With Eskimo men away from their homes working on whaling ships, many families could no longer rely on the men to hunt, feed, and provide the materials for clothing their families. Without their contributions to the food supply, which was commonly stored in the permafrost for the winter months, it meant hunger and even starvation for their families and communities. This was not the way it was before the whalers arrived, when the Eskimos thrived throughout the seasons on what they hunted.During these difficult times when food was scarce, some women found resourceful ways to supplement feeding themselves and their children. This picture of a native Inupiaq woman and child in 1888, at Point Barrow, Alaska was taken during the time when vessels would sometimes invite the natives onboard to visit, dance, or talk to them. Those onboard might in turn give gifts of food, as seen here onboard the steamer, Thetis.
Picture Caption: Native Woman and Child, Point Barrow, Alaska, Arctic Ocean, 1888, "A Summer on the Thetis", courtesy Alaska State Library Historical Collections, Alaska's Digital Archives.
