The ice is always changing: Yup'ik understandings of sea ice, past and present

Abstract

This chapter presents a descriptive summary of Yup'ik elders' observations of sea ice formation and change along the Bering Sea coast of Southwest Alaska. In doing so, hunters modestly describe their efforts to negotiate a dangerous and ever-changing ice environment. While it is sometimes assumed that Bering Strait hunters on Diomede, St. Lawrence Island, and King Island hunt in the most diverse and demanding ice conditions in Alaska, conditions on the lower Bering Sea coast are equally if not more challenging due to the complex interplay between tides, currents, and wind. Moreover, as sea ice conditions change, Yup'ik elders' experiences at the southern limit of shorefast ice take on special significance. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.