Guest Author - Kimi Ross
Shopping for Porcupine by Seth Kantner. Milkweed Editions. 2008. 240 pp.
Seth Kantner had an unusual upbringing, even by Alaskan standards. His college educated parents took to living in the Alaskan wilderness – in a sod igloo, far from the nearest native village, traveling by snowshoe, dog team, or skis. His father, having spent many years living on the arctic coast with an elderly Native couple, learned the old Inupiaq ways of doing things – hunting, preserving food, trapping, fishing. Seth and his brother learned these ways too, and as a result, his family gained the reputation of living more Eskimo than the Eskimos. As the local Natives embraced modernity in an effort to move away from the hard times of scarcity, famine, and death, the Kantners embraced the old ways, eschewing a life with modern comforts for a simple, hard life close to the land. His family gained the respectful reputation of being more Eskimo than the Eskimos.
Just as in Ordinary WolvesSeth writes with honesty and his essays provide more than a glimpse into a way of life that is vanishing. His refusal to romanticize his experiences allows the reader a unique look at a subsistence lifestyle and what that means today. He is not afraid to tell the stark truth about native hunters and the deterioration of culture and values, while at the same time recognizing the strength of that heritage and its impact on his own way of life. And yet he does so without judgment or censure, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions about life in northwest Alaska. His essays are sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous, and always full of the love he bears for his home and the people who live there. We are fortunate that he has hones his photography skills as well, for the photos in the book allow the reader to more fully visualize the land he writes about so beautifully.
When I boarded the Alaska Airlines jet in Kotzebue for the last time, it was with a sigh of relief. After seven years teaching in the region, I was disillusioned and tired, unable to manage the stress of working day after day in situations that seemed hopeless, with kids from dysfunctional families who were often more concerned with finding a safe place to sleep at night, away from drunken adults, than with completing homework.
Reading Shopping for Porcupine, however, brought back lots of good memories. Boating on the Kobuk River. Checking a net for salmon in the summer or an under-ice net for sheefish in the winter. Thousands of caribou meandering across a hillside. An elder talking about running dogs in his youth. Cutting and drying fish. In short, Seth’s book reminded me of all the time we spent on the land while we lived there, and created a longing to go back. I cannot think of any higher praise. Shopping for Porcupine is a must read for anyone wanting a realistic look at modern life in northwest Alaska.
