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Photos by MARY ANNIAGRUK SAGE

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Priscilla Sage sews waterproof stitches on the bearded seal skin. Sage has been preparing whaling boats since 1971, when her mother first showed her the craft of stitching the skins. Completing one skin boat takes a full day, and if any corrections or repairs are needed, the women will stay late into the night until the work is completed.

Barrow women prepare for the hunt

Published: February 16, 2007
Last Modified: February 16, 2007 at 09:22 AM

The season of the Amiq, or skins, has arrived in Barrow, where crews are busy preparing bearded seal skins to wrap around whaling boats.

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The process begins in summer, when five to seven seals are harvested for wrapping a boat.

Roles for preparing the boats are traditionally divided by gender. Men from whaling crews scrape hair from the skins and fold blocks of fat into the hides for softening.

The skins are cured until the Amiq, when groups of women sew the hides together. Men later cover the boats with the sewn skins.