pull a whale ashore after it's tail bone has snapped.

Children are encouraged to participate in the carving of the whale carcass and the celebration that goes along with it. Whaling is allowed under regulations for subsistence purposes. It remains an integral part of the Iñupiaq diet and culture.

Retired fishing captains often have the job of sharpening the tools.

The whale meat and organs are divided amongst members of the crew according to a traditional hierarchy. Extra meat is distributed to others in town and stored for the winter.

Steam fills the air as slabs of meat are pulled away.

The captain's family is obligated to offer a feast to the whole town. After a catch, they will spend a day or more preparing the feast. Muktuk is a popular favorite.

There is one remaining sled dog team in Utqiagvik. In the warmer months between snowfall, they practice by pulling an ATV along gravel roads.