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Honoring Alaska's Indigenous Literature
Book Review for Whale snow
By Martha Stackhouse
By Debby Dahl Edwardson
Illustrated by Annie Patterson
The book, Whale Snow, by Debby Dahl Edwardson, was printed
in 2003. Debby has lived in Barrow for nearly 30 years, where her
children grew up. She had dedicated her book to them and she lists
them using their Inupiaq names. The author is originally from
Minnesota, a Norwegian line in her blood. She is married to an
Inupiaq person from Barrow. She has always been involved in the
community as a radio reporter, a free lance journalist, a public
relations specialist and a North Slope Borough School District Board
member.
The book, Whale Snow, has a glossary in the front of the
book, defining the Inupiaq words that are used through out the book.
It also includes how it is pronounced from the English person's
perspective. On the same page, there is a short explaination about
the Inupiaq language. It says that Inupiaq language was traditionally
an oral language and only recently became a written language as well.
English language was introduced in the 1800's when the commercial
whalers made their way up north. When school was introduced, the
students were punished for speaking their Inupiaq language. Now it is
the schools that are helping to preserve the language that is being
threatened to extinction. She also notes that if one wanted the
Inupiaq version of the book, one may look for it at: www.charlesbridge.com
The illustrations are done in watercolor. It shows the
contemporary houses that depict the Arctic environment by their
stilts. Most houses are built that way so that the heat from the
house does not melt the permafrost underneath. If that were to
happen, the house would start tilting to uneven proportions. There
are snow machines and trucks. However, there are still many
traditional objects through out the village. There are skins and
traditional boats, the umiaqs, drying outside some houses. The people
are dressed warmly in their parkas and maklaks; some store bought
boots are in the background.
The book centers around the little boy who is just learning what
the spirit of the whale is. His name is Amiqqaq, named after one of
her sons. He sees fluffy white feathery snow falling down and his
Aaka, grandmother, tells him that it signifies whale snow; a time
when someone is about ready to catch a whale. Soon, his father comes
in carrying a flag which means that their crew caught a whale. They
make preparations to go back on the ice. There he meets his mother
who talks about the spirit of the whale and whale happiness. The
scene is a typical whale camp , people hugging each other, canvas
tent, sled, umiaq, and snow machine. Amiqqaq is put on top of the
whale which is typical for kids to do as grown ups cheer and take
pictures. The maktak and whale meat is taken back to the village and
the whole community comes in to eat. Again, Amiqqaq has a talk with
his Aapa, his grandfather, about the spirit of the whale and the
happiness it leaves.
The book talks about the whale giving itself to the people, which
is a common belief of the Inupiat people. The maktak and the whale
meat is like a parka that is taken off when it is butchered. The
spirit of the whale goes back into the ocean and another whale takes
its place.
At the end of the book, the author talks about the moratorium on
the whale hunts in the late 1970's, that was imposed by the
International Whaling Commission (IWC). The scientists believed that
the whale population had depleted. The Inupiat people formed the
Alaska Whaling Commission (AEWC) to counter the IWC actions and
regulations. The AEWC had to prove to the world that the whale
populations were indeed healthy. After years of study, both by the
Inupiat people and the scientists, and compliance with the IWC, the
Inupiat whalers were allowed to hunt once again for subsistence use.
I highly recommend Whale Snow by Debby Dahl Edwardson, to
be read to children in schools. It is a book that is well written
with actual facts. It proves that when people such as Debby, live
with the Indigenous people of Alaska, the books written, are more
accurate to the actual lives of the people they are writing about.
The book reviews are a result of students enrolling in special topics course
Ed 493 Examining Alaska Children's Literature taught by Esther A. Ilutsik
in the Spring of 2004.
The book reviews are written by the students and are a reflection of their
own analysis of the books and have not been altered in any way. The reviewers
have given permission to share the book reviews on the HAIL website.
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