On the long-term cultural significance of the traditional Yup’ik walrus hunt at Round Island (Qayassiq), Bristol Bay, Alaska

Archaeological evidence indicates Yup’ik peoples and their ancestors hunted Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in and around Bristol Bay, Alaska, since at least 6000 BP. This long and vibrant tradition was disrupted for more than 30 years after settler concerns over purported unsustainable harvesting prompted the State of Alaska in 1960 to ban all hunting at the region’s primary walrus haul-out site of Round Island—known in Yup’ik as Qayassiq (‘place to go in a kayak’). A complex and sensitive series of negotiations among multiple stakeholders led to the establishment of a highly regulated, co-managed annual hunt beginning in 1995. In 2013, the authors were permitted to join and document a hunt by residents of the Yup’ik village of Togiak, as well as to carry out a series of semi-structured interviews with hunt participants about their perspectives on the significance of walruses and walrus hunting to Yup’ik cultural identity. We describe the planning and methods employed by the hunters, compare the Round Island walrus hunt to the ‘revived’ bowhead-whaling tradition in Arctic Canada, and consider the potential for these complex and dynamic activities to reaffirm and remake past human–animal relationships.