Ted Hunter
(Uyuariukareq)
Born: Hooper Bay, October 30, 1910

I've got four sisters: Helen Smith, Neva Rivers, Ruth Jorgenson and Natalia Smith. I also have three brothers: Alexis Hunter, Homer Hunter and Lars Hunter.

We used to live in mud and wood houses, and we used moss to cover the inside with. We had windows on the top of the house made of seal intestines, although in winter we used ice for windows too. We made snow houses only for work use. We traveled by dogsleds, but sometimes we pushed the sleds without dogs. Some people used to have 30 dogs. They used to go get their dog food from the beach.

When I was small (4 years old), there were about 700 people in Hooper Bay. There weren't any white people here in those days. We used to go berry camping by skin boats, and we only used paddles; we had no kickers in those days. It took us many days to travel from place to place. The women used to travel in the large skin boats, and the men paddled in the kayaks beside them. Before white people came we used to trade with other Yupik Natives who had trading posts supplied with a few Gussuk trade goods brought from far away. When the whites came to get the furs, we used to trade them for certain goods. When they traded they wanted 15 white fox skins for just one gun and ammunition. We used to trade for lead and gun powder. But we also tried to buy tea and tobacco most of all, and flour too, although it was hard to get.

People long ago weren't like white people the way they are today. They used to use their own power. And when they got old they didn't work anymore. They just sat and carved.

interview by Eleanor Tomaganuk