Thanksgiving--Shishmaref Style

We celebrated Thanksgiving by attending the village feast. The main fare is reindeer stew. Early in the morning a sled of reindeer carcasses and several boxes of other ingredients were brought to the school kitchen. The unmarried men of the village spent the better part of the day butchering the reindeer and preparing the reindeer stew. Most of the village gathered in the Shishmaref High School gym about 5:30. A large plastic trash can had been filled with cherry KoolAid and everyone dipped out a cup or two. Each table was set with a roll of paper towel, 1/2 box of Pilot Bread, and a loaf of white bread. Families claimed their places by setting out their plates, bowls and spoons. Many also brought pots of stew. I brought a large pan of glazed sweet potatoes. A prayer was offered and serving began at a little after 6. 

The stew makers also did the serving.

Most of the village gathers for the feast.

Stew anyone?

Reindeer Stew

After we had our fill of the stew, which was absolutely delicious, desserts were brought out. The women take great pride in their Eskimo ice cream. We sampled everything. One kind of Eskimo ice cream was made with caribou fat, seal oil, salmon berries and blueberries. Another kind was made with caribou fat mixed with dried and flaked lincod (yes, fish!!) and was very delicious. We also had a scoop of mixed berries (salmonberries, blueberries, cranberries, and crowberries) and a piece of cake made by one of the young girls. Tea accompanied the dessert.

Eskimo Ice Cream: Caribou fat, seal oil,
salmonberries and blueberries

A real treat!!

After everyone had eaten their fill, the doxology was sung in Inupiaq and the clean-up began. High school kids do all the cleaning up. As soon as the gym was cleared, the Eskimo dancers and drummers took over and spent the next hour showing us a part of Inupiaq culture the early missionaries had tried, fortunately unsuccessfully, to eradicate. Many kids also came out to show what they had learned or were learning.The evenings entertainment continued until the wee hours of the morning with community basketball games.We felt privileged to experience a Thanksgiving with the Eskimos of Shishmaref, Alaska.

Reindeer fawn mukluks made for one of the native teachers
by her grandmother when she graduated high school. 

Beautiful fur ruffs--worn not for fashion but to protect a person's face.

Eskimo dancing--each dance tells a story to the drummers' beat.

Shishmaref drummers.
Traditional drums are made of thin caribou skin stretched over a frame.
 Some may also have been made of seal skin.

Mary leads the dancing in her red kuspuk and white mukluks.

The school parking lot.
No roads means no cars--just snowmachines, sled and/or ATVs