Qikiqtaġruk (Kotzebue)
Bobby Schaeffer, Qikiqtagruk (since 2019)
Kotzebue is a hub community located 33 miles above the Arctic Circle in northwest Alaska. The Iñupiaq name of Kotzebue is Qikiqtaġruk. It is situated on the Baldwin Peninsula which separates Kobuk Lake from Kotzebue Sound. Four major rivers feed into Kotzebue Sound, including the Noatak, Kobuk, Selawik and Buckland Rivers. The Sound is surrounded by low-lying tundra. Qikiqtaġruk (Kotzebue) and surrounding communities rely on river and sea ice for travel and subsistence hunting and fishing.
Qikiqtaġruk (Kotzebue) is home to the Iñupiat who have inhabited the region for thousands of years and whose culture and traditions are deeply rooted in subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering activities. These activities are essential for the local economy and provide nutritional and spiritual sustenance for the community. Traditional subsistence practices are still followed with beluga whaling, seal, moose and caribou hunting, fishing, and gathering of berries which are all integral parts of the Iñupiaq way of life.
Bobby Schaeffer has contributed observations since 2019 and is motivated to share his knowledge and observations of the environment, and the significant shifts he is observing as a result of climate change. Bobby has lived his entire life in the Kotzebue Sound area, commercial fishing, and learning from his dad on how to keenly observe the environment. In his observations you will find rich and dynamic descriptions of historical conditions and present day interactions between weather and ocean conditions and their impact on fish, birds, and wildlife. Bobby’s observations have high instructional value.
Bobby's seasonal calendar (click to enlarge)
In diagram observer Bobby Scheaffer shares what he considers the normal timing of important harvest activities as well as the ice cycles.
This circular seasonal calendar illustrates ice conditions and subsistence harvesting activities across twelve months. The outer bands track ice safety, showing safe travel on sea and lagoon ice from roughly December through April, break-up and open water during summer, and freeze-up in autumn.
The inner rings map harvesting windows for wildlife: caribou and ice fishing span late autumn to winter; geese, seals (ringed and bearded), and whales (beluga and bowhead) are hunted during spring and summer open-water periods; and rod fishing and berry gathering occur in late summer.
