‘WE CAN’T GROW VEGETABLES.
WE CAN ONLY LIVE OFF WHAT THE SEA GIVES US.
OUR ANCESTORS HAVE OBSERVED
PERIODS OF WARMING AND COOLING. IT’S HARD FOR US TO
KNOW WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING.’
ALEXEY OTTOI, HUNTERRIGHT
Stanislav Vykvytke
harpoons a walrus south
of the village of Lorino,
Russia. In the past Chuk-
chi hunters took dog-
sleds across the sea ice,
but now the ice is too
thin. “That’s why we
started using boats in
the wintertime,” he says.
Hunting is central to
Chukchi identity. “Hunt-
ing is a dynasty,” Eduard
Ryphyrgin says. “Older
men in the family teach
the younger men in an
uninterrupted chain.”BELOW
Inna Tynelina (at
left) feeds her family
whale meat and soup
made from vegetables
imported into the vil-
lage. Marine mammals
account for most of
the diet of coastal
Chukchi communities,
where more than half
of the people live solely
on what can be har-
vested from the sea. “It
is the meat that gives
us the energy for our
lives,” says Teyu Nelia
Vasilievna, a local cook.
“The food in these
shops is very expen-
sive ... We cannot survive
without our hunters.”ASIALorinoASIA
PACIFIC
OCEANRUSSIA6 5.50°N, 171.70°W PAGE 42