Muriel Hopson

Kenneth Toovak was interviewed on July 12, 1978 in Barrow, Alaska for a project related to potential oil development of the Alaskan continental shelf. The original interview was in Inupiaq. The interview was first translated in 1979 by Molly Pederson and appears in the Historical References to Ice Conditions Along the Beaufort Sea Coast of Alaska (Scientific Report, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1979, p. A-II-36). The interview was translated again in January 2014 by Muriel Hopson and appears below synced with the Inupiaq audio. In this interview, Kenneth discusses his observations of sea ice conditions along the coast near Barrow and near the Colville River, in particular the build up of pressure ridges and the effect of wind, currents and weather on the ice.

Crawford Patkotak and his father, Simeon Patkotak, Sr. were interviewed on November 13, 2013 by Karen Brewster and Dyre Oliver Dammann at Crawford's home in Barrow, Alaska. Crawford's wife, Laura, and their son, Josiah, were also present at the interview. Inupiaq is Simeon's first language, so at age 81 he is more comfortable speaking Inupiaq than English. During the interview, Simeon would speak in Inupiaq and Crawford would translate what he said into English. The "In Inupiaq" portions of the transcript were translated by Muriel Hopson. In this first part of a two part interview, Crawford and Simeon talk about learning to go whaling and how to read the ice conditions, wind and current. Crawford speaks in particular about the unusual ice conditions in the spring of 2013 and his decision to keep his whaling crew at home for the season, as well as about safety issues in general, changing ice conditions over the years, and about trail building.